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BTS member Park Jimin took the music industry by storm as a solo artist with the debut of his solo album FACE on April 24, 2023. The singer became the first Korean soloist in history to get an RIAJ Platinum Certification in April 2023. The Like Crazy singer-songwriter achieved this feat within a few weeks of his solo album release as it sold over 250,000 album units in Japan.
Hence, the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified FACE as a Platinum Album when its sales in Japan exceeded 250k copies. The Like Crazy singer became the first and only Korean solo artist with an album in a foreign language to achieve this feat.
However, a fan and an X user, @PJM_data, noted:
"Unacceptable and unethical": HYBE comes under fire for reportedly undermining BTS Jimin's achievements
Jimin has been breaking records and setting new heights as a solo artist across borders with the release of his solo album on March 24, 2023. The artist's solo debut album's record-breaking run has continued to sweep music markets across the world.
Furthermore, on December 3, 2023, Jimin of BTS made history by becoming the first and only Asian artist to collectively attain No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the RIAJ Platinum certification (Recording Industry Association of Japan), the Music Canada Gold Certification, and the RIAA certification (Recording Industry Association of America).
After this, an X user, @JiminGlobal, claimed that media outlets have "informed" fans that their news articles were based on the press release issued by HYBE Labels. The X user tweeted:
"HYBE, FACE is the first album by a Kpop solo artist to be RIAJ Platinum Certified (3/2023). Fans asking media to correct reports were informed they were based on your press release. We ask the PR Team to be more responsible and correct this asap."
The Like Crazy singer's fans from every corner of the world started trending hashtags such as HYBE RESPECT JIMIN and BIGHIT RESPECT JIMIN on X.
To add context, South Korean media outlet Dispatch reported on December 8, 2023, that BTS member Jungkook has become the "first K-pop soloist" to earn his RIAJ Platinum certification for his solo album GOLDEN.
In addition, Dispatch reported on December 8, 2023, that the BTS member earned his first RIAJ Platinum and titled the article "Jungkook obtains Japan's 'Platinum' certification..."Golden, cumulative shipment of 250,000 units."
In the news report by Dispatch that is available on Naver, there was a section (as highlighted with a red line) that mentioned the artist as the "first solo artist to obtain" a gold disc platinum certification. This further invited the wrath of several BTS ARMY.
The screenshots from the news articles went viral online as several netizens pointed out the discrepancy in the report. Meanwhile, news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reportedly published a piece titled "Jungkook becomes the first solo K-pop artist to be certified..." on December 8, at 10.51 am KST.
The media updated its report and main headline to "Jungkook receives first platinum certification for 'Golden' in Japan" a few hours later at 1.10 pm KST.
Nonetheless, the Korea JoongAng Daily story is still searchable on Google at the time of writing the article, and the prior title is still visible, as seen in the image below.
It is crucial to note that the entire fandom is extremely happy with Jungkook's feat, although several netizens are not pleased with the discrepancy in the media information.
For his solo album FACE, Jimin became the first K-pop soloist to receive an RIAJ Platinum certification on April 10, 2023, according to reports published by Allkpop and Soompi in April 2023.
An X user, @CYoloyolo, posted screenshots from the article reported by Naver News on December 8 which states that BTS Jungkook is the "first solo artist" to achieve the RIAJ Platinum certification for selling over 250,000 album units of GOLDEN in Japan. The netizen further tweeted, "IMMEDIATELY correct your press release."
Meanwhile, BTS member Jungkook—bandmate and an old friend of Jimin—earned his first Platinum certification from the esteemed Recording Industry Association of Japan on December 8, 2023.
As of November 7, 2023, BTS Jungkook's song SEVEN has sold over a million physical copies (CD) in the US, earning him the RIAA Platinum certification.
Overtaking PSY's Gangnam Style, which achieved RIAA Platinum status after selling over a million CD copies in 123 days, Jungkook's SEVEN is currently the fastest-selling single by a Korean and a K-pop soloist to accomplish such a milestone in history in 115 days.
