As SEVENTEEN concludes an eventful 2023, marking their 9th year since debut, they continue to hit career highs. Not only have they broken their own records, but they’ve also set new ones for K-pop both domestically and internationally.
Record-Breaking Album Sales of 16 Million: The Might of a ‘Ten Million Artist’
This year, SEVENTEEN’s mini 10th album ‘FML’ (released April 24) and mini 11th album ‘SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN’ (released October 23rd) rewrote the history of K-pop.
‘FML’ sold over 3.99 million copies on its first day and reached a cumulative sales of 6.28 million, making it the best-selling single album in K-pop history. With ‘FML,’ SEVENTEEN became the only artist globally to surpass 3 million sales on the first day of an album release, setting a new milestone.
Furthermore, ‘SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN’ recorded initial sales of 5.09 million copies within a week of its release, securing the top spot in the history of K-pop artists’ initial sales. It became the first K-pop album to surpass 5 million initial sales. With the support of their dedicated fanbase, SEVENTEEN’s cumulative domestic album sales have exceeded 16 million, showcasing their stature as a ‘Ten Million Artist.’
Unprecedented Records in Japan’s Music Charts
SEVENTEEN’s achievements in Japan were also remarkable. In the ‘Oricon Annual Ranking 2023,’ their albums ‘FML,’ ‘ALWAYS YOURS,’ and ‘SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN’ secured the 3rd, 5th, and 7th positions respectively in both the ‘Album Ranking’ and ‘Combined Album Ranking’ charts. They became the only artists, domestic and international, to place three works in the top 10 of both charts.
Additionally, with ‘FML’ (552,000 copies) and the first Japanese best album ‘ALWAYS YOURS’ (512,000 copies), SEVENTEEN achieved the first and second-highest first-week sales for an overseas artist in 2023. They are the first international artist to have two consecutive works surpass 500,000 first-week sales.
This momentum leads SEVENTEEN to perform at Japan’s largest public broadcast music festival, the 74th NHK ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen,’ on December 31st. This marks their debut appearance on the show, adding significance as it gathers the most loved artists of the year in Japan.
