Flonique Guimary

'Swim' of BTS lands No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 on its debut week

Article (news)

E. Kristhoff Cagape

Push Team

<p>BTS has scored another major milestone as their latest single &quot;Swim&quot; debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.</p><p>The track marks the group&#x27;s seventh No. 1 hit on the chart.</p><p>According to Billboard, &quot;Swim&quot; earned 15.3 million official streams, 25.8 million radio airplay audience impressions, and sold 154,000 units, combining digital downloads and physical singles, in the United States during the week ending March 26.</p><p>Their fans, known as ARMY, were quick to share congratulatory messages for BTS online.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m so proud!!! They deserve the world 🤧♥️ LOVE YOU BTS,&quot; one fan wrote.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWF6SqsjWB3/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A4455835.399999857%2C%22ls%22%3A134427.59999990463%2C%22le%22%3A134686%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="987" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>&quot;Swim&quot; serves as the lead single of BTS&#x27;s latest studio album <em>Arirang,</em> which also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after earning 641,000 equivalent album units, Billboard reported.</p><p>The album has also made history on Spotify. Upon its release on March 20,<em> Arirang </em>became the most-streamed K-Pop album in Spotify history and the most-streamed album in a single day in 2026.</p><p>To mark their comeback, BTS staged a live show at Gwanghwamun in Seoul on March 21.</p><p>The show was streamed on Netflix titled<em> </em>BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang, which reached No. 1 on Netflix&#x27;s list of most-watched films in 77 countries as per FlixPatrol. Netflix also reported that the show drew 18.4M global viewers (Live+1).</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/3/25/bts-concert-drew-18-4-million-viewers-netflix-0859" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>BTS concert drew 18.4 million viewers: Netflix</strong></a></div><p>In a Weverse Live broadcast in January, RM shared that the album title <em>Arirang</em> was born out of deep reflection during his military service. When the group reunited, they found themselves looking back on their beginnings and the journey that shaped them.</p><p>&quot;The keyword &#x27;Arirang&#x27; came up. Honestly, the meaning is different for each person, because there are many ways you can interpret Arirang&#x27;s lyrics. I think it&#x27;s about sadness, longing, and love,&quot; he remarked.</p><p>j-hope also explained that the title reflects both their shared history and their longing to perform together again.</p><p>&quot;[Arirang] feels like our roots. From that way, Arirang was what tied it all together really well,&quot; he said.</p><p>Composed of Jin, Suga, j-hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, BTS is set to embark on a world tour this year until next year, which will include a stop in the Philippines on March 13 and 14, 2027.</p>