BTS V’s original soundtrack, ‘Christmas Tree’, has officially surpassed 500 million streams on Spotify, marking a significant milestone for the artist.
This accomplishment makes ‘Christmas Tree’ the fifth song by V to achieve over 500 million streams, following his popular tracks ‘Love Me Again’, ‘Winter Ahead’, ‘FRI(END)S’, and ‘Slow Dancing’. This new record further solidifies V’s solo success on the global streaming platform.
‘Christmas Tree’, the acclaimed OST for the SBS drama ‘Our Beloved Summer’, is a lyrical track distinguished by V’s gentle vocals harmonizing beautifully with an acoustic guitar melody. Its minimalist instrumentation is masterfully designed to spotlight V’s unique vocal color and profound emotional depth. Critics have widely praised V’s characteristic warm tone for significantly enhancing the drama’s emotional arc and drawing viewers deeper into the story, contributing to its immersive quality.
Released on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2021, ‘Christmas Tree’ managed to carve out a significant presence even during a period traditionally dominated by classic holiday carols. Notably, it made history as the first K-OST to enter the prestigious Billboard ‘Hot 100’ chart, debuting at number 79, all without a physical album release. The track also impressively debuted at number 55 on the ‘Holiday Hot 100’ chart. Furthermore, ‘Christmas Tree’ became the first K-pop song to top the Billboard ‘Holiday Digital Song Sales’ chart and the first K-pop solo track to claim the number one spot on the Billboard U.S. Digital Song Sales chart, showcasing its immense popularity.
The song garnered considerable attention from international media outlets as well. Billboard notably selected ‘Christmas Tree’ as one of the ’30 Best Christmas Songs of the 21st Century’ for two consecutive years, 2024 and 2025 – a unique distinction as the sole K-pop entry on their esteemed list. U.S. media giant Elite Daily also featured the track in their ’24 Christmas Season Songs Released Since Y2K’ playlist. In the UK, Edinburgh Live recognized it as ‘The most popular Christmas song on Spotify in 2022’, while BuzzFeed ranked it #1 on their list of ‘K-Drama OSTs to Add to Your K-Pop Fan Playlist’, further cementing its global appeal and critical acclaim.
