K-pop stars BTS top UK album chart

BTS are the first Korean act to score a number one album in the UK.

The K-pop band have debuted at the top of the charts with their new EP Map Of The Soul: Persona, which shifted 26,500 copies in combined sales, 68 per cent of which were physical sales, the Official Charts Company said.

The EP is the seven-piece boy band’s fourth collection to chart in the UK top 40, following their three-part Love Yourself series of records. BTS, comprised of Jin, Suga, J-hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook, have enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame since forming in 2013. Last year, they became the first K-pop group to enter the top 40 of the UK singles chart after their song Idol landed at number 21.

Last week’s chart-topper Billie Eilish is down to number two this week with her album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman is at number three.

The new album from the Chemical Brothers, No Geography, has entered the chart at number four, and Tom Walker’s What A Time To Be Alive rounds off the top five.

The singles chart saw viral rapper Lil Nas X claimed the number one spot with his breakout single Old Town Road, ending Lewis Capaldi’s seven-week run at number one.

The 102nd edition of Now That’s What I Call Music! has entered the compilation albums chart at number one with 80,500 sales. It is now the fastest-selling album of 2019.