BTS is flooding Billboard, Run BTS is back after three years, and Busan hotels are already gone — yeah, it’s a big Wednesday. Welcome to BTS Daily Fancast, and I am NOT okay — Run BTS comes back the same week Swim hits number one globally? They absolutely planned this. We’ve got chart news, variety news, a Jungkook milestone you did not see coming, and the Busan concert already turning into a travel frenzy — stay with us. Jungkook in a children’s book — I have questions, and I need answers immediately. From Kookloofeed:
Led by “Swim,” BTS swarms the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts as the song starts as the reunited South Korean septet’s record-extending eighth No. 1 on each ranking.
Yesterday we were talking about ARIRANG moving HYBE’s stock and dominating Japan — now it’s literally swallowing Billboard whole. Swim debuts at number one on both the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S., and that makes it BTS’ eighth number one on each chart. Record-extending. Again. They took the top nine spots on the Global 200 — nine! — tying Taylor Swift. And then on Global Excl. U.S., they didn’t tie anybody, they just took the entire top thirteen. The whole thing. First act ever to do that. Swim pulled 108 million streams plus over 200,000 copies sold in a single week. And Swim is the Suga-produced lead, so I am not okay. Jungkook’s voice is all over this album, and the charts are showing it — Body to Body is sitting at number two globally. My bias fed us and ate. From allkpop:
BTS’ signature variety show ‘Run BTS’ has made a successful comeback after three years, proving its enduring popularity.
The final part of ‘Run BTS 2.0’’s first episode, ‘Run BTS BTS’s Trip,’ was released on May 5 via BTS’ official YouTube channel and Weverse. The first episode surpassed 10 million views on YouTube within 10 days, while the second video reached 5 million views in just three days.
Run BTS 2.0 is back, and the numbers do not lie — the first episode hit ten million views in ten days, and the second video hit five million in three. ARMY did not sleep on this. And the jokgu game? The chaos? The competitiveness? That is exactly what we’ve been missing for three years. Nobody does unscripted group energy like these seven. Okay, but I have to flag the Suga detail — him and V getting the penalty trip to Bomunsa Temple, the same temple they visited back in 2016. Ten years later. I’m not okay. Beach volleyball, volleyball, school-themed episodes still coming — this season is stacked. Run BTS was always the purest form of BTS, and it feels like we got them back for real. From Chae Yun-hwan at Yonhap News Agency:
Public-run accommodations for foreign visitors in Busan have nearly been fully booked ahead of K-pop group BTS' concert in the southeastern port city in June.
BTS is set to perform at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on June 12-13 as part of its "Arirang" world tour, which kicked off in Goyang last month. Tickets for the Busan concerts sold out during presales.
We flagged Busan’s lodging crunch yesterday, and today’s numbers basically closed the book — public rooms for June 12-13 are sitting at 99.56 percent booked. That is not a rounding error, that is gone. And Busan city government stepped up with temple stays and youth hostels — which, honestly, ARMYs are going to turn into a whole experience. Eight-person dorm rooms? That’s a sleepover with strangers who know every Jungkook line. The Arirang tour tickets sold out in presale, the city had to arrange overflow lodging, and even that is maxed out. This is what a full BTS return looks like after four years. The demand did not soften. From allkpop:
Jungkook of BTS has once again demonstrated his global influence after being selected as the first Korean singer featured in an American educational book series.
Jungkook was introduced as the main subject of 'Brain Candy Books,' a U.S. series designed to introduce elementary school students to notable figures in music and sports. The collection also features internationally renowned stars including Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, and Cristiano Ronaldo, highlighting Jungkook’s global status.
Okay, I need everyone to stop what they’re doing — Jungkook is in a children’s book. An American educational series. Alongside Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, and Cristiano Ronaldo. And it’s not just a fun cameo — they’re calling him one of the greatest singers of all time, citing Rolling Stone, and breaking down his Billboard Hot 100 record for literal elementary schoolers. Yesterday GOLDEN was still charting; today his solo story is being packaged for U.S. classrooms. First Korean singer in the whole series. Kids are going to grow up just knowing Jungkook the way they know Ronaldo. That’s a different tier of legacy. The sold-out king section in a children’s book is sending me a little, but the Dreamers FIFA moment absolutely belongs in any record of his career. That performance reached people who had never heard of BTS. From Peter Larsen at Orange County Register:
A Spanish-language reggaeton song? A K-pop tune sung in English? There’s not much in common there beyond the fact that Bad Bunny and BTS are two of the biggest acts in the world today.
But deep in the credits, an unexpected coincidence comes into focus. Someone named Tyler Spry is listed as a songwriter and producer on both of these No. 1 hits.
So Swim hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100 was already a moment — but now we’re finding out the producer behind it also made Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl single that went number one just a month earlier. Tyler Spry, out of Orange County, quietly went two-for-two on the biggest chart in the world. A reggaeton banger and a K-pop English-language single, both number one, same guy — that’s not a coincidence, that’s a cheat code. I need to know everything about Tyler Spry immediately. What gets me is how different the two songs are. DtMF riding Super Bowl momentum into the top spot, and then Swim a month later on pure BTS comeback energy — totally different fanbases, totally different sounds. Spry clearly knows how to write for the room, whatever room that is. And Swim is on Arirang, which — the album title alone had ARMY in their feelings before a single note dropped. Jungkook on a number one single again, I am normal about this, I promise. If you want to follow up on anything we covered today, you’ll find the official links and sources in the show notes. Take a minute with the stories that caught your ear.
That’s BTS Daily Fancast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.