BTS Matches Taylor Swift In A Rare Chart Feat

BTS returns to the Billboard 200’s top 10 with Permission to Dance On Stage (Live), joining Taylor Swift as the only artists with live albums to hit the top 10 in 2025. NEW YORK, NY – MAY 21: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and J-Hope of the K-Pop Group BTS visit The Empire State Building on May 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images for ESB)

Getty Images for ESB

Live albums are not uncommon, especially in today’s world where the technology to record performances and concerts is more readily accessible and easier to use than ever. But for most artists, recording and releasing live sets doesn’t typically lead to major success on the Billboard charts. Live albums rarely perform as well as studio efforts, and it’s relatively uncommon for one to break into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, the chart company’s most competitive ranking of EPs and full-lengths in the United States.

So far in 2025, only two live albums have managed to reach that region — and that number doubles this week.

BTS Returns to the Top 10

BTS returns to the highest tier on the Billboard 200 this week with its first live album, Permission to Dance On Stage (Live). The set marks something of a comeback for the South Korean boy band, as all of its members had to step away from their music careers to fulfill South Korea’s mandatory military service, which they have now finished. The project debuts at No. 10 with 43,000 equivalent units shifted in its first seven-day tracking period.

Taylor Swift Swift’s One-Week Smash

Permission to Dance On Stage (Live) is one of only two live albums to crack the top 10 on the Billboard 200 this year. BTS joins Taylor Swift in this uncommon feat, according to Billboard.

Just a few months ago, in January, Swift scored a new bestselling live title with Lover: Live From Paris. The vinyl version, which was available only for a short time, instantly became a must-have for Swifties. The set reappeared out of nowhere at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, narrowly missing giving the singer-songwriter another chart leader. Lover: Live From Paris then disappeared one week later, and hasn’t returned since.

BTS Scores Across Multiple Billboard Rankings

Permission to Dance On Stage (Live) opens inside the top 10 on all three Billboard charts it debuts on this week, though it earns the lowest start on the Billboard 200. The project brings BTS back to No. 1 on the World Albums list, where the group has now scored 14 rulers. The septet also nearly conquers the Top Album Sales chart, but instead, Permission to Dance On Stage (Live) starts in the runner-up spot behind Don’t Tap the Glass, Tyler, the Creator’s surprise new full-length.