J-Hope’s ‘Hope World’ Makes K-Pop History on Billboard 200 Chart
Hope World? More like history-making world: J-Hope has officially become the highest-charting solo K-pop artist to debut on the Billboard 200.
The BTS rapper, whose first solo mixtape dropped on March 2, debuted on the chart at No. 63 this week. J-Hope is now one of only five solo South Korean musicians to appear on the Billboard 200, including BoA, Taeyang, G-Dragon and SHINee's Jonghyun, whose posthumous album Poet/Artist entered at No. 117 in 2018.
In the week ending March 1 (Hope World technically released in the U.S. on March 1), Billboard reports that Hope World moved 9,000 equivalent album units, 8,000 of which were traditional album sales, in less than 24 hours-- an impressive feat and a testament to the power of international ARMYs (BTS fans) considering the release was available to listen to for free on SoundCloud, as well as across streaming services like Spotify.
The mixtape also opened at No. 1 on the World Albums Chart and at No. 16 on Top Album Sales.
7 Artists J-Hope Needs to Collaborate With: