Global girl group XG has debuted at number 175 on the Billboard 200 chart with their latest mini-album, AWE! This achievement marks their first-ever entry on the chart, solidifying their status as a rising force in the global music scene. AWE also claimed the top spot on the Heatseekers Albums chart, further showcasing the group’s growing impact worldwide.
For Japanese artists, this is a significant milestone, 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 also the first Japanese girl group to make the list since BABYMETAL’s METAL GALAXY in 2019. Their success with AWE follows the historic achievement of their song “GRL GVNG,” which ranked No. 1 on the Hot Trending Songs Powered by Twitter chart, making them the first Japanese artist to top the weekly chart in the US.
Their second mini-album, AWE, was released in Japan on November 8 and in the US on December 6. It debuted at No. 3 on both the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. Internationally, the album climbed to No. 12 on the Apple Music Worldwide Album Chart (Daily), entered the Top 200 in 48 countries and regions, and reached No. 2 on the iTunes Top 100 Pop Albums (Worldwide). The music video for the lead single “HOWLING” also trended on YouTube in 10 countries, and XG made history as the first Japanese female artist to enter the US Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales chart, further cementing their growing global presence.
This year, XG embarked on their first world tour, The First HOWL, performing 29 shows across 26 cities worldwide. The tour drew an impressive audience of approximately 200,000 fans, with 120,000 in Asia, 50,000 in North America, and 30,000 in the UK and Europe—a remarkable accomplishment for a Japanese artist. The momentum continues with additional performances in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka), and into 2025 with shows in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) in February, along with plans for a South American tour.
Adding to their achievements, XG was recently announced to perform at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. They will be the only Japanese artist on the lineup and the first Japanese female artist to secure the second headliner spot, just below the main headliner, creating significant buzz in the global music industry.
With AWE and their record-breaking milestones, XG’s global momentum shows no signs of slowing down.
