The K-Pop Acts That Almost Landed A No. 1 Album In 2023

Morgan Wallen’s reign over the Billboard 200 albums chart continues as he maintains his leading position for a remarkable tenth consecutive week. His latest album One Thing at a Time has proven to be an unstoppable force since its release in March.

During his impressive run, Wallen’s album has thwarted the aspirations of numerous prominent and adored K-pop acts from scoring their first No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, which ranks the most-consumed albums and EPs in the U.S.

Astonishingly, Wallen has now prevented four South Korean stars from securing the top position, leaving them with debuts at the frustratingly close No. 2 spot.

Twice

K-pop girl group Twice found themselves at the forefront of this group of artists unable to claim the coveted throne of the Billboard 200 in March. Wallen’s unyielding grip on the top spot held them back, resulting in their new release Ready To Be stalling at No. 2.

The project marked Twice’s fourth entry inside the top 10, and their highest-charting yet. With their continuous ascent, perhaps the fifth time will finally prove to be the charm for the outfit?

Jimin

Following Twice’s near-miss at claiming the top spot on the Billboard 200, another K-pop sensation faced a similar outcome. BTS member Jimin’s debut solo collection Face opened to great fanfare, but fell short of the top position, peaking at No. 2 instead.

Fortunately, Jimin found solace in the success of the EP’s lead single, “Like Crazy,” which managed to reach the pinnacle of the Hot 100 chart. This remarkable accomplishment ensured that Jimin still made incredible history on one of the two most important rankings, if not both at the same time.

Suga

One of the other BTS members experienced a similar outcome just a short while after Jimin’s debut. Suga, under his Agust D nickname, released a new collection titled D-Day, which unfortunately did not manage to capture the top spot on the Billboard 200. He was undoubtedly aiming to conquer the chart with this release, but at that time (and to this day), nobody could beat Wallen.

Suga did reach a new milestone with D-Day becoming his first solo top 10 entry, marking it as his official debut album, while his previous releases were classified as mixtapes.

Seventeen

The latest South Korean musical act to be thwarted by Wallen’s dominance on the Billboard 200 is Seventeen. Their most recent release FML made a notable debut at No. 2 earlier this month, even though it stood out as the bestselling title of the week.

FML actually came incredibly close to surpassing One Thing at a Time, but ultimately couldn’t quite sneak past it. Seventeen has now accumulated an impressive five albums on the Billboard 200, with three of them reaching the top 10.

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