Was it only six years ago that Korean rapper Psy conquered the world with “Gangnam Style”?
Today, Sony’s Columbia Records released a compilation album by South Korean boy band BTS, and it’s like the Beatles, NSync, and Backstreet Boys mania rolled into one.
Columbia signed BTS in the US only, but the instant monster success will save the label and its new chief Ron Perry, who’s been aching for a hit.
The BTS album has shot to the top of the iTunes album chart, beating Ariana Grande, Drake, and One Direction’s Liam Payne.
The individual tracks from the BTS album now occupy most of the top 20 of the iTunes singles chart. Twelve of the top 13 singles are from the BTS album.
In South Korea, BTS hails from the KPop label. In Japan and elsewhere, they’re distributed by Def Jam.
BTS is also known as the Bangtan Boys. There are 7 members. The group formed in 2013. The Sony/Columbia album was first released by Big Hit Entertainment last September, almost a year ago. It sold 96,000 copies but vanished once Sony signed on and planned this relaunch.
