With the level of excitement surrounding BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 comeback album, it came as no surprise that RM, J-Hope, Suga, Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook outdid themselves again by setting a new record for pre-order sales.
According to a report by All Kpop, pre-orders for BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 charted record numbers and officially surpassed 3.42 million units from the week of January 9-15. The figures were released by BTS's album distribution arm, Dream Us Company.
Map of the Soul: Persona, which was released by BTS last year, also scored 2.68 million pre-orders within its first week of release. BTS also broke the pre-order statistics then. However, their new accomplishment topped their previous performance by a whopping 700,000 copies. The number is expected to go higher with the weeks leading up to the release on February 21.
Suga's Interlude: Shadow solo teaser generated a lot of buzz for the upcoming album after it was lauded by music experts for its evocative style and deep meaning which symbolizes the inner turmoil that artists have to go through as a price for their fame, Billboard reported.
BTS also started releasing its Connect, BTS series which will focus on different countries like Seoul, London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and New York.
Big Hit will also showcase BTS' artistry through a Kinetic Manifesto Fil: Coma Prima in time for Map of the Soul: 7's release date on February 21.
In the lead up to the album drop, the first single of the album will be released on January 17 together with an art film featuring the MN Dance Company. Fans would have to wait another four weeks before they add more items to their concept photo collections featuring individual BTS members.
Finally, the music video for BTS' title track will be released on February 28, a week after the full album is released.
Interest has been high for BTS' comeback, especially since it is expected that promotions as a seven-member group may be disrupted by Jin's impending military enlistment due to restrictions imposed by the government for travel and promotional activities. As the oldest member, Jin is expected to receive his enlistment date within the year.
Last year, fans held out hope that members of BTS will receive an exemption from mandatory enlistment because of their wide array of accomplishments which brought honor to the Kpop industry on a global scale. However, officials clarified that BTS members will not be qualifed for exemptions based on the current guidelines.
