Let’s take a look at the list of Kpop idols with the highest physical album sales in the last 4 summers according to Hanteo’s data.
Within a year, new songs are released every month, but fans tend to look forward to some specific time of the year when the number of artists’ comebacks are usually higher. Summer is the time when refreshing, fun songs come out and it’s easier for artists to get high ranks on the music charts. That’s why compared to other seasons, netizens often call some Kpop idols ‘summer kings’ or ‘summer queens’.
Besides digital results, have you ever wondered which Kpop artists dominated the physical album sales during summer? On September 16, Hanteo Global – the operator of Hanteo Chart and Whosfan – announced the 8th part of their Hanteo Global Kpop report, in which the company analyzed Kpop’s album trends in the summer during the last 4 years (from June to August each year).
Hanteo Album Chart statistics cover the physical albums sold at official websites and stores in Korea. Hanteo chart only counts the actual number of albums sold and received by the buyer (unlike Gaon chart that also counts the number of albums shipped from record labels/distributors). Let’s take a look at the top 10 Kpop albums with the highest sales in the summer 2018 to 2021.
Note:
- This is not an individual album ranking, but an artist ranking based on their cumulative sales during summer (June to August) each year.
- It is not necessary for artists to have albums released in the summer, old or new albums that record high sales in the summer of each year will be counted in the chart.
Summer 2018 (6/2018 – 8/2018)
1. BTS
2. Wanna One
3. SEVENTEEN
4. NU’EST W
5. SHINee
6. BLACKPINK
7. TWICE
8. BTOB
9. Red Velvet
10. Super Junior D&E
Summer 2019 (6/2019 – 8/2019)
1. BTS
2. Baekhyun
3. Kang Daniel
4. X1
5. EXO-SC
6. NCT Dream
7. Red Velvet
8. U-KNOW
9. Stray Kids
10. ATEEZ
Summer 2020 (6/2020 – 8/2020)
1. SEVENTEEN
2. EXO-SC
3. IZ*ONE
4. TWICE
5. ATEEZ
6. Kang Daniel
7. BLACKPINK
8. Stray Kids
9. EXO Baekhyun
10. Red Velvet Seulgi & Irene
Summer 2021 (6/2021 – 8/2021)
1. BTS
2. SEVENTEEN
3. NCT Dream
4. TXT
5. EXO
6. Stray Kids
7. THE BOYZ
8. ASTRO
9. TWICE
10. EXO D.O.
Therefore, in the last 4 summers, BTS has firmly held the position of “Summer Album King” by ranking No.1 in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2020, the group released the album ‘Map of the Soul: 7’ in February 2020 and then ‘BE’ in November 2020 – none of the albums came out during the summer.
As for Kpop girl groups, the title “Summer Album Queen” should definitely belong to TWICE. Although they cannot rank in the top when they have to compete with K-pop boy groups, according to Hanteo Global, they are the only girl group included in the top 10 of 3 summer charts (2018, 2020 and 2021) and in the top 20 of 4 summer charts (2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021).
