Superstar K-pop group BTS has broken not one, not two, but five Guinness World Records on both YouTube and Spotify!  

Smashing World Records On YouTube

On May 21, 2021, the pop megalith’s latest single ‘Butter’ has broken the record for the most viewers for the premiere of a video on YouTube, garnering 3.9 million concurrent viewers on its premiere, according to Guinness World Records. In doing so, the band has also clinched the most viewers for the premiere of a music video on YouTube.

As the present record holder of the title, BTS’ previous single ‘Dynamite’, which was released in August 2020, had 3.0 million concurrent viewers tuning in. In other words, BTS is now holding the #1 and #2 record spots on YouTube’s All-Time Top 24-Hour Music Debuts.

24 hours after the music video’s debut, BTS’ ‘Butter’ went on to break the record for the most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours. Then, ‘Butter’ raked in 108,200,000 views which also broke the record for the most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group.

As of Saturday, ‘Butter’ has raked in 306,452,827 views, breaking their personal record for being the fastest Korean group music video to hit 300 million views. Previously, ‘Dynamite’ took 15 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes to hit the milestone while ‘Butter’ took 14 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes.

More Records Hit On Spotify

Adding yet another Guinness World Record into their rising accolades, the South Korean septet also saw success on music streaming platform Spotify. On Spotify, ‘Butter’ saw 20.9 million global streams on release day, which made it the most streamed track on Spotify in the first 24 hours, surpassing Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s ‘I Don’t Care’ by only 64, 946 streams. Last April, BTS also surpassed British rock band Coldplay and became the most streamed group on Spotify.   

Billboard Music Awards

Image Credit: Billboard Music Awards 2021 via Getty Image

At the Billboard Music Awards 2021 held on Sunday night (May 23), BTS swept home four awards in all the categories they were nominated for. In doing so, they became the first South Korean act to clinch four awards in a night.

Expanding their reign as one of the most popular musical acts in the world, BTS won the Top Social Artist for the fifth year at the Billboard Music Awards 2021. The award is one of three fan-voted categories, and BTS’ win is a testament to their fans’ fervour and tenacity.  

‘Dynamite’, which was also nominated for a Grammy (the band’s first), was the Top Selling Song, beating out other works from prominent musicians, such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP and The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. Later that night, they also added Top/Duo Group and Top Song Sales Artist awards into the bag.

There are few Asian artists who managed to top the charts of Billboard’s Hot 100 and yet, BTS became the first to chart a number song since Sukiyaki by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto in 1963. Previously, the highest-charting South Korean artist to hit Hot 100 was PSY with the 2012 viral hit Gangnam Style which attained No. 2 spot at its peak.

The group was unable to travel due to travel restrictions as a result of the ongoing pandemic. However, they managed to recreate the Billboard Music Awards red carpet from Seoul, South Korea. BTS leader RM said, “It's really an honour to be a winner of such a significant title. We wanted to share some fresh energy through Dynamite and we think this award is proof that we achieved that goal.”

Catch their performance of ‘Butter’ at Billboards Music Awards 2021 here: