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BTS top global list of 2020’s most successful albums
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 11 March 2021
Now, would everyone like another list from the IFPI? Don’t answer that, because I don’t care. You’re getting one whatever. Having announced the world’s most successful recording artists and individual tracks of 2020, the international record label trade body has now unveiled the most successful albums of last year. And right up there at the top are BTS with ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’.
BTS were announced last week as the act that sold and streamed the most music overall in 2020, so it’s not a surprise that they’re at the top of the albums list. Although they only just scraped into the top ten most popular singles. They make up for it in the albums chart though, by not only topping the list, but by also taking the number four slot with their other 2020 album ‘Be’.
The group also released a reworked and expanded version of ‘Map Of The Soul 7’ last year, sung in Japanese. That doesn’t feature in the top ten though, which suggests people prefer it when BTS sing in their native Korean. In the UK and US the original version of that album went to number one in both countries, compared to 35 and fourteen, respectively, for the rework. Although in Japan both versions topped the chart, so the jury is at least out there.
“We have introduced the Global Album All Format Chart to reflect the evolving landscape of the album format and to recognise how artists share their album projects in a variety of ways with their fans across multiple formats”, says IFPI boss Frances Moore. “It’s an honour to be able to hand BTS their second IFPI Global Chart Award, following their success as Global Recording Artists Of The Year. ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’ broke chart records internationally and in Korea, and is yet another incredible body of work from a band that continues to delight music lovers globally”.
Elsewhere on the list, number one single seller The Weeknd has the second most popular album, with ‘After Hours’. Meanwhile, Billie Eilish’s ‘When We All Go To Sleep, Where Do We Go?’ comes in at number three, which is pretty good for an album that came out two years ago this month.
The majority of the artists on the new list are North American, although Dua Lipa and Harry Styles are both in there representing the UK. Japanese artist Kenshi Yonezu also makes an appearance at number seven, with his album ‘Stray Sheep’.
Here’s the full top ten:
1. BTS – Map Of The Soul: 7
2. The Weeknd – After Hours
3. Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
4. BTS – Be
5. Harry Styles – Fine Line
6. Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding
7. Kenshi Yonezu – Stray Sheep
8. Justin Bieber – Changes
9. Taylor Swift – Folklore
10. Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
