BTS’s Arirang Becomes the First K-Pop Album Certified Platinum in Italy

BTS’s fifth studio album, Arirang, is now certified platinum in Italy. The Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI) awarded the certification on November 2, local time. Big Hit Music announced it on November 4. No K-pop album had reached platinum in the FIMI album category before.

Gold in April, platinum in November

Arirang was released on March 20. It earned a gold certification in Italy in April. Platinum came about six months after that.

Five earlier BTS albums reached gold in Italy: Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona, Map of the Soul: 7, BE and Proof. Arirang is the first of them to go past gold.

Half the French threshold

FIMI certifies an album platinum at 50,000 units. The count converts physical sales, digital downloads and streams into album equivalents. Gold sits at 25,000 units.

France certified Arirang platinum on April 27, about a month after release. The French threshold is 100,000 units. It was BTS’s fourth platinum album there. Italy’s certification came about seven months after release.

Week 32 on the Billboard 200

Arirang sits at No. 57 on the Billboard 200 dated November 7. That is its 32nd straight week on the chart. It stands at No. 25 on Top Album Sales. The lead single, “Swim,” ranks 33rd on the Global 200 and 13th on Global (Excl. US). The album was also the first by a K-pop act to spend three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The tour heads to Southeast Asia

BTS finished the South American leg of the world tour in São Paulo at the end of October. The 14 shows across five cities sold out, with a total attendance of 853,000. The Southeast Asian leg is next: 15 shows across five cities, starting in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in November, then Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta in December. The Philippines comes later, in March 2027, with three shows at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan on March 13, 14 and 16.