Jung Kook Blocked From Making Billboard History By Taylor Swift

Jung Kook’s debut album Golden has earned a strong start on the Billboard charts this week, marking another significant milestone in his career. While the title has already secured a place in music history, it narrowly missed breaking an all-time record that, for a while at least, seemed within reach.

Golden makes its debut at No. 2 on this week’s Billboard 200 chart, which monitors the most-consumed albums and EPs in the United States. This placement is particularly noteworthy, as it represents Jung Kook’s first appearance on the Billboard 200 outside of his work with BTS.

Golden starts in the runner-up position with an impressive 210,200 equivalent album units. This figure includes 122,000 pure sales, with the remainder primarily comprising streaming equivalent units. The No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 is held by Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) for the second consecutive week, as it moved another 245,000 equivalent units—significantly lower than its debut week, when it exceeded 1.6 million units.

Jung Kook came close to becoming the first South Korean musician to achieve a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. However, he narrowly missed this distinction by just a few thousand equivalent units, with Swift refusing to give up her control over the top spot.

As Golden starts in the runner-up rung, Jung Kook is now the fourth member of BTS to debut an album at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Amazingly, this marks the fourth instance of this showing in 2023 alone, following Suga, Jimin, and V, who all similarly barely missed securing the top spot.

While Golden didn’t quite manage to surpass 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on the Billboard 200, it still represents a significant win for Jung Kook and South Korean artists in general. It is now tied as the highest-charting album in U.S. history by a soloist from the Asian nation.

Additionally, the album has been highly successful in terms of individual songs. Golden produced a Hot 100 No. 1 hit with “Seven,” featuring Latto, and the follow-up single, “3D” with Jack Harlow, debuted at No. 5 on the same chart. Jung Kook’s new single, “Standing Next To You,” is also expected to make a high debut on the Hot 100, potentially landing inside the top 10.

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