BTS’ Jimin ‘Like Crazy’ reportedly becomes the most streamed Korean song in US Spotify history

BTS member Park Jimin, who is currently serving in the South Korean military, reportedly became the first and only Korean act to have his song Like Crazy stream the most on US Spotify, according to X account @viraltakes. Notably, it is the first in the history of a global music streaming service that occupies over 30% of market shares worldwide.

Furthermore, Like Crazy has amassed over 1.2 billion streams (both versions combined) and has an average of over 3 three million plays daily.

The track was released on March 24, 2023, with his debut album FACE, and quickly debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Jimin the first K-pop soloist to earn this feat.

It is important to note that his bandmate Jungkook became the most streamed K-pop artist in 2023 for garnering the highest numbers on Spotify across all his songs.

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BTS's Jimin maintains a steady streak of victories despite being away due to military service

There are six tracks on Jimin's album, highlighting the 28-year-old artist's varied facets through the songs. Rolling Stone magazine named his album as one of the greatest albums of 2023.

The publication house further lauded the album by the now-solo performer as a captivating display of the pop prowess of the singer-dancer.

The entire album is constructed on the feelings and hardship the singer endured which he had mentioned during his Weverse lives and interviews during the album promotion, including his documentary film.

Jimin struggled emotionally during COVID-19 since he doubted his identity and his purpose as an artist. The artist had revealed earlier through his Weverse lives how lonely and hollow he felt during those couple of years.

It was during their Permission to Dance on Stage tour in Las Vegas when he opened up to his BTS bandmates. They encouraged him to try putting his feelings and thoughts into music, and that was the impetus behind him starting to work on his solo album.

Later, the idol spoke with producers from his label after returning to Korea, and the project got underway in early 2022.

Throughout the recording process, the singer claimed that guidance from his fellow musicians informed his choices on the album's final path, which gave him comfort.

Later, he released a documentary, Jimin's Production Diary, which showcased the creative process and the inception of the album. The idol then surpassed 3 billion Spotify streams by March 25, 2024, across all credits.

Like Crazy generated around 26,500 track-equated albums (TEA) units, which is the highest TEA number of the year for any album and the second-biggest TEA sales week as a whole, after Taylor Swift's Midnights, which achieved 34,000 TEA units in November 2022. Furthermore, FACE's second week of sales saw 20,000 copies sold.

Jimin surpassed his bandmate RM, who reached No.3 with Indigo in December 2022, to become the highest-charting Korean soloist of all time on the Billboard 200.

The BTS idol became the first artist to debut at No.1 on Billboard Hot 100 with a debut project since Olivia Rodrigo's Sour opened at No.1 in 2021. Additionally, FACE debuted at No.2 in the United States on the April 8, 2023, edition of the Billboard 200.

With 164,000 equivalent album units sold in its first week, the album recorded the second-biggest sales week of 2023. This data included 13,500 streaming equivalent album units—19.51 million on-demand official streams of its songs—which made up 124,000 pure album sales, the biggest sales week for a solo act, and the third-largest total of 2023.

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BTS's Jimin is currently assigned to the Fire Artillery Department at the 5th Infantry Division in the South Korean military. The department is also known as the "brain of the defense" and is reportedly seen as one of the most hazardous jobs.