BTS becomes first K-Pop group to be awarded RIAA Gold

BTS is off to a good start to the year, with the septet’s song, ‘Mic Drop’ Remix, being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The group worked with Steve Aoki and Desiigner for the track, and has become the first K-pop group to be awarded the honour.

‘Mic Drop’ has continued to stay on the Hot 100 chart in the USA for over nine weeks, and being certified Gold by the RIAA means that the song has had over 500,000 digital downloads and audio/video streams combined. 150 streams count as one download.

The only other Korean artiste to have been recognised by the RIAA is PSY, who was certified Multi-Platinum with his viral hit, ‘Gangnam Style’, back in December 2013 and sold over five million certified units.

With BTS having a stellar 2017, the bar is set higher than ever for them to produce even better music moving forward. At the recent annual Korean music year-end awards, the group also received multiple daesangs (grand prizes), including those at the Seoul Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards.

In related news, BTS’s leader RM was recently revealed to have undergone surgery to correct his deviated septum, but has since been discharged from hospital and is recuperating. After the news broke, he took to the group’s official Twitter account to assure fans that he is doing well and also working on music from time to time.

Photo: Big Hit Entertainment