Global girl group XG has made a historic entry at No. 175 on the Billboard 200 chart with their latest mini-album, AWE. This milestone marks their first-ever appearance on the chart, cementing their position as a rising powerhouse in the global music scene. The album also claimed the No. 1 spot on the Heatseekers Albums chart, further highlighting the group’s growing influence worldwide.
For Japanese artists, this achievement is monumental, following Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s A Symphonic Celebration – Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki in 2023. XG is the first Japanese girl group to feature on the chart since BABYMETAL’s METAL GALAXY in 2019. This success follows their groundbreaking single “GRL GVNG,” which topped the Hot Trending Songs chart powered by Twitter, making XG the first Japanese artist to achieve this feat in the US.
Released in Japan on November 8 and in the US on December 6, AWE debuted at No. 3 on both the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. Globally, it climbed to No. 12 on the Apple Music Worldwide Album Chart (Daily), entered the Top 200 in 48 countries and regions, and secured No. 2 on the iTunes Top 100 Pop Albums (Worldwide). The music video for the album’s lead single, “HOWLING,” trended on YouTube in 10 countries. Additionally, XG became the first Japanese female artist to chart on the US Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales chart, further solidifying their expanding international presence.
This year, XG embarked on their first world tour, The First HOWL, performing 29 shows across 26 cities. The tour attracted approximately 200,000 fans—120,000 in Asia, 50,000 in North America, and 30,000 in the UK and Europe. The group’s success continues with upcoming performances in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka) and Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in February 2025, alongside plans for a South American tour.
Adding to their accolades, XG is set to perform at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where they will make history as the only Japanese artist on the lineup and the first Japanese female artist to secure the second headliner spot. This achievement has generated significant excitement across the global music industry.
With AWE and a string of record-breaking milestones, XG is poised to continue their meteoric rise, redefining what it means to be a global music sensation.
