K-pop sensation Stray Kids has achieved another major milestone, securing its sixth No. 1 debut on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with their latest album, Hop. The album earned 187,000 equivalent album units in the United States during the tracking week, according to Billboard’s chart preview on Sunday.
The group expressed their gratitude through their agency, JYP Entertainment, saying, “We’re honored to receive such immense love from fans around the world.”
This marks Stray Kids’ sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200, following previous chart-toppers Oddinary and Maxident in 2022, 5-Star and Rock-Star in 2023, and Ate earlier this year. With this achievement, Stray Kids joins BTS, Linkin Park, and the Dave Matthews Band for the most No. 1 albums among groups on the Billboard 200 since 2000.
Stray Kids also made history as the first act to debut at No. 1 with their first six charting albums in the nearly 69-year history of the Billboard 200, Billboard reports.
The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums in the U.S., based on equivalent album units, which combine physical album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Of Stray Kids’ 187,000 units, 176,000 came from physical album sales, with 10,000 units from SEA and 1,000 from TEA.
The album’s title, Hop, combines the Chinese character for “harmony” with the “hop” from the hip-hop genre, according to JYP Entertainment. Featuring tracks like “Walkin On Water,” “Bounce Back,” and “U,” as well as solo pieces from their latest world tour, Hop includes 12 songs in total.
Though predominantly in Korean, Hop marks the 27th mostly non-English-language album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the fourth in 2024. Of the 27 non-English albums to reach the top spot, 18 are from Korea. Since 2018, K-pop groups have dominated the chart, with BTS leading the charge with six No. 1s.
With this win, Stray Kids solidifies its position as one of the most influential groups in global music, joining the ranks of BTS, Ateez, SuperM, BLACKPINK, Tomorrow X Together, NewJeans, and TWICE.
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