BTS Just Surpassed a Record Previously Set by TXT
At this point, BTS breaking a record is not surprising, it is expected. Since their 2013 debut with Big Hit Entertainment, the Korean band has ascended in the music industry to become one of the top music acts in the entire world. The success of their recent Japanese album Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~ further illustrates their domination when it comes to album sales and streaming records.
“Your Eyes Tell,” a B-side track composed and co-written by BTS’s Jungkook, is a breakout song from Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~. The ballad recently set a 2020 record on the Line Music Real Time chart and became the song by a Korean boy group to spend the most time at No. 1 on the chart. To achieve this record, the song beat out “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)” by Tomorrow X Together, another K-pop group with Big Hit Entertainment.
TXT made a name for themselves in 2019
TXT is made up of five members: Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. The group debuted with Big Hit Entertainment in March 2019 with their first EP The Dream Chapter: Star. While TXT was widely known as BTS’s junior group at the time of their debut, they have since forged their own path as one of the strongest rookie groups in the industry.
The Dream Chapter: Star reached No. 1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart and peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200. They released their first studio album The Dream Chapter: Magic in October 2019, and it debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart.
During the 2019-2020 awards season, TXT won 10 Rookie Awards. They won Rookie of the Year at the 2019 Melon Music Awards and Rookie Artist of the Year at the 2020 Golden Disc Awards. The band won Best New Male Artist at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the 2019 Genie Music Awards.
RELATED: TXT Grow as Artists With Their New EP ‘The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY’
TXT released a Japanese version of ‘Run Away’ in 2020
In January 2020, TXT began Japanese promotions with their single album Magic Hour featuring Japanese versions of their songs “Run Away,” “Crown,” and “Angel or Devil.” While TXT is only a rookie group, they have experienced impressive success in Japan, and Magic Hour debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon daily chart.
After selling 100,000 units, Magic Hour was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. TXT’s Japanese version of “Run Away” spent over 70 hours at No. 1 on the Line Music Real Time chart, becoming the song by a Korean boy group to spend the most time on the chart at No. 1 in 2020.
BTS continues to dominate charts
In the U.S., BTS’s EP Map of the Soul: Persona debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. They took home multiple awards at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, and the 2019 American Music Awards.
While TXT positioned themselves as a top rookie group during the 2019-2020 awards season, BTS continued their unprecedented rise. The septet had Daesang All-Kills at the 2019 Melon Music Awards, 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, and the 2020 Golden Disc Awards.
RELATED: BTS Just Broke a 5-Year-Old Record Set by Adele With Their Song ‘Black Swan’
Follow Eryn Murphy on Instagram and Twitter.
In February 2020, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook released Map of the Soul: 7, and it became their fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart in less than two years. The band released Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~ on July 14, 2020, and it debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Daily Albums chart. The album also set a record for first-day sales by a Korean artist in Japan with 447,869 copies sold within 24 hours.
BTS just beat TXT’s record with ‘Your Eyes Tell’
Out of the 13 tracks on Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~, “Your Eyes Tell” is the song setting records. The song reached No. 1 on iTunes in over 90 countries after it was released, a new record for a B-side track. “Your Eyes Tell” spent over 100 hours at No. 1 on the Line Music Real Time chart, outperforming TXT’s record with “Run Away.”
This record might seem small in comparison to what the two K-pop groups have already accomplished, but it gives an inkling of what to expect from TXT and BTS in the future. While TXT was only formed in 2019 and BTS is celebrating their seventh year together, it is clear both Big Hit Entertainment groups are establishing their own successful paths. Based on TXT’s rapid rise and BTS’s prominence, fans can expect the two bands to continuously break each other’s records for years to come.
