BTS is one of the most successful acts of all time when looking at Billboard’s semi-self-titled Billboard Global 200 chart, which ranks the 200 most-consumed tunes in the world. The list takes into account streaming and sales data, and whenever the band has something new to share with their massive and dedicated fan base, it almost always goes right to No. 1, or at least rises toward the top of the tally. Now, one of the members of the septet has landed his first win on his own, and he grabs a bit of history from his collaborator, friend and bandmate in the process.
Jung Kook’s single “Stay Alive” launches on the latest edition of the Billboard Global 200 at No. 13, narrowly missing out on becoming a very rare top placement by a South Korean musician. While it might not have reached the loftiest tier on the tally, the BTS superstar still makes history with his debut appearance on the competitive ranking.
“Stay Alive” now stands as the highest-charting single ever by a solo make K-pop musician (an artist who is known for producing music that can be usually classified as K-pop) on the Billboard Global 200. Jung Kook is also the first artist who fits that specific description to break into the top 20 entirely on his own.
Before Jung Kook’s new smash arrived, the title of the highest-charting hit by a solo male K-pop act belonged to the song “Girl of My Dreams” by Juice WRLD and Suga. The tune served as a promotional single from the late hip-hop artist’s latest posthumous album Fighting Demons, and it debuted and peaked at No. 37 in the final chart week of 2021.
Interestingly, fellow BTS performer Suga was involved in the success of “Stay Alive,” though it doesn’t count toward his total career placements on the Billboard Global 200 as an artist. Suga is credited as a producer and co-writer on the track, but it doesn't officially name him as a featured act.
