Seventeen’s album FML tops IFPI global chart as K-pop dominates

Seventeen’s FML was on Tuesday (Feb 27) named last year’s biggest-selling album globally, with the K-pop band topping the chart run by industry body the IFPI for the first time.

Five of the chart’s top 10 albums were by South Korean acts, representing the best ever Global Charts performance for K-pop, the IFPI said.

FML, released last April, was the most pre-ordered in K-pop history and topped charts in South Korea and Japan, the body which represents the global recorded music industry said. It also made the top five in the United States and France.

The 13-member group scooped the IFPI Global Album Award for 2023, a prize calculated according to an album’s sales across streaming, download and physical formats around the world.

The boy band’s Seventeenth Heaven record, which came out in October, ranked number 8. The IFPI rankings did not provide a figure or equivalent for total albums sold.

“The global appeal of K-Pop continues to extend and S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino continue to push the boundaries with their concepts, performances and talent,” Lewis Morrison, director of global charts & certifications at IFPI, said, naming Seventeen’s members.

Fellow South Korean boy band Stray Kids’ 5-Star and US country singer Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time ranked 2 and 3 respectively, with Taylor Swift’s Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) albums making up the rest of the top 5.

Swift was last week named global recording artist of the year for the fourth time by the IFPI. On Tuesday, the body announced Miley Cyrus’ hit Flowers as the world’s best-selling single in 2023.