BTS - Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~

I. Introduction

Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~ is the fourth Japanese studio album by BTS. It was released on July 15, 2020 globally, with "Stay Gold" serving as the album's title track. This album features the singles "FAKE LOVE/Airplane Pt.2" and "Lights/Boy With Luv" and new original Japanese songs.

The album is certified Triple Platinum by RIAJ for the shipment of 750,000 copies.

II. Background

Billboard Japan first broke the news of a potential Japanese album on March 26, 2020 when it announced that a new BTS song titled "Stay Gold" had been selected as the theme for then upcoming Japanese television drama, Spiral Labyrinth.

On May 7, BTS' fourth Japanese album was officially announced, marking the band's first full-length work in the language in two years since Face Yourself (2018). The album's title, Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~, and July 14 release date were revealed, along with a complete 13-song tracklist and details of the various physical versions that would be available for purchase and their accompanying bonuses.

III. Tracklist

^{IV. Spotify Playlist}

V. Videos

Album Spot

Official Video(s)

VI. Concept Pictures

VII. Reception

The album debuted at number one on the Oricon Daily Albums Chart having sold 447,869 copies within 24 hours of release. It surpassed BTS' previous Japanese album, 2018 predecessor Face Yourself's first day sales of 188,000 albums by more than twice as many copies. With these numbers, Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey set new records for the highest first day sales by both a foreign and Korean artist in Japan, and became the highest selling album of 2020 out of all albums released in the country up to that time. It crossed an accumulated 500,000 copies sold on its second day, more than double Face Yourself's initial three days sales combined, and was the first 2020 album to exceed this many units.

At the end of its first week, Oricon reported on July 21 that Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey had debuted at number one on the Weekly Album Chart issue dated July 27 for the period July 13–19 with over 564,000 copies sold, breaking the record for highest first week sales of 2020 and becoming the most sold album of the year at the time. The album is BTS' sixth overall to debut at number one in Japan, and their second of the year after Map of the Soul: 7 in February.

In North America, BTS marked their 12th entry on the Billboard 200 when Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey debuted at number 115 on the chart issue dated July 21 for the week of July 25 with only two days of tracking and no physical release—it sold 8,000 equivalent album units—extending the band's record for the most entries amongst all K-pop acts. The album entered the World Albums chart at number two, giving BTS their 13th top-five entry on the World chart and marking the 29th consecutive week that releases from the group occupied the top three.

VIII. Awards