(VIDEO) BTS Breaks Spotify Record With 'NORMAL' Music Video, Most-Streamed K-Pop Video in a Single Day

BTS set a new streaming milestone this week after releasing the music video for their song "NORMAL" exclusively on Spotify, with the platform confirming Friday that the video became the most-streamed K-pop music video in a single day in Spotify's history.

The video, released Friday at 1 p.m. Korea Standard Time, marks the latest visual from the group's fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," which itself became the most-streamed K-pop album in Spotify history on March 20. Spotify announced the new record on its Instagram and X accounts shortly after the video's release, according to reporting from The Music Universe.

"NORMAL" offers what Spotify described as a deeply personal look at the seven-member group, moving between scenes captured during a late-night celebration and the quieter moments of the following morning. The video follows each member through that arc, portraying what daily life looks like for BTS when they step away from the stage and the spotlight that typically surrounds them. According to Big Hit Music, the group's label, the setting was a deliberate creative choice intended to offer fans an unfiltered look at the band's everyday, private side in contrast with their more polished on-stage personas.

One of the video's most talked-about moments recreates a viral promotional image the group had teased in the lead-up to the release, showing all seven members standing in a row in front of a set of urinals with their backs to the camera. That image originated from a midnight teaser clip posted to HYBE Labels' YouTube channel the night before the video's release, which showed the members in the restroom setting before BTS leader RM squeezed past the group in an unguarded, comedic moment. The teaser also resolved a mystery that had been circulating online for days, tied to a series of attention-grabbing advertisements that ran earlier in July in print newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Post. Those ads featured the urinal-themed photo beneath a tabloid-style headline reading, "BTS Members Seen in Bathroom Amid Mysterious Gathering," part of a broader promotional campaign that the music video ultimately brought full circle.

Alongside the video, BTS released three additional versions of "NORMAL," including a Korean-language rendition that had first been revealed during the group's concert in Busan, as well as an instrumental version. A physical single CD is also being made available through the Weverse platform. "NORMAL" serves as the second single from "ARIRANG," following the album's lead single, "SWIM," and originally debuted at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 4, drawing praise for its understated vocal delivery and conversational sing-rapping style.

"ARIRANG" itself has continued performing strongly on the Billboard charts in the months since its March release. The album spent three consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, the top albums chart in the United States, and remained at No. 25 on the chart dated July 18. "SWIM" has extended its own run on the Hot 100, sitting at No. 84 in its 16th consecutive week on that chart as of the same date.

The "NORMAL" video's Spotify-first release continues a broader partnership between BTS and the streaming platform that began earlier this year to mark the group's return following an extended hiatus. As part of that collaboration, Spotify hosted a series of immersive live events bringing fans, known collectively as ARMY, together in cities around the world. Among those events, BTS performed at Pier 17 in New York City in March, marking the group's first U.S. performance in four years. Spotify also introduced in-app features tied to the album's release, including an interactive experience called Decoding ARIRANG and a dedicated BTS Music Quiz, giving fans new ways to engage with the group's music directly within the app.

The video's exclusive debut on Spotify, rather than a traditional platform such as YouTube, reflects a broader strategy tied to the group's digital footprint on the streaming service, where BTS draws roughly 35.5 million monthly listeners. The video is currently available only in select beta markets for Spotify Premium subscribers, part of the platform's ongoing rollout of music videos as a feature alongside exclusive content such as live performances and cover recordings. Spotify noted that the "NORMAL" release followed closely behind another artist's video exclusive on the platform, with country singer Jelly Roll launching the video for his song "Hands Up" exclusively on Spotify for 48 hours just days earlier.

The "NORMAL" video itself is set to remain a Spotify exclusive for 48 hours before becoming available on other streaming and video platforms, following the same release pattern used for the platform's other recent artist exclusives.

BTS's commercial dominance extends well beyond this latest record. According to Spotify, the group's tracks appear on more than 130 million user-generated playlists on the platform, and BTS has had six songs inducted into Spotify's Billions Club, a designation reserved for tracks that surpass one billion streams. Those songs include "Dynamite," "My Universe," "Butter," "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey, "FAKE LOVE" and "Life Goes On." Listenership for the group spans a wide global footprint, with the United States, Japan and Peru currently ranking among the top countries streaming BTS's music.

The group's promotional push around "NORMAL" arrives during an active stretch on the touring front as well. BTS is currently wrapping up the European leg of its Arirang World Tour, with concerts scheduled at Paris's Stade de France. The group is also set to make a high-profile appearance this weekend, joining Justin Bieber, Madonna and Shakira as co-headliners of the halftime show for the FIFA World Cup final, scheduled for Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, adding another major milestone to what has already been an eventful comeback year for the group following their extended hiatus.