Music

BTS Jungkook Sets New Billboard Record as First and Longest-Charting K-pop Soloist with 38 Consecutive Weeks

Jul 01, 2023 | by Nobelle Borines

BTS's Jungkook has made history by becoming the first and longest-charting K-pop solo artist to enter the U.S. Billboard chart for an impressive 38 weeks. His collaboration with American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, "Left and Right," secured the 179th position on the Billboard Global chart (excluding the United States) according to the latest release dated July 1.

"Left and Right" has consistently showcased its strong long-run power by being on the Global chart for an unprecedented 38 weeks since its release. Last week, Jungkook had also extended his own record by being the first K-pop solo artist to chart for 37 weeks.

In addition, Jungkook's solo track "Euphoria" continued its success last week by entering the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart for the 92nd time, setting yet another record as the first and longest-charting song by a Korean idol soloist.

Jungkook had previously set records with "Left and Right" as the first K-pop idol and the longest-charting artist on Billboard's main singles chart, the Hot 100, for 17 consecutive weeks. His solo tracks "Stay Alive" and "My Time" have also made their marks on the Hot 100 chart, landing at positions 95 and 84 respectively. The song "Stay Alive," which was released in 2022, became the first Korean webtoon OST to enter the Hot 100 chart.

Other notable Billboard entries for Jungkook include "Waste It On Me," where he was the sole vocalist (89th place), "Savage Love," which reached 1st place, the unit song "Stay" that he co-wrote and co-composed (22nd place), and the Japanese song "Film Out," which he contributed to as a composer (81st place).

Jungkook's "Dreamers," the official soundtrack for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, made history as the first World Cup official soundtrack to top the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart, sweeping the chart's top spot for two consecutive weeks.

In another milestone, Jungkook, through his Spotify account, set a new global record as the fastest K-pop solo artist to reach 1 billion streams with only three songs: "Dreamers," "Stay Alive," and "Left and Right." This achievement led to his official entry into the Guinness World Records.