Stray Kids continues to dominate the K-pop scene, securing their fourth consecutive No. 1 entry on the prestigious Billboard 200 chart with their latest mini album ROCK-STAR.
On Monday, November 20, Billboard announced that ROCK-STAR joined the ranks of its predecessors, ODDINARY, MAXIDENT, and 5-STAR. All of which had previously claimed the top spot on the chart.
Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) "樂-STAR"
🤟 𝐍𝐨.𝟏 on Billboard 200 “ROCK-STAR”
🤟 DEBUT on Billboard Hot 100 at 𝐍𝐨.𝟗𝟎 “락 (樂) (LALALALA)”#StrayKids #스트레이키즈#樂_STAR #ROCK_STAR#락 #樂 #LALALALA#YouMakeStrayKidsStay pic.twitter.com/jtvTec1Ech— Stray Kids (@Stray_Kids) November 21, 2023
For those unfamiliar, the Billboard 200 rankings are based on equivalent album units, which consider traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums. According to Billboard, ROCK-STAR secured its top position with a total of 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States, including 213,000 traditional album sales, predominantly from CD sales, and 11,000 streaming equivalent album units.
Additionally, Luminate further detailed that the album’s success was driven by 98% CD sales and 2% digital downloads, totaling 213,000 traditional album sales. The streaming component, contributing 11,000 streaming equivalent album units, equates to an impressive 15.68 million on-demand audio streams during the week ending on November 16.
Stray Kids makes history anew
With this, Stray Kids have now become the first artist, and notably the first K-pop act, to achieve such a remarkable streak since Alicia Keys in the early 2000s.
“All four of Stray Kids’ chart entries have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making them the first act to see their first four chart entries debut at No. 1 since Alicia Keys in 2001 to 2007,” Billboard noted.
Moreover, this remarkable achievement comes less than two years after their debut at the US charts. Furthermore, it establishes them as the first Korean act to consecutively debut their first four albums at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – a feat not seen in 16 years.
On top of that, the speed at which Stray Kids achieved this milestone is equally impressive, taking them less than 20 months to accumulate four No. 1 albums. Notably, this rapid success places them in the company of Taylor Swift, as the fastest artist to achieve four No. 1s since August 2020.
Following the achievement, Stray Kids expressed their gratitude towards their fans through a video message. “Thank you to STAY and everyone who has been listening to our music,” they said.
Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) "樂-STAR"
스테이 덕분에 값진 빌보드 200 차트 1위를 얻게 되었습니다😭
감사합니다🩷Absolutely mindblowing that we now have 4 consecutive No.1s on the Billboard 200 chart🤯
Thank you to STAY & everyone who has been listening to our music🩷#StrayKids… pic.twitter.com/fqlFJ6YQ8v— Stray Kids (@Stray_Kids) November 21, 2023
On November 9, the group released their newest mini-album Rock Star, with the title track “LALALA.”
Featured image: The group poses for concept photo of ‘Rock Star.’ Credit: Facebook/STRAY KIDS