Strey Kids made new history in the world of K-pop. The latest album of this Korean boy band, ‘Karma’, has taken the top spot on the US Billboard album chart Hot-200. They have occupied the top spot on the Billboard album chart for the seventh time. With this achievement, they have surpassed another popular Korean band, BTS.
‘Karma’ is Stray Kids’ first full-length album, which has come after two years and two months. It contains 11 songs. The title track is ‘Ceremony’. In the album, the members tell the story of their growth. They say how they made their own path without being swayed by outside opinions or internal conflicts.
What happened this time
BTS had topped the Billboard 200 chart 6 times. Stray Kids surpassed BTS with their seventh album, ‘Karma’. Not only that, this group is the only band in history to have all seven of their albums debut at the top of the chart in the first week. The album topped the chart on Sunday, dethroning Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem.”
Stray Kids members. JYP Entertainment
Gratitude to fans
After making history, the group expressed their gratitude to their fans through their agency JYP Entertainment. They told their fans, “This is unbelievable, we are amazed. This is a huge honor for us. We sincerely thank Stray (the name of their global fandom) and everyone who loves our music.”
Single record on Billboard
Billboard says Stray Kids is now the only group to have seven consecutive albums debut at number one. In 2022, they topped the charts with “Ordinary” and “MaxiDent,” in 2023 with “Five-Star” and “Rock-Star,” and in 2024 with “Eight” and “Hope.” This is the continuation of that streak with “Karma.”
Billboard said that last year, ‘Hope’ reached number one, making Stray Kids the first band in Billboard’s 69-year history to have their first six albums debut at the top of the chart. ‘Karma’ took them a step further.
New heights in sales
The Billboard 200 releases a list of the most popular albums of the week in the United States. It is determined by equivalent album units, which are based on three factors: direct album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
According to Billboard, the ‘Dominate’ tour has grossed $76.2 million in North America alone, the highest in K-pop history for a North American tour. The European leg has also been equally successful.
‘Karma’ has sold (or streamed or downloaded) 313,000 copies this week. Of this, 296,000 units came from direct album sales, such as CDs, vinyl, photobook editions, etc. This is the highest sales of Stray Kids’ career.
16,000 units came from streaming. 1,000 units came from track downloads; this is the calculation of single purchases or downloads.
Full album after two years
‘Karma’ is Stray Kids’ first full album, which came after two years and two months. It contains 11 songs. The title track is ‘Ceremony’. In the album, the members tell the story of their growth. They say how they made their own path without being swayed by outside opinions or internal conflicts.
We make and sing songs ourselves. We have kept the style of songs that fans have loved since our beginning. Now the goal is to create something new and improve it. Even if there are some changes, we will remain as we are.
Changbin
At a recent press conference in Seoul, rapper Changbin said, “In the beginning, we often wondered if the kind of music we were making was the right path? But the belief of our members gave us confidence. We kept working hard. And that’s how we overcame obstacles and reached a dream moment.”
Stray Kids means ‘shake’
Stray Kids’ journey began in 2017, produced by JYP Entertainment. The biggest challenge for them was to establish themselves among the big established groups. The popularity of this eight-member group has been built on their own style of music.
The most important thing for Stray Kids is to express their true artistry. The eight-member group from JYP Entertainment—Bang Chan, Lee No, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Sungmin, and I.N—has been making their own music for the past seven years. The three members of the group, Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, formed the production unit Three Racha, which is mainly responsible for producing Stray Kids’ songs.
Stray Kids’ music is known to fans as ‘mala-flavored music’. The name comes from the popular spicy condiment ‘mala’ in Chinese cuisine. Just as playing ‘mala’ makes your tongue tingle, Stray Kids’ songs are also full of energy. Their music combines intense hip-hop bass, powerful rap, beats and sounds to create a unique feeling in the listeners’ minds. This unique style has given Stray Kids a unique identity in the K-pop world.
Another aspect is the performance. Excellent choreography, stage excitement, and diverse stage production have set their concerts apart from others. Overseas tours, music festivals—they have proven everywhere that this group is not limited to Korea, but that their circle of fans is widening in the international music world. So it can be said that Stray Kids is not only topping the charts, but is also writing a new chapter in K-pop culture.
‘We will be ourselves’
The most important thing for Stray Kids is to express true artistry. This eight-member group from JYP Entertainment—Bang Chan, Lee No, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Sungmin, and I.N.—has been making their own songs for the past seven years. The three members of the group—Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han—formed the production unit Three Racha, which is mainly responsible for producing Stray Kids’ songs. Changbin said, “We make our own songs. It shows the group’s identity, and it also shows our strength.’ Stray Kids was on their record-breaking ‘Dominate’ world tour at the time of this interview with The Hollywood Reporter. According to Billboard, the tour grossed $76.2 million in North America alone, which is the highest in K-pop history on the North American stage. The European leg was also equally successful.
In this interview, the members also talked about the album ‘Karma’. As the name suggests, the main message of the album is ‘If you do good, good will come back’. Changbin said, ‘We really wanted to say, if you do good, good will come back. That’s what we’re trying to do.’
Hyunjin’s favorite song on the album is ‘Bleep’, and Changbin’s favorite song is ‘In My Head’, which was also considered for the title song. In the interview, they also talked about the much-discussed ‘Dominate’ tour. Felix said, ‘It’s a unique experience to have so many people together in a stadium. I learned a lot. This time, we want to bring more surprises for the fans.’ Sungmin liked the proximity of the fans the most. In his words, ‘I have met so many new fans from this city and in the city. You can tell from the expressions on their faces how much love they were waiting for us.’
The style of the songs is also changing regularly. However, Stray Kids does not want to change their style. Changbin said, ‘We make and sing songs ourselves. We have kept the style of songs that the fans have loved since our beginning. Now the goal is to create something new and improve it. Even if there are some changes, we will remain the same as us.’
Source: Korea Times
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