Jungkook has become number one with "Seven".

According to the Billboard announcement on July 25th, Jungkook from BTS secured the number one spot on the "Hot 100" main singles chart (as of July 29) with his first solo single "Seven", released on July 14. Thus, Jungkook has become the second K-pop solo artist to achieve a "Hot 100" number one. The "first" record was accomplished by his bandmate Jimin with his solo song "Like Crazy", released in April.

To date, the K-pop artists who have reached the "Hot 100" number one are Jungkook, Jimin, and their group BTS. Jungkook shares the honor of topping the charts both as a group and solo artist with Jimin. Thus far, only nine groups in Billboard history, including BTS, have had the team and two or more individual members take the number one spot on the "Hot 100".

"Seven" has been setting various records since its release. It recorded the second-highest ranking for a K-pop artist at number three on the UK's Official Singles Chart "Top 100". It was also the first K-pop solo song to top Spotify's "Daily Top Songs Global" chart, maintaining the number one spot for ten consecutive days. For two consecutive days, it also topped Japan's Oricon 'Daily Digital Single Ranking' (as of July 15). The cinematic music video, featuring actress Han So-hee, surpassed 100 million views just ten days after its release.

With this peak on Billboard, Jungkook has achieved his "large goal of becoming a gigantic pop star" as a solo artist. This achievement is especially valuable considering recent concerns about Billboard changing its chart calculation methods. Previously, Billboard decided to exclude album and music sales from an artist's individual homepage from the tally, sparking criticisms that this was an attempt to restrain K-pop artists. Nevertheless, 'Seven' claimed the number one spot proudly in the Billboard weekly tally (July 14-20) with 153,000 downloads, 21.9 million streams, and 6.4 million radio broadcasts.

This victory is a testament to the power of the "Golden Maknae" and the success of an English pop genre song. Jungkook has already shown his popularity on Billboard not only with BTS but also as a solo artist, with multiple high rankings. His solo songs included in BTS albums, "Euphoria", "My Time", his collaboration "Left and Right" with popstar Charlie Puth, and "Dreamers", the official theme of the "2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup", all charted on Billboard.

The fact that "Seven" is a pop song with English lyrics in the UK garage genre also played a significant role in penetrating Anglophone media. The trendy beats and melodies of "Seven", combined with Jungkook's melodic voice and love story, create an "easy listening" advantage. The English lyrics make it even easier for foreign audiences to enjoy the song, and through live performances at events such as the "2023 Summer Concert Series" hosted by US ABC's GMA, the UK BBC's "The One Show", and BBC Radio1's "Live Lounge", it seems to have naturally seeped into the Anglophone music industry.

Amidst the successful solo album releases by BTS members, news about the possibility of V, the last member of the team, releasing a solo album in the second half of this year has been reported. Expectations are high for all seven members to achieve "Perfect Seven" success as solo artists.

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