K-pop group Ateez stands in front of a photo wall during a press conference for their newest release, "Golden Hour: Part. 1," at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Jongno district, May 30. Yonhap K-pop boy group Ateez's latest album, "Golden Hour: Part. 1," has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 main albums chart. The band's 10th EP amassed 131,000 album-equivalent units, including 127,000 album sales, in the United States during the charting period, Billboard said Sunday (U.S. time). The figure 131,000 is the highest album-equivalent units ever recorded by a K-pop album. The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S., measured by equivalent album units, comprising conventional album sales, streaming and digital sales. "Golden Hour: Part. 1" marks the band's fourth consecutive album to chart in the top 3 after its eighth EP, "The World Ep. 1: Movement," its ninth EP, "The World Ep. 2: Outlaw," and its second full-length album, "The World Ep. Fin: Will." The studio album, in particular, claimed the band's first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the British Official Albums Chart Top 100 in December. The latest EP landed at No. 4 on the British albums chart Friday (British time), making Ateez the only K-pop act to have put three albums on the chart's top 10 list in a one-year period. Released May 31, the album is the introduction to the group's new "Golden Hour" album series, which the band describes as depicting the brightest moments in their life and career. The eight-piece group will embark on its 2024 world tour "Towards the Light: Will to Power" in July, which will take the group to 10 North American cities. (Yonhap)
