UNSPECIFIED: In this screengrab released on March 14, RM of music group BTS performs onstage during ... [+]
May is shaping up to be a very busy month for exciting new releases. Amid the many albums from rappers and pop stars that are sure to make their presence known, two of the biggest artists in the K-pop space are about to release projects that are bound to become huge successes in America. The two musical acts scheduled their drops very close to one another, so it’s entirely possible that the Billboard 200 may see back-to-back No. 1s from South Korean superstars.
Both RM from the band BTS and Ateez have announced new projects that are slated to arrive later this month. They’re only spaced apart by one frame, so as one makes what is sure to be a splashy debut on the Billboard charts, the other will have just been released…and it could manage a similar performance.
RM’s latest solo effort is scheduled to come out first between the two. The global superstar revealed that his new project on his own, Right Place, Wrong Person, is set to arrive on Friday, May 24.
So far, RM has yet to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In fact, no South Korean solo artist has managed to top the important ranking of the most-consumed albums in the U.S.—though several members of BTS have come very close by stalling in the runner-up rung.
RM has nearly missed out on the highest rung on the Billboard 200 in the past. His 2022 project Indigo debuted on the chart at No. 15, but weeks later, when it was re-released on a physical format, it bolted to a new high of No. 3 with 83,000 equivalent units shifted. That sum could be much larger for a project that’s available on all formats at once, in its first frame.
One week after RM’s Right Place, Wrong Person arrives, Ateez will share their latest EP. Golden Hour: Part.1 is slated to become widely available on Friday, May 31–just before the month ends and summer really begins.
Between the two, Ateez is the only one that’s already topped the Billboard 200. In late 2023, their collection The World EP.Fin: Will debuted in first place on the ranking of the most-consumed albums in the U.S. It marked their first champion, and its success made them one of the only South Korean boy bands to rule the roost.
The World EP.Fin: Will opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 152,000 equivalent units shifted. Almost all of those were pure sales, so a strong opening week is expected for their next project as well. They could snag a second leader on the chart, which would help them become one of a very small number of South Korean musical acts that have ruled the list more than once.
RM has a tough road ahead to hitting No. 1, as he’ll be competing with Twenty One Pilots, whose next album Clancy is coming the same day. The rock band has controlled the Billboard 200 once before, and their last two projects have both debuted and peaked inside the top three on the chart as well, so they’re a real contender for the winner’s circle.
Ateez is up against less famous figures, so they probably have a good shot at running the show…though with several weeks to go, anything could be announced that might change their trajectory to the top.
