Stray Kids Become the Third K-pop Group in History to Debut at No 1. on the Billboard 200
K-pop group Stray Kids debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with their new EP, ODDINARY. This marks their first entry on the chart. Although Stray Kids debuted in South Korea in 2018, they did not have US distribution until a recent deal with Republic Records, making ODDINARY their first eligible album.
Stray Kids join two elite K-pop groups at the top of the charts
ODDINARY, a primarily self-produced EP, sold 110,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Mar. 24 to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Fans bought 103,000 physical albums. According to Billboard, almost all of that sum was sold through CDs, while just 2,500 were sold via digital albums. ODDINARY had the biggest sales week for any album in 2022.
Stray Kids join BTS and SuperM as the only K-pop acts to have albums debut at No. 1
In 2018, Love Yourself: Tear debuted at No. 1 for BTS. The group has topped the Billboard 200 four times since with Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona, Map of the Soul: 7, and BE.
Stray Kids debuted in 2018 on JYP Entertainment. BTS debuted as a K-pop group in 2013 on Big Hit Music. It took them five years to reach the top of the Billboard 200 (a feat most artists never achieve.) With ODDINARY’s impressive chart performance, Stray Kids have reached this milestone faster than BTS, the biggest group in the world.
SuperM, or the Avengers of K-pop as they dub themselves, debuted at No. 1 in 2019 with their self-titled EP. Like Stray Kids, it was SuperM’s first entry on the Billboard 200 charts. Unlike Stray Kids, the SM Entertainment supergroup features established members from other SM K-pop groups EXO, NCT 127, WayV, and SHINee.
‘ODDINARY’ fuels Stray Kids to more Billboard No. 1 entries
With the year’s best-selling album so far, it’s no surprise Stray Kids landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart. They are also the top music act in the U.S. They re-enter the Billboard Artist 100 chart at the No. 1 spot for the first time.
They become the fourth K-pop act to reach the top of the Artist 100, joining BTS, Blackpink, and SuperM.
Notably, ODDINARY is the first album to top the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales charts since Adele’s 30 in Dec. 2021.
A world tour is next
The pandemic was brutal on musicians from every genre. K-pop groups were left to perform virtual concerts for their fans. Although the consummate professionals gave perfect performances, the fan energy was missing. Idols often referenced this when giving their final speeches at night’s end.
Now, touring is back, and Stray Kids are eager to see their fans face to face once again. On Mar. 7, they announced a world tour with dates in Korea, Japan, and America. U.S. fans will see them in Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Fort Worth, LA, Oakland, and Seattle. Ticket on-sale dates and venue locations have not been announced, but the tour kicks off in Seoul, Korea on Apr. 30.
When asked what fans can expect from the tour during their Billboard spaces event, Lee Know said, “handsome people.”
