Lim Young-woong's first studio album sells over 1.1 mln copies in 1st week, record high for solo artist

SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) -- The first full-length album by Korean trot sensation Lim Young-woong has recorded the highest first-week sales of albums by any solo artist in history, music industry sources said Monday.

According to the sources, "Im Hero" has sold about 1.1 million copies in the week following its release last Monday. The number is about 240,000 more than the previous record set by EXO member Baekhyun with the EP "Bambi" as the most-sold album in its first week of release.

The achievement is remarkable considering the trot music genre has a limited market, popular mostly among middle-aged and older Koreans, unlike mainstream K-pop idols with large followings overseas.

Lim rose to stardom following his appearance on cable channel TV Chosun's hit audition show "Mr. Trot" (2020) for male singers of trot music. Since his debut in 2016, the 30-year-old artist has charted high on major domestic music charts whenever he dropped new songs.

"Im Hero" marks the singer's first physical album ever. It consists of 12 songs of diverse genres, in which many famous K-pop musicians participated. The lead track "If We Ever Meet Again" is a ballad number written and composed by singer Lee Juck. The album also includes "Our Blues, Our Life," a prereleased soundtrack song for the popular tvN TV series "Our Blues."

sshim@yna.co.kr
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