BTS emerges as second best-selling act in US in 2018
K-pop superstars BTS became the second best-selling artist in the US in 2018 based on album sales. Buzz Angle Music released its 2018 report on US music consumption showing the top songs, albums, and artists.
In the list of Top Artists by Album Sales in the US in 2018, BTS posted cumulative album sales of 603,307 to place second behind top seller Eminem who recorded total sales of 755,027.
Chris Stapleton is third with 577,287 followed by Metallica, 539,861; Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, 526,803; Imagine Dragons, 478,047; The Beatles, 475,055; Queen, 471,515; Jason Aldean, 445,346; and Justin Timberlake, 432,913.
Placing 11th to 20th are Ed Sheeran, 409,291; Panic! at the Disco, 402,810; Elvis Presley, 388,179; Pink, 376,900; Taylor Swift, 368,181; Drake, 359,041; Post Malone, 344,839; Alan Jackson, 327,489; Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, 322,024; and Kenny Chesney, 307,481.
BTS set records in 2018. Their two albums, “Love Yourself: Tear” and “Love Yourself: Answer,” topped the Billboard 200 chart.
The two albums made it to Buzz Angle Music’s Top Albums by Sales in 2018. “Love Yourself: Tear,” released on May 18 last year, placed 14th with 212,993 in sales while “Love Yourself: Answer,” released on Aug. 24, 2018, copped 18th place with 199,865.
No. 1 on the list is “The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” with 1.27 million in sales followed by “A Star Is Born: Original Motion Picture 2018” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, 525,736; “Man Of The Woods” by Justin Timberlake, 376,936; “Kamikaze” by Eminem, 373,067; and “Rearview Towns” by Jason Aldean, 348,162.
In the Top Artists by Total Consumption based on album sales, song sales and on-demand audio
streams, BTS placed 15th overall with 1.52 million in total project units. BTS recorded 1.12 million in song sales and 1.2 billion on-demand audio streams in the US last year, according to the report.
The report, covering Dec. 29, 2017 to Dec. 27, 2018, stated that overall music consumption in the US increased by 16.2 percent compared to 2017.
Total album sales in the US decreased by 18.2 percent to 121.2 million in 2018 from 148.1 million in 2017. Total on-demand streams increased by 35.4 percent from 598 billion in 2017 to 809.5 billion in 2018.
On Amazon Best Sellers of 2018 in CDs and vinyl, “Love Yourself: Answer” grabbed sixth place while “Love Yourself: Tear” placed ninth.