The seven-piece group becomes the first Korean act to have their album certified gold in addition to be the first Korean group to have platinum single.
- Nov 22, 2018
AceShowbiz - BTS (Bangtan Boys)' impact in the United States just keeps getting stronger each day. The seven-piece South Korean boyband continues to impress by making another history after they received new certifications from RIAA.
Their 2017 hit "Mic Drop" has been certified platinum after accumulating 1 million certified units. According to the organization, one permanent digital download counts as one unit, and so does 150 on-demand audio and video streams. With that, the song has become the group's first Platinum single after being certified gold earlier this year.
This achievement additionally marks them as the first Korean group and the second Korean artist to have their single certified platinum by the RIAA. The first K-Pop act to have their single go platinum was PSY with his mega hit "Gangnam Style", which was certified five-time platinum back in 2013.
In addition to recognizing "Mic Drop" as their first platinum song, RIAA declared BTS' chart-topping album "Love Yourself: Answer" as their first album to go gold with half a million units recorded. One equivalent album unit is equal to one album sale, ten tracks sold from an album or 1,500 on-demand audio and video streams from an album. The record became the first Korean album to be recognized by the RIAA.
As if the news wasn't already good enough for the septet, "Love Yourself: Answer" lead single, "IDOL", has been certified gold. It joined "DNA" and "Fake Love" which were also certified gold earlier this year.
BTS is currently traveling Japan as part of the Asia leg of their "Love Yourself" world tour. RM (Rap Monster) and the others will wrap up the trek in Bangkok, Thailand on April 6, 2019 after stopping by Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. As of now, the 41-date tour has grossed around $4 million.
