BTS’ V Doubles Up in Top 10 of Global Excl. U.S. Chart

Jung Kook holds atop the Aug. 26-dated Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts with “Seven,” featuring Latto. At No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week on both lists, it’s the longest running chart-topper on the Global 200 among K-pop acts, including his fellow BTS members and even BTS as a group (“Dynamite” led for four weeks in 2020-21).

But another BTS member makes noise with a pair of top 10 arrivals. V debuts on Global Excl. U.S. at No. 6 with “Love Me Again” and at No. 8 with “Rainy Days,” while starting at Nos. 12 and 16, respectively, on the Global 200.

“Love Me Again” leads the pair with 40.8 million official streams and 35,000 downloads sold worldwide in the week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate. “Rainy Days” follows with 38.9 million clicks and 32,000 sold. Both tracks take 92% of those streaming figures from outside the U.S.

The bigger global totals for “Love Me Again” are reflected in the song’s international chart ranks. Not only does the song outpace “Rainy Days” in the U.S. (3.4 million streams vs. 2.9 million), but it’s also higher on all five of Billboard’s Hits of the World charts on which they both appear. They’re side-by-side at Nos. 16 and 17, respectively, on Indonesia Songs, but most dramatically separated (if not wildly so) on V’s native South Korea Songs, at Nos. 7 and 21.

Both songs boast official music videos, signaling a big win, especially, for “Rainy Days.” Across video platforms worldwide, the clip received 13.5 million streams (35% of the song’s overall streaming total), compared to 10.5 million (26%) for “Love Me Again.”

Any which way these songs’ success is split, both tracks mark new highs for V. Previously, he hit No. 43 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 51 on the Global 200 with “Christmas Tree.” With “Love Me Again” and “Rainy Days,” he becomes the fifth BTS member to crack the top 10, following, in chronological order, Jung Kook, Jin, Jimin and Suga (under the alias Agust D).

In total, the men of BTS have accumulated 11 top 10s on Global Excl. U.S. as soloists – equaling the group’s tally.

Eric Frankenberg

Billboard