BTS’ Jin sets new K-pop record for 2025, beats Jungkook and V in brand power: ‘Echo’ tops global iTunes, dominates MelOn, and more

BTS Jin’s Echo becomes the bestseller of the year

Beating G-Dragon’s third solo album Übermensch, which sold 639,176 copies on its first day, Jin’s Echo has reportedly managed to sell around 727,211 copies, according to BigHit Music. The Big Bang member had earlier dropped his first full-length album in a decade, making his highly anticipated comeback on February 25, with the eight-track Übermensch. BLACKPINK Jennie’s Ruby stands at number three with 386,086 copies, followed by BLACKPINK Jisoo’s AMROTAGE with 385,501 copies, and Mark’s The Firstfruit with 274,003 copies.

Don’t Say You Love Me tops global iTunes

ECHO’s lead single “Don’t Say You Love Me” has single-handedly shattered multiple records. The song debuted at number one on the US iTunes Song Chart in less than 24 hours. Around the same time, Echo also reached number one on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart. On May 17, KST, Kim Seokjin’s second solo album, was holding the top four spots on the global iTunes chart with “Don’t Say You Love Me,” “Nothing Without Your Love,” “Rope It,” and “Background” — the title earlier claimed by Thai K-pop star Lisa Manoban. Apart from this, on South Korea’s local music streaming platform MelOn TOP100, Jin is currently charting five tracks from Echo.

Also read: BTS’ Jin admits he doesn’t speak to Jungkook ‘carelessly’ despite being his hyung, says ‘We have scary fans’

BTS Jin ranks second on May brand power ranking

According to the Korean Business Research Institute’s brand reputation rankings for boy band members, Jin ranked second with a 46.89 percent increase in his brand power compared to April, bringing his total score to 4,419,595 for May. The first spot was held by G-Dragon, with a reputation index of 4,679,825. In third came Cha Eun Woo with 4,343,362, while BTS’s Jimin took fourth place with a score of 3,569,824. BTS’s Jungkook rounded out the top five. 

The Top 10 are

1. BIGBANG’s G-Dragon
2. BTS’s Jin
3. ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo
4. BTS’s Jimin
5. BTS’s Jungkook
6. Wanna One’s Park Ji Hoon
7. BTS’s V
8. BTS’s SUGA
9. Wanna One’s Kang Daniel
10. Highlight’s Doojoon

Speaking to USA Today, the “Epiphany” crooner revealed that he worked on the new album with ARMY (Fans) in mind. With no big hooks or flashy production, Jin’s new album paints his personal journey and raw emotion, combined with his soulful and high-pitched vocals. “I received almost 1,000 songs for this album, and first I shortlisted about 30 of them. I picked out the 30 that I loved … then I had a second listen to them, third listen to them,” he explained. “I try to picture that image of myself in my head on stage with these songs. I thought, ‘This song can bring out a new facet of myself that ARMY would love to see,’ or ‘This would be a blast on stage.'”