BTS, which stands for Bangtan Boys, has broken a longstanding mark by staying atop Billboard's Social 50 chart for a record 164 weeks. The photo shows the group on Dec. 31, 2019, performing at New York City's Times Square to celebrate New Year's Eve. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Minji

BTS, which stands for Bangtan Boys, has broken a longstanding record for most weeks topping Billboard's Social 50 chart.

Billboard on Feb. 4 said the K-pop boy band was No. 1 on the chart for the 164th straight week, surpassing the previous mark of 163 set by Justin Bieber. BTS debuted on the chart in October 2016 and first grabbed the top spot on July 29, 2017.

The group's No. 1 ranking gained steam not only from the promotion of its new song "Black Swan," but also its appearance on Jan. 26 at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in a star-studded rendition of Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road."

Updated every Saturday, the Social 50 chart ranks the most popular artists on social networking services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The music analytics company Nine Big Sound compiles the list based on data such as the number of hits and streaming media audiences.

kimmj7725@korea.kr