K-pop idol group EXO’s Baekhyun set a new record by selling the highest number of albums of all time by a solo artist in the first week of release.
Baekhyun released his third mini-album “Bambi” on March 30 and according to Korea’s Hanteo Chart, the album sold 868,840 copies in the first week of release to become the No. 1 best-selling solo album of all time.
With “Bambi,” Baekhyun broke his own record and surpassed his second mini-album “Delight,” released in May 2020, which sold 704,527 copies in the first week of release. His first mini-album, “City Lights,” released in July 2019, sold 380,769 copies in the first week.
“Bambi” sold 760,154 copies on the first day, which alone already set a new record for solo album sales. “Delight” recorded 626,776 copies in sales on the first day of release on May 25, 2020 while “City Lights” garnered 267,175 copies on the first day on July 10, 2019.
Baekhyun’s new album tallied 833,392 copies in pre-orders as of March 29, or a day before its release, according to SM Entertainment, EXO’s agency. This was higher than 732,297 pre-orders for “Delight” and 401,545 pre-orders for “City Lights.”
“Bambi” is Baekhyun’s last album before enlisting in the military next month. Last April 2, he announced that he will be starting his military service on May 6.
“It's cloudy today, so I want to say something nice. But I want to tell you first, so I'm going to say this! I got a notice of enlistment for May 6 today!” he posted on EXO’s fan app.
He added, “It's not like we are going to be apart forever but I want to let you spend time with me in various ways. This way you can feel that we are still together in many ways, rather than waiting, missing and being sad while we are apart for a while! So I will try harder and prepare many things! I want to say that I love you rather than asking you to wait because I know how hard waiting is. I love you and I like you!”
Baekhyun will be undergoing three weeks of basic military training before fulfilling his duty as a social service worker or social worker.
He was classified as a social service worker instead of as an active duty soldier due to hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, which “is a condition in which your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of certain crucial hormones,” according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Some of its symptoms and signs include fatigue, muscle weakness, pain, stiffness or swelling in the joints, depression, impaired memory and enlarged thyroid gland (goiter).
Baekhyun will be the sixth member of EXO to enlist in the military after Xiumin, Suho, D.O., Chen and Chanyeol. Xiumin and D.O. already completed their military service.