BTS’ Love Yourself: Tear resurges on Billboard charts 5 years after release; exploring album’s records, impact

BTS’ 5 year old album Love Yourself: Tear, has made a comeback on the Billboard 200 chart and also popped up on various other charts. Let’s take a closer look at the album’s records and influence

Currently, BTS as a group is on a break as all seven members are fulfilling their mandatory military service in South Korea. Despite their temporary absence the group has still prepared a lot of new materials for fans. Along with all that, the group recently reissued one of their beloved albums, which has surged back onto the Billboard charts, making a significant impact.

BTS’ Love Yourself: Tear pops up on charts

BTS has achieved yet another historic milestone as their album Love Yourself: Tear debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums Chart on March 5, 2024. Originally released on May 18, 2018, by HYBE, the album features the iconic track Fake Love as its lead single. Moreover, on May 24, 2018, Love Yourself: Tear made its debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, marking BTS as the first-ever K-pop group to accomplish this feat. It also became the first album released in a non-English language to achieve this in almost a decade.

Love Yourself: Tear has once again made its mark on the weekly rankings of the most-consumed and best-selling albums in the U.S. The album recently made its debut on vinyl for the first time, prompting both dedicated fans and newer followers of BTS to purchase copies. Love Yourself: Tear has also re-entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 92, demonstrating the enduring popularity and appeal of BTS and their music.

The same set also reclaims its position on the Top Album Sales chart, which solely accounts for pure purchases without considering streaming activity. Surging back onto the chart at No. 5, the set sold an additional 9,500+ copies in the past tracking period. Notably, a significant portion of these units were in the form of vinyl sales, further highlighting the enthusiasm of fans for this special release.

Love Yourself: Tear continues its resurgence by climbing back to No. 3 on the World Albums chart. This chart specifically highlights “world” titles, primarily performed in languages other than English, excluding Spanish. Impressively, Love Yourself: Tear has maintained its presence on this chart for 206 weeks, highlighting its enduring popularity. It currently follows newer releases from K-pop favorites TWICE and LE SSERAFIM. The album’s title track, Fake Love, has also made a significant impact, reclaiming the number one spot on the World Digital Single Sales chart spending its 71st week on the chart.

More about BTS’ Love Yourself: Tear

Love Yourself: Tear marks BTS’ third Korean-language and sixth overall studio album, released on May 18, 2018, under BIGHIT MUSIC. Available in four versions, the album comprises eleven tracks, with Fake Love serving as its lead single. Thematically, the concept album delves into the emotions and hardships associated with separation.

Love Yourself: Tear garnered acclaim from critics and achieved remarkable commercial success. Upon its release in South Korea, the album sold an impressive 1,664,041 copies within its first two weeks, setting a new record for the highest monthly sales for an album since the Gaon Chart’s inception. This record was previously held by BTS’ own EP Love Yourself: Her and was later surpassed by Love Yourself: Answer in September 2018.

In the United Kingdom, Love Yourself: Tear marked BTS’ highest-charting album, securing their first top ten placement on the UK Albums chart with a peak at number eight. Additionally, the album went on to achieve a Silver certification in the UK, making it BTS’s third album to receive this honor, following Love Yourself: Answer and Map of the Soul: Persona.

Love Yourself: Tear features tracks like Anpanman, inspired by the Japanese comic-book hero of the same name. Anpanman, made of red bean bread, is depicted as the weakest hero in the universe. In the song, BTS liken themselves to Anpanman, expressing their desire to bring hope to people through their music and activities, much like the hero who sacrifices parts of his face to help others.

Outro: Tear begins with a compelling rhyme, with lyrics that mourn the heartbreaking possibility of the band’s breakup. Remarkably, the track debuted at No.1 on the US iTunes Chart on December 14, 2023, following the enlistment of all BTS members in the military. Notably, Magic Shop was penned for the fans, with the group considering themselves as ARMY’s greatest supporters and cheerleaders. It serves as a touching tribute, aiming to spread comfort and love to their devoted supporters.

Furthermore, another track from the album, 134340, is named after Pluto’s original minor planet designation. The song metaphorically reflects the feeling of being overlooked by a past romantic partner, drawing parallels to Pluto’s demotion from the solar system and being viewed as unimportant.