BTS continued their remarkable comeback momentum this week (ending January 29, 2026), with multiple major milestones tied to their upcoming fifth studio album ARIRANG (set for release on March 20) and the associated BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’.
The North American and European legs of the tour sold out completely within hours of ticket sales opening, underscoring the septet’s enduring global demand after their hiatus for military service. BigHit Music confirmed that all 41 announced shows across these regions—covering cities like Tampa (with added dates), Stanford (added show), Las Vegas (extra date), Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, and Paris—were fully sold out as of late January. This includes multi-night stands at major stadiums and represents nearly 2.4 million tickets sold for these legs alone, making BTS the first Asian and non-English-speaking act to surpass 2 million tickets sold for a tour phase. South Korean opening shows in Goyang (April 9–12) also sold out rapidly during ARMY presales. The full tour now spans 82 shows (with some reports citing up to 81–82) across 34 cities through 2027, billed as the largest in K-pop history, featuring a 360-degree immersive stage design.
Additional tour-related highlights this week included:
- Confirmation of expanded U.S. dates in response to overwhelming demand, including third shows in Tampa (April 28) and Stanford (May 19), plus a fourth in Las Vegas.
- Reports of over 2.3 million tickets sold across Goyang, North America, and Europe combined (excluding upcoming Japan, Busan, and later 2027 dates).
On the album front, ARIRANG achieved massive pre-order and pre-save numbers:
- Physical pre-orders surpassed 4.06 million copies in the first week (opened January 16, reported as of January 22), breaking BTS’s own previous record set by Map of the Soul: 7 (3.42 million in its first week) and marking the first album in history to hit 4 million pre-orders in just seven days.
- Spotify pre-saves reached 2.79 million as of January 28 (with earlier peaks including 1.49 million by day two and over 2.5 million shortly after), making ARIRANG the most pre-saved album by an Asian act ever on the platform. It also became the fastest album to top Spotify’s Global Top 10 Countdown Albums Chart and held the #1 spot for multiple consecutive days (at least 9 days reported in late January).
- The album’s strong performance positions it as potentially the top-selling album of 2026 even before release, with fans pushing for higher goals like 7 million pre-saves.
Other BTS-related notes this week included continued strong solo achievements for members (e.g., Jimin’s “Who” earning Double Platinum certification in Canada and Jin’s solo track maintaining chart presence in Brazil), but the primary focus remained on the group’s full-unit return. ARMY celebrated these feats with memes, fan projects, and calls to boost pre-saves/streams ahead of the March comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square (March 21) and the tour kickoff. These milestones highlight BTS’s unmatched commercial power and fan mobilization as they prepare for their most ambitious era yet.
