The popular group Stray Kids achieved the feat of taking first place for the sixth time on Billboard's main album chart, Billboard 200. This is on par with global supergroup BTS (BTS), making it the first place in the K-pop group's joint largest Billboard 200.
According to a preview article posted on Billboard's official website on the 22nd (local time), Stray Kids' special album "SKZHOP HIPTAPE - HOP)" released on the 13th reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart on the 28th with 187,000 copies worth of sales.
Starting with their sixth mini album "ODDINARY" in March 2022, Stray Kids set a new record of placing a total of six works on the Billboard 200 chart, starting with their sixth mini album "MAXIDENT," their third full-length album "★★★★★ (5-STAR)," their eighth mini album "ROK-STAR," their ninth mini album "ATE," and their new album. This is the same record as BTS, and the two groups shared the honor of being the most ranked No. 1 in the Billboard 200 among K-pop groups.
In particular, Stray Kids has achieved an incredible record of No. 1 with "ODDINARY" since it first entered the Billboard 200. In its 69-year history, Stray Kids is the first and only artist to debut at No. 1 on all six albums that debuted on the chart. On this record, Stray Kids was previously tying with American rapper DMX. Starting with "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" in 1998, and "Grand Champion" in 2003, DMX has topped all five albums that first entered the Billboard 200.
In addition, Stray Kids, along with BTS, Linkin Park, and Dave Matthews bands, have become the most ranked group on the Billboard 200 since 2000.
The ranking of the Billboard 200 chart is determined by adding the number of streaming to the traditional album sales, SEA (Streaming Equivalent Albums), which converted the number of streaming to album sales, and TEA (Track Equivalent Albums), which converted the number of digital music downloads to album sales. Stray Kids' "HOP" album recorded 176,000 traditional album sales, 10,000 SEA units, and 1,000 TEA units.
Stray Kids' "HOP," which consists mostly of Korean, is also the 27th non-English speaking album to reach the top of the Billboard 200. Since BTS topped the Billboard 200 for the first time with a Korean album in 2018, a total of 18 Korean albums have topped the chart so far.
JYP Entertainment, the agency, explained that "SKZ," an abbreviation for Stray Kids, is a combination of "SKZ" and hip-hop (HIP-HOP), and that it is an album that presents "new genre unique to Stray Kids" like a new genre that is not officially defined.
A total of 12 tracks were included in the album, including the title track "Walkin' On Water," "Bounce Back," "Youtful (Feat. TABLO), "Walkin' On Water" (hip-hop version), and the eight-member solo stage songs that were performed on the new world tour.
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