TWICE's new album hits No. 2 on Billboard 200

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- K-pop girl group TWICE has snatched its career-high ranking of No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard's main albums chart.

Billboard said on social media Sunday (U.S. time) that the nonet's "Ready to Be" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard 200 for this week with 153,000 equivalent album units earned, the act's biggest week ever.

"Ready to Be" is the band's 12th EP released March 10.

The group previously went as high as No. 3 with its 11th EP "Between 1&2" by garnering 100,000 equivalent album units in September.

The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units comprising physical album sales and other digital sales records.

K-pop girl group TWICE is seen in this photo provided by JYP Entertainment. (Yonhap)

Of the 12th EP's 153,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 145,500, according to Billboard.

The group had broken its own album preorder records with "Ready to Be" by surpassing 1.7 million copies in preorders as of March 7. It topped weekly albums charts of Hanteo Chart and Circle Chart, both track album sales, upon its release, heralding another hit album from the group after "Between 1&2."

The latest album's prereleased English-language single, "Moonlight Sunrise," reached No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart last month.

In April, the band will kick off its fifth world tour that will take it to 14 major cities around the world, including Seoul, Tokyo and Los Angeles.