This Monday, the Billboard Hot 100 announced that Jimin, a member of the K-pop group BTS, became the first South Korean solo artist to hit the No. 1 spot with his new hit song “Like Crazy.”
This would mark Jimin’s second unaccompanied solo entry on the Hot 100 after his pre-release track “Set Me Free Pt.2,” which reached No. 30 last week. Also, this No. 1 entry even breaks PSY’s record for the highest-charting Korean soloist (known for the iconic “Gangnam Style,” which peaked at No. 2).
The fanbase (known as the ARMY) was quick to congratulate the solo artist on social media with countless messages of support, even to the point where iterations of Jimin’s name became five of the top 30 trending topics on Twitter.
One fan says, “So utterly proud of how far jimin has come to even getting his first ever #1 on hot100 for his own solo song that is so absolutely insane…just shows how hard work really does pay off when you actually make great music.”
Another says, “All those hours and days he dedicated in the studio paid off, Park Jimin; we are so proud of you.”
According to Billboard, the first week of release sold a combined total of over 240,000 song downloads and CD singles, also bringing in 10 million streams and 64,000 radio airplay audience impressions. The song is available in a variety of remixes (Deep House, UK Garage, and Instrumental) and has a version in Korean and English. These statistics mark the highest single week since last November after Taylor Swift’s released “Anti-Hero.”
The singer’s other song, “Face,” was also successful in South Korea, accumulating over a million copies sold. While Jimin is only the third member of BTS to release a solo album behind J-Hope and RM, he is not new to topping charts alongside the boyband with “Savage Love (Laxed- Siren Beat), “Life Goes On,” “Butter,” “My Universe,” and “Dynamite.”
