BTS has topped the albums category of Oricon’s annual ranking 2021 with its best-of album in Japan, “BTS, The Best,” according to the Japanese chart on Wednesday.

This is the first time an international group topped the list and the second time for an international artist. Michael Jackson was the only one to take the spot with “Thriller” in 1984.

The album debuted as No. 1 on its weekly album ranking (June 28) selling 782,000 copies in the first week of sales, a record for an international male artist, according to Oricon.

The album consists of 23 tracks and include “Film Out,” a collaboration with Japanese rock band Back Number, and another Japanese song, “Your Eyes Tell,” as well as the Japanese version of “Blood Sweat Tears.”

Stray Kids to drop digital album on Thursday

Stray Kids is releasing a digital album Thursday, its label JYP Entertainment said.

The digital album is titled “SKZ2021,” hinting that it will be in line with the band’s compilation album “SKZ2020” that came out in March 2020 in Japan and Korea. The album chronicled the eight-member act’s career, which started from “Hellevator,” the title track from its pre-debut album, to “Levanter,” from the seventh EP “Cle: Levanter” in 2019.

Last month, the band dropped a winter single dubbed “Christmas EveL” that swept the major charts in Korea.

Meanwhile, its second studio album, “Noeasy,” became a million-seller and was named as one of the best K-pop albums of 2021 selected by Time magazine. It also was the second-most-streamed K-pop male band on Spotify, after BTS, this year.

TVXQ! teams up with Super Junior for winter special

TVXQ! and Super Junior will join forces for the first time in 16 years to sing “Magical,” a special winter release.

The two veteran idol groups will sing that “our friendship is destiny and miracle” in the pop tune that would highlight their vocals. The two bands collaborated in 2005 and sang “Show Me Your Love.”

It is part of label SM Entertainment’s winter package “2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express” that will be fully unveiled on Dec. 27.

The 10-track album will also include new songs by TVXQ! and Girls’ Generation as well as a remake of H.O.T.’s “Hope from Kwangya” and S.E.S.’s “Dreams Come True.” Rookie sensation aespa is singing “Dreams Come True” while all artists participating in the upcoming album sang H.O.T.’s 1998 hit together.

Separately, TVXQ! resumed activities with a livestream last week to mark its 18th debut anniversary.

Onewe to put out 2nd EP next month

Boy band Onewe will come back with its second EP “Planet Nine: Voyager” on Jan. 4, announced agency RBW Entertainment on Wednesday, uploading a poster with an image of Saturn that resembled the letter “o.”

It has been seven months since its first EP “Planet Nine: Alter Ego,” which included songs that were all written by the bandmates.

On Tuesday, the band teamed up with Oneus, another male band under the same management company, and put out a song called “Stay” for the winter season.

Earlier this month, the quintet released its second demo album that included a guide version of its songs.