Yesterday (February 26) we learned that Miley Cyrus’ Flowers was the biggest-selling single globally last year, according to the IFPI.
Today (February 27), IFPI has revealed that FML by K-Pop stars SEVENTEEN was the biggest-selling album globally last year, and as such has been named as the winner of the IFPI Global Album Award for 2023.
The IFPI Global Album Award is calculated according to an album’s worldwide sales across streaming, download and physical music formats during the calendar year.
The award is presented to the artist whose album finishes at No.1 in the IFPI Global Album Chart, which was also released today.
IFPI says that its Global Charts “provide the most complete picture of artist, album and track performance worldwide”.
It adds: “The Charts capture streaming, downloads and physical formats in every country directly from the participating record labels, which is then converted using IFPI’s unique methodology to a single, global chart figure”.
IFPI also says that “the methodology, developed in partnership with IFPI’s member record labels, reflects global commercial success by combining the most exhaustive reporting of unit sales and streams with the country-level economics of each consumption type”.
You can see the full Top 20 of the IFPI Global Album Chart below:
K-Pop group SEVENTEEN have topped the 2023 Chart, with FML winning the group their first-ever IFPI Global Charts Award.
The album, released in April 2023, was the most pre-ordered in K-Pop history and debuted at No.1 in South Korea as well as reaching No.1 in Japan and charting in the Top 5 in France and the US.
The group also saw their follow up album SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, released in October, reach No.8 in the IFPI Global Album Chart.
South Korean acts accounted for five of the Top 10 albums in the IFPI Global Album Chart, representing the best ever Global Charts performance for K-Pop.
Stray Kids also saw two albums reach the Top 10, with 5-STAR (No.2) and ROCK-STAR (No.9).
NCT DREAM made their first appearance in an IFPI Global Charts with ISTJ entering at No.6 and there were also debut appearances for K-Pop acts ZEROBASEONE and IVE, at No.18 and No.20.
Following huge global success with BTS, Jung Kook made his first solo appearance on the IFPI Global Album Chart with his album GOLDEN reaching No.14.
IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift, also achieved two albums in the Top 10, with Midnights (No.4) spending a second consecutive year in the Top five and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) reaching No.5 following its release in October 2023.
North American acts took the remainder of places in the Top 10, and overall took five spots in the full Top 20. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time charted at No.3, while SZA (No.7, SOS) and Travis Scott (No.10, UTOPIA) both made their first appearances in the IFPI Global Album Chart.
Lewis Morrison, Director of Global Charts & Certifications at IFPI said: “We are delighted to present this year’s IFPI Global Album Award to SEVENTEEN, following the incredible performance of FML across the world.
“The global appeal of K-Pop continues to extend and S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Migyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino continue to push the boundaries with their concepts, performances and talent.
“FML and SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN were both huge hits across continents and our congratulations go to the group, their team and of course CARATs all over the world.”
Added Morrison: “Mirroring the other IFPI Global Charts released in the past week, the rankings provide an insight into the dynamic nature of recorded music today, with artists – and their record labels – finding success across genres and geographies, and by leveraging both streaming and physical formats to delight their fans.”Music Business Worldwide
