BTS to world premiere new album on SNL next month

K-pop sensation BTS will premiere its new album, “Map of the Soul: Persona,” on the famous American live television show “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) next month, its management agency said Thursday.

BTS will appear on the NBC comedy show on April 13 to present live music and performances from the new album to an international audience, Big Hit Entertainment said.

SNL earlier announced a lineup including BTS and Emma Stone for the April 13 edition on its social media accounts. The K-pop septet will be the musical guest, while Stone will host the show.

The appearance on the globally watched TV show will come the day after the new BTS album hits the shelves.

BTS previously picked the stage of the 2018 Billboard Music Awards as the venue for the world premiere of “Fake Love,” the lead track of “Love Yourself: Tear,” released in May last year.

The forthcoming album shot to No. 1 on Amazon’s CDs & Vinyl Best Sellers list in the United States on Wednesday (U.S. time), Big Hit said.

All of the group’s three recent “Love Yourself” trilogy albums have hit the list.

The band, meanwhile, took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the 2018 Global Album Chart, compiled by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the recorded music industry worldwide.

“South Korean boy band BTS take both the second and third chart positions with the albums ‘Love Yourself: Answer’ released in August 2018, and ‘Love Yourself: Tear,’ released in May 2018,” the IFPI said on its website on Wednesday.

“BTS’s ongoing phenomenal success is evidenced by them taking both second and third place in the album chart and demonstrates how their music has the power to engage with people all over the world,” Frances Moore, chief executive of the IFPI, said.

“Their work, talent and dedication is matched by the passion and commitment of their global fanbase.”

The chart combines the global sales of physical and digital albums to rank the best-selling albums of the year, according to the record body.

The OST album for the 2018 musical film, “The Greatest Showman” ranked as the best-selling record globally in 2018.