BTS has once again made history even before their official return. In just one week, the preorder sales for BTS’s highly anticipated fifth full-length album ARIRANG have surpassed 4.06 million copies, according to distributor YG Plus, since preorders opened on January 16. This figure exceeds the preorder numbers of their previous best‑selling album MAP OF THE SOUL: 7, which logged 3.42 million preorders in its first week back in 2020 before eventually exceeding 5 million in total sales.
The massive preorder success reflects the unprecedented excitement surrounding BTS’s full‑group comeback, their first after approximately 3 years and 9 months. Global streaming platform Spotify also noted strong engagement — ARIRANG reached 1 million pre‑saves within 2 days and topped 2 million by day 4, fueling speculation about whether it can challenge Taylor Swift’s record of about 6 million pre‑saves for The Life of a Showgirl.
Fan engagement has also surged on Weverse, where membership surged nearly threefold after the ARIRANG album and world tour announcements.
BTS is set to kick off their full‑group comeback with a special live event on March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, expected to draw around 100,000 fans. While large music events have been held at Gwanghwamun before, this will be the first solo artist concert at the city landmark. The Seoul city government has granted conditional approval for the event after a safety management review, with plans to coordinate exit times and reduce traffic congestion on the day of the show.
The Korea Heritage Service also approved pre‑filming at key historical sites including Gyeongbokgung Palace (Geunjeongmun, Heungnyemun), Gwanghwamun, and surrounding areas, pending safety plan finalization. Authorities stress that crowd safety will be the top priority, with police and district officials coordinating logistics.
In addition to the live event, HYBE plans to live‑stream BTS’s entrance from Gyeongbokgung Palace to the Gwanghwamun stage via OTT platforms, targeting 190 countries and an audience of around 300 million, with an estimated 50 million viewers tuning in live.
Beyond the special comeback event, BTS is preparing for their world tour following the March comeback. The BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ will launch April 9, 11 and 12 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea, drawing roughly 80,000 fans over three days. Fan club pre‑sales sold out all three shows, and international legs in Tampa and Stanford have added extra shows due to overwhelming demand. Notably, BTS will be only the second act after Coldplay to hold a solo concert at Stanford Stadium.
Following Goyang, the tour heads to Tokyo Dome on April 17–18 and continues through North America, Europe, South America, and Asia, totaling 81 shows across 34 cities — the most ever for a K‑pop world tour.
Sources: Wikitree
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