BTS First Group Ever to Surpass 10 Billion Annual Spotify Streams

Group BTS became the first group in the world to surpass 10 billion cumulative streams in a single year on Spotify as of October 16, 2026, driven by their fifth studio album ARIRANG and its title track SWIM.

ARIRANG Album Drives Record Streaming Growth

While solo artists such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Bad Bunny previously crossed the 10-billion streaming threshold on Spotify, no group had ever achieved the milestone within a single calendar year. The group’s cumulative streams for the year rose 122 percent compared to last year’s 45억 회 streams. The surge was propelled heavily by the release of their fifth full-length album ARIRANG in March, which accumulated over 50억 회 streams by October 14. Daily streaming numbers jumped from around 23 million prior to the album’s release to 130 million on March 20, the day the album dropped, with all 14 tracks sweeping the top 14 spots on the Daily Top Songs Global chart. The title track SWIM recorded roughly 14 million streams on its first day, marking the highest daily streaming total for any song released in 2026. ARIRANG holds the record as the most-streamed new album on Spotify for 2026, sitting about 2 billion streams ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s third full-length album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.

Awards and Ongoing World Tour Schedule

Alongside the streaming milestone, BTS won the major category of Artist of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Japan on October 14, with the main ceremony scheduled for October 29 at Tokyo Dome. The group has been performing their ARIRANG world tour, which included shows at the National Stadium in Chile from October 14 to October 17.

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