It’s official: “Golden” becomes the highest-charting album by a Korean solo artist in the U.K.
Though he missed out on top spot, thanks to the juggernauts that are Taylor Swift and Oasis, Jung Kook stakes a claim to U.K. chart history with Golden (via BigHit Entertainment).
The BTS star’s solo debut album bowed at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart last Friday, Nov. 10, behind Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI) and Oasis’ The Masterplan (Big Brother), respectively.
With that solid start, Golden becomes the highest-charting album by a Korean solo artist, including the cuts by his BTS bandmates, the Official Charts Company confirms.
Golden shines with four U.K. top 10 singles – “Seven” featuring Latto (No. 3 peak), “3D” with Jack Harlow (No. 5), “Too Much” with The Kid Laroi and Central Cee (No. 10) and the latest release, “Standing Next to You,” which opens its account at No. 6 on the national singles chart, also published Friday.
That’s four U.K. top tier tracks in just four months, extending Jung Kook’s record as the Korean solo artist with the most U.K. top 10 singles.
As a member of the all-conquering BTS, Jung Kook has five U.K. top 10 albums, including two leaders (2019’s Map of the Soul: Persona and 2020’s Map of the Soul: 7), and four top 10 singles (2020’s “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On”; and 2021’s “Butter” and Coldplay collaboration “My Universe”).
Jung Kook goes one better on Australia’s albums chart, where Golden (via ING/Universal) drops in at No. 2, behind Swift’s latest release. That result matches the record for the highest solo debut LP from a Korean artist in the land Down Under, matching the effort from his BTS bandmate Suga (aka Agust D), who entered at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart with his 2000 D-2 mixtape.
As previously reported, “Standing Next to You” flies in at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. songs charts.
