EXO remains the king of the hill atop Billboard’s world albums chart, defending the No. 1 spot for a second straight week with its latest album.

The boy band’s “The War: The 4th Album” became the top-selling international album in the US as of Thursday, while also topping local Gaon charts in digital song downloads and album sales.

The K-pop sensation has been making strides with the album since its July 19 release, entering the Billboard 200 at No. 87 last week. It marked the highest EXO has ever gone on the chart, with the previous record having been No. 95 with “Exodus.”

It has also stormed major music streaming charts in and out of Korea, topping Apple iTunes album charts in 42 countries at one point.

EXO is one of K-pop’s most popular and influential acts, having broken the 100 million view mark on YouTube five times, with “Overdose,” “Growl,” “Call Me Baby,” “Monster” and “Wolf.”


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)