Bangtan Boys just ahead of first million sell since debut

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean boy group Bangtan Boys, also known by the abbreviated name BTS, is about to reach 1 million albums sold for the first time since its debut, the band's management said on Monday.

The seven-member act has sold a total of 936,007 copies of its three-volume album "Hwayangyeonhwa," meaning "the most beautiful moments of life," according to data compiled by Big Hit Entertainment.

The number is a combined tally of 274,351 copies from "Hwayangyeonhwa Part 1," 351,413 copies from "Hwayangyeonhwa Part 2" and 310,243 copies from the special album "Hwayangyeonhwa Young Forever."

The three volumes were released between April 2015 and May 2016.

In the present lackluster record market, the million mark is considered the psychological threshold for a jackpot.

BTS' agency expects that album sales will soon break the million mark, considering the recent release of the third album and additional sales boost from the band's ongoing Asia tour.

This Saturday, BTS will perform at Studio City in Macau as the next destination of its Asian tour.

The South Korean band's album sales have drawn the attention of music marketers at home, along with that of EXO, another boy band that has hit the million-sell jackpot.

Debuted in June 2013, BTS has twice made the Billboard's Top 200 Albums with "Hwayangyeonhwa Part 2" and "Hwayangyeonhwa Young Forever."

Thanks to the band's rising recognition in the global music arena, BTS has participated in the Abu Dhabi and Paris run of South Korea's largest K-pop fair KCON. The band is part of the final lineup for KCON conventions in New York and Los Angeles, slated to take place in June and July, respectively.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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