J-Hope is climbing charts and giving the BTS global ARMY what it wants
BTS member J-Hope's new solo album just recently went on the Billboard 200, as if the K-Pop boyband's chart-breaking capability was not enough for the group.
J-Hope is catapulting up the ladder to become a global icon, while also gaining popularity for BTS who are already exceptionally popular. The K-Pop powder keg is the first band to enter the American sphere of pop culture, and they are already listened to and adored by fans from around the globe, so it isn't really a surprise J-Hope stuck the landing and turned the world into his personal style.
The global superstar just released his new solo album Hope World and it started out at No. 63 on the Billboard 200 stacking 9,000 album units in the prior week ending the count at March 1, reported by Nielsen Music. 8,000 were bonafide album sales, boosting it No. 1 on the World Albums chart while also sitting at No. 16 in Top Album Sales.
J-Hope ascends to the throne as the biggest charting K-Pop solo act with a spot on the Billboard 200. The four other solo acts who have entered the U.S.' definitive album chart are BoA with his self-titled album going to No. 127 in 2009, Taeyang stepping up to No. 112 in 2014 while also holding the record for highest-charting K-Pop LP until J-Hope appeared, Jonghyun whose posthumous release Poet/Artist went to No. 117 and G-Dragon getting on the chart three times starting with his 2012 debut, One of a Kind at No. 161.
Not only that but J-Hope sent three tracks to the World Digital Song Sales chart with Daydream at No. 3, The intro Hope World sitting at No. 16, and the trap cut Hangsang with Supreme Boi occupying No. 23.
To add more to his plate, he's making a break in the Artist 100 chart at No. 97, only one of five K-Pop acts and second solo K-Pop acts, following the prior PSY on the weekly ranking. He also sits at No. 3 on the Emerging Artists chart where both prior solo albums of BTS's RM and Suga, under the alias Agust D, have both sat at No. 46, according to Billboard.
The 24-year-old isn't the first to release solo work from BTS. Two others have, and by working with one another rather than being in competition, they bring their own artistic vision to the AMRY of BTS, adding to its creative universe.
J-Hope told Time about making the album that:
"My fantasy had always been making a music video and performing with music that I had created. I also wanted to put my own story to music and share it with the world. RM and SUGA releasing their own mixtapes was the motivation for my own project. I have been and continue to be deeply influenced by them, from the day we began to where we are today, and I always thought it was awesome that they were telling their own personal stories and making music in their own styles. I started dancing first, but felt I could also tell my story through my music."
As one can see J-Hope's Solo Album Hope World really looks to be a show stopper and could help add to BTS's popularity within the United States, from the languid trance and quick beats to energy packed free flow Dubstep.
BTS and J-Hope are here to stay and will continue to hit charts higher and higher, most likely experimenting more with the sounds of American Dubstep, Rap, and maybe even Indy, along with others, they might become American pop icon regulars.