Stray Kids are the K-pop act with the most No. 1s on the Billboard 200 album chart, surpassing BTS
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Stray Kids in Seoul on Aug 22 to promote their fourth studio album Karma.
PHOTO: EPA
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SEOUL – As the hype and buzz around Stray Kids’ fourth studio album Karma shows no signs of abating on global music charts, the eight-member group said on Monday that they feel “stunned” about the success of their new release.
“Achieving seven consecutive No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart feels a little unbelievable, and we are a bit stunned. We are deeply honoured and amazed,” the K-pop boy band said through their management agency JYP Entertainment.
“We sincerely thank Stay, our fans, and everyone who supports and loves our music,” they added. Stay is their official fandom name.
Stray Kids earned their seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart when Karma – which dropped on Aug 22 – entered the US music chart, replacing American singer Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem, according to Billboard. It added that Karma earned 313,000 equivalent album units in the US in its first week.
An equivalent album unit refers to the number of streams or downloads needed to equate to a physical album sale.
Previously, the group topped the chart with EPs Oddinary and Maxident in 2022, studio album 5-Star and EP Rock-Star in 2023, as well as EP Ate and mixtape Hop in 2024.
With the new record, Stray Kids have become the K-pop act with the most No. 1s on the Billboard 200, surpassing fellow South Korean boy band BTS’ six No. 1 albums.
Stray Kids also made history as the only act whose first seven albums reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
Billboard said on its official website: “In 2024, when Hop debuted atop the list, Stray Kids became the first act to debut at No. 1 with their first six entries in the 69-year history of the chart. With Karma’s arrival, they extend that record.”
Karma sold the most copies within a week of release in 2025 in South Korea, according to a local tally on Aug 29.
It sold more than three million copies in the period, a first this year for a K-pop act, after logging two million sales on the first day alone.
The music video for the main track Ceremony has generated 48 million views on YouTube and logged the most streams on Spotify for a K-pop boy band in 2025.
The UK’s Official Chart also raised fan expectations, writing on social media: “Stray Kids are on course for their highest-charting album ever in the UK... It could be a historic moment for the band who have never pierced the Top 10.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
