I. Introduction
"MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow" is the eighth Japanese single by BTS. It was released on December 6, 2017.
II. Background & Release
During the 2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III The Wings Tour in Japan -- Special Edition, an upcoming Japanese release was announced to BTS fans in attendance.
On October 14, 2017, the BTS official Japanese Twitter confirmed that an eight Japanese single album would be released on December 6. The new single would include re-recorded Japanese versions of "DNA" and "MIC Drop" from their last mini-album Love Yourself: Her, and a new Japanese track titled "Crystal Snow". The group described the choice to include the three specific tracks as the best way to express the different characteristics of BTS.
The single was released for pre-order on October 16, and saw 300,000 copies ordered within a month.
On December 5, the music video for the song "MIC Drop (Japanese Ver.)" was released on the official Universal Music Japan YouTube channel.
III. Tracklist
"MIC Drop" (Japanese ver.) - 3:58
"DNA" (Japanese ver.) - 3:44
"Crystal Snow" - 5:22
DVD (Type A)
"MIC Drop" (Japanese ver.) music video
"MIC Drop" (Japanese ver.) dance music video
DVD (Type B)
"MIC Drop" (Japanese ver.) making of music video
"MIC Drop" (Japanese ver.) making of jacket photos
IV. Spotify Playlist
V. Videos
Official MV(s)
VI. Reception
The single was released on December 6 to its Japanese audience, and debuted at No. 1 on the Japanese Oricon daily singles chart.
Within 24 hours, the album became the 3rd best-selling Japanese single by a K-pop artist of all time, and set a new record for the most sales of a Japanese single by a K-pop artist within its first week.
This release also marked the 5th time that BTS topped the Oricon daily singles chart, previously achieving the ranking with "For You", "I Need U (Japanese Ver.)", "Run (Japanese Ver.)", and "Blood Sweat & Tears (Japanese Ver.)".
On the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart dated December 4-10, 2017, "MIC Drop" debuted at No. 1, "DNA" at No. 10, and "Crystal Snow" at No. 19.
On December 7, the track "Crystal Snow" ranked No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs charts in 10 countries, within the top 10 of the chart in 20 regions, and ranked in the top 20 in 16 countries worldwide.
With 365,096 points for the week of December 4 - December 10, BTS became the first foreign artist to surpass 300,000 points on the Oricon weekly singles chart. For the Oricon daily singles chart dated December 18, "MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow" was ranked No. 1. The single topped the singles chart for six straight days following its release.
The single reached an overall ranking of No. 13 on the Oricon yearly chart for 2017, with "Blood Sweat & Tears" ranking No. 22. With both single albums on the chart, BTS became the highest and second-highest ranking albums by Korean acts on the chart. This also broke the previous BTS record for highest ranking by a Korean act on the chart set by their single "Run", which ranked No. 45 on the chart for 2016.
On January 15, 2018, the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) announced that "MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow" had recorded over 500,000 album sales and was certified double platinum. BTS was the only foreign artist to reach this level of certification in 2017.
