Boy band Ateez tops Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with 'THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL'

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[Photograph by Yoo Dae-gil = [e-mail]]

SEOUL -- K-pop boy band Ateez has topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with its second full album "THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL," beating Taylor Swift's "1989" and "For All the Dogs" by Drake. The eight-member band became the seventh K-pop group to grab the top place on the weekly chart that ranks the 200 most popular albums in the United States.  

The album, released on December 1, arrived atop the list on the Billboard 200 chart with 152,000 equivalent album units sold in the U.S. in the week ending December 7. The music video for the album's title track "Crazy Form" has gained more than 38 million views on YouTube. The dance song features Afrobeat, a genre of urban popular music that emerged in Nigeria, blending percussion rhythms with jazz and funk elements.

Other South Korean bands that previously ranked first on the Billboard 200 chart include BTS, SuperM, Stray Kids, Black Pink, TXT (Tomorrow X Together), and NewJeans. Unlike the six groups formed by K-pop powerhouses such as Hybe, SM, JYP, and YG, ATEEZ belongs to a small and medium-sized agency called "KQ Entertainment." The group entered the albums chart with a total of six albums so far.

Ateez members attracted about 100,000 fans through their European tour that began in February of this year. The group has performed in seven countries for a month including Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Britain, and Spain.