BTS 'Swim' Music Video Becomes First K-Pop Video to Surpass 100 Million Views in 2026 — Album 'Arirang' Tops Billboard for 3 Consecutive Weeks

The music video for ‘Swim,’ the title track of BTS’s 5th studio album ‘Arirang,’ surpassed 100 million views on YouTube as of 1:00 PM on April 15. This achievement comes approximately 26 days after its release on March 20, marking the first K-Pop music video released in 2026 to reach the 100 million view milestone.

Directed by Tanu Muiño, the ‘Swim’ music video was filmed against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon, Portugal. It garnered significant attention for featuring American actress Lili Reinhart and received high praise for both its visual aesthetics and storytelling. Immediately upon release, the music video topped YouTube’s ‘Trending’ list, proving its global popularity.

The album ‘Arirang’ debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart with 641,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Of this total, pure album sales accounted for 532,000 copies, marking the highest first-week performance for a group artist since the Billboard 200 began using unit-based tracking in 2014. The album has maintained its position at the top of the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks since its release.

The title track ‘Swim’ also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming BTS’s 7th song to reach the top spot. With this, BTS has joined the ranks of artists with the most No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, following The Beatles and Michael Jackson. ‘Swim’ recorded 150 million streams in the US during its first week, with global streams exceeding 500 million.

Meanwhile, BTS is currently on their world tour, ‘Beyond The Horizon.’ They successfully completed the first concert of the tour at the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on April 9. This tour is planned to be their largest to date, spanning 85 countries worldwide. Some music analysts predict that this tour will surpass the revenue of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour.’

This comeback is particularly meaningful as it marks the first full-group activity since all members completed their military service. ‘Arirang’ is an album inspired by the traditional Korean folk song of the same name, and this new attempt at fusing K-Pop with traditional Korean music is receiving a great response both domestically and internationally.