BTS has yet again made history: The Recording Industry Association of America has declared the act’s 2018 Billboard 200-topping LP Love Yourself: Answer as the act’s first platinum-selling album in the U.S.
Answer, which was released Aug. 24 2018, was the first-ever South Korean album to be certified gold by the RIAA and has now sold more than 1 million copies. Last year’s Map of the Soul: Persona was certified gold in August.
For an album to be certified platinum by the RIAA, it must earn 1 million equivalent album units in the U.S. (One equivalent album unit, as recognized by the RIAA, is equal to: one album sale, 10 tracks sold from an album, or 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from an album.)
Along with Love Yourself: Answer, the RIAA also announced that that album’s single “IDOL” is also a platinum seller, joining BTS’ “Mic Drop” and “Boy with Luv,” featuring Halsey, in the platinum club.
One equivalent song unit, as recognized by the RIAA, is equal to: one digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams. The RIAA revamped its Gold & Platinum Awards Program on Feb. 1, 2016, growing from a pure sales certification process to one that includes tracks and streams.
The news comes ahead of the upcoming release of BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 on Feb. 21.