The Korean male group BTS directly rebutted the allegation of manipulating the Billboard 100 chart rankings raised by some of the members of the American pop industry, they pointed out that it is incorrect.

BTS stated this in an interview with Billboard, which was published last August 26.

Billboard stated that while "Butter" and "Permission to Dance" were number one on the singles chart, fans of American pop stars Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa claimed that BTS fandom "ARMY" was manipulating the charts.

Did the ARMYs manipulate the Billboard 100 chart?

Then Billboard asked about the claims of chart manipulation, they said that BTS has at least climbed to the top of the charts when it comes to the number of streaming and radio broadcasts than most contemporary pop singers. This is because of the loyalty and efforts of the ARMYs to buy BTS singles.

BTS leader RM stated that it is a fair question. He added that he doesn't know if it is right to criticize them and the fans for being number one in song sales and downloads. In his opinion, that seems to be the case.

(Photo : BTS (News1))

Big Hit Music's CEO, Shin Young-Jae, was also asked a similar question about the claim of chart manipulation. He answered that he doesn't think that the US market is the place to easily top the charts with only downloading.

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BTS stays in No.1 spot for 20 weeks

As of August 26, BTS gets the top spot on the Billboard Artist 100 chart for the 20th week. They were the first group to obtain the mark since the list was launched in 2014.

The Global Korean male group still takes the top spot because of the continuous success of their songs "Butter" and "Permission to Dance." "Butter" has spent nine weeks at the No.1 spot on the Billboard 100 beginning in June, while "Permission to Dance" has spent a week at the top last July.

(Photo : News1)

The Billboard Artist 100 chart measures the artist activity in all key metrics of music consumption, blending albums and track sales, radio airplay, streaming, and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of the popularity of the artists.

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BTS' Worldwide Popularity has been proven

At the same time, in the category of Digital Song Sales, "Butter" led for the 12th week, achieving over 55,000 downloads.

"Butter" stayed on the top of the main singles chart for nine nonconsecutive weeks. It became the longest-running No.1 song of 2021.

"Butter" has successfully swept online music charts and other streaming platforms worldwide since its release in May, including iTunes and Spotify.

The song successfully set a record for the longest ongoing No.1 streak achieved by a group since 1995. The last time was when "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men spent approximately 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BTS Ranks No.1 on Billboard Artist 100 Chart for 20th Week

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Written by Annie Barmaine.