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Blackpink, who reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with their first full-length album “The Album.” (provided by YG Entertainment)

Blackpink broke their own record for a female K-pop act with their first official album, titled “The Album,” reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

On Oct. 12, Billboard announced that “The Album,” Blackpink’s first official full-length album, had recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It is the highest peak yet reached by a female K-pop act. It’s also the strongest Billboard performance for a female group since April 2008, when the US group Danity Kane reached No. 1 on the same chart with their album “Welcome to the Dollhouse.”

Billboard’s two main charts are the Hot 100, a single chart that ranks the post popular songs, and the Billboard 200, an album chart that assigns rankings according to album sales. Hot 100 rankings are based on factors including single sales, streaming, YouTube views, and air time, while Billboard 200 rankings are based on sales and streaming of complete albums and individual tracks. BTS recently spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 with its song “Dynamite.”

Blackpink have steadily improved their performance to top their own previous records as an all-female K-pop act. After reaching No. 40 on the Billboard 200 with its 2018 EP “Square Up,” they hit No. 24 last year with another EP titled “Kill This Love.”

Blackpink also set a new record for a female K-pop act with a No. 2 debut for “The Album” on the UK’s Official Charts album chart, considered alongside Billboard as one of the two top global pop charts.

By Kim Kyung-wook, staff reporter

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