Top Oct K-pop acts: BTS and NCT 127 rule Gaon with triple and double million sales
It’s that time of the month once again. Gaon Music Chart has released their album sales certification awards for the best-selling albums till the month of October. As one of South Korea’s biggest music platforms, they comb through the data of new releases and award certificates like platinum and million-seller badges. In the second half of 2021, we saw huge releases like Blackpink Lisa’s debut, Itzy’s first studio album and more. And BTS and NCT 127 have maintained their stronghold over K-pop.
Back in September, we saw acts like Stray Kids and NCT Dream bag million-seller badges for their recent releases ‘NOEASY’ and ‘Hello Future’ respectively. Gaon Chart has teamed up with KMCA (Korean Music Content Industry Association) and has been awarding the best-selling albums and top K-pop acts of each month. They award those albums and songs that surpass 250k sales. However, only releases older than six weeks are considered. So, it is no wonder that fans could guess NCT 127 on this month’s list as ‘Sticker’ crossed 1 million sales on the first day of pre-orders.
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Gaon awards BTS and NCT 127
On November 11, Gaon released the list for October that has acts that have been given album sales certificates. BTS mostly happens to be on their list as they dominate the charts during new releases as well as their old releases like the 2018 album ‘Love Yourself: Answer!’. The album had spent a whole year on Billboard 200 and became the first K-pop album to spend 100 weeks on Billboard’s main charts. And now, the album is a triple million-seller according to Gaon.
On the other hand, 2021 happens to be a good year for NCT. NCT Dream made history by becoming the youngest act to bag triple million sales and are constantly on Gaon, getting double million, platinum and million badges. And now, NCT 127 is on the list. This particular sub-unit reached 1 million pre-orders in a day and two million pre-orders a day before the release of ‘Sticker’. And so, now to no one’s surprise, fans are celebrating the album becoming a double million certified album from Gaon.
Enhypen too happens to be on the list but not for ‘Dimension: Dilemma’. The album made history as the group became the fastest and youngest to get a million sales. But since the release is not six weeks old, it isn’t on this month’s list. However, Enhypen’s summer release ‘Border: Carnival’ has crossed 750k sales making it a triple-platinum seller.
Ateez’s ‘Zero: Fever Part 3’ just might be their most successful album yet. Fans were delighted when it was reported that the group had 810k pre-orders which is also a reference to their slogan ‘8 MAKES 1 TEAM’. The album also debuted on seven Billboard charts including Billboard 200 and also made Ateez the only K-pop act to have three albums top the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart in a year. And now, with over 730k sales, the album is double platinum.
Blackpink's Lisa’s solo debut just might be the biggest one this year. ‘Lalisa’ made history and earned two Guinness World Records and Lisa continues to break records with just a single album and two tracks. ‘Money’ is still making the rounds on social media while ‘Lalisa’ became the fastest music video by a K-pop female soloist to reach 300 million views. And now in three months, the single album is certified double platinum.
Blinks must be over the moon since we have another Blackpink member on the list. Rosé was the second Blackpink member to go solo back in March with the single album ‘R’. The album did well in South Korea, as well as China where it crossed 1.7 million sales. Well, not to be left behind, South Korea has now awarded ‘R’ as double platinum for crossing 609k sales. This makes her and Lisa the only female soloist with a double-platinum album on Gaon.
Monsta X is on a streak since all of their releases since last year have been awarded by Gaon. And now, even their older albums are making a comeback as we had their second studio album ‘Take.1 Are You There?’ earn a platinum badge in August. Well, for this month, their ‘Follow: Find You’ has made waves by becoming a platinum seller. This feat feels special since it was Monsta X’s seventh EP and the last K-pop album with seven members.
Itzy’s first studio album ‘Crazy In Love’ was much anticipated as it entered 10 Billboard charts and topped five of them. The album also became the highest-charting fourth-gen K-pop album by a girl group on Billboard 200. The album was also at #1 on iTunes Worldwide Album Chart for two days straight. Well, it has crossed 480k sales with Gaon awarding ‘Crazy In Love’ a platinum badge.