As Stray Kids’ new album Hop debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard, they join a club that includes Linkin … [+]
For the second time in 2024, Stray Kids top the Billboard 200. The boy band’s new project, a mixtape titled Hop, launches in first place with a healthy opening sum of 187,000 equivalent units. As the full-length opens in first place, the vocal troupe makes history and ties several other hugely successful groups in America.
Hop is special, as it marks Stray Kids’ sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Billboard notes that now that they’ve accrued half a dozen winners on the list of the most-consumed albums in the U.S., they’ve matched BTS, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band for the most rulers on the competitive tally among groups this century.
Stray Kids stand apart from the names they just tied in one very specific, very important way. The band has only placed six titles onto the Billboard 200, and all of them have debuted at No. 1. The group has released more collections than just their half-dozen that have ruled the American ranking, but none of them appeared on the tally.
BTS, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band have all hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 six times since 2000, but they have also seen several projects miss the throne. Among those musical acts, Dave Matthews Band has hit the top spot most frequently, as they’ve nabbed seven leaders. That said, they’ve also missed the mark more than any of the others, as they’ve sent 31 projects to the 200-spot ranking.
BTS’s track record is especially impressive, as the South Korean boy band has seen 15 releases make it to the Billboard 200, and six of them have hit No. 1. Linkin Park has only managed three more charting titles in total, though they share the same number of champions as the two K-pop favorites.
2024 now marks the third year in a row in which Stray Kids have collected multiple No. 1 albums in America. They started their historic run in 2022, when both Oddinary and Maxident opened in first place. Last year, 5-Star and then later, Rock-Star, both ruled as well. A little more than four months ago, the band’s Ate EP similarly launched atop the tally.
Of the 187,000 equivalent units that Hop starts with, 176,000 are pure purchases. Stray Kids, like many of the biggest names in the K-pop space, are known for their ability to sell albums like few left in the music industry. As their new title opens atop the Billboard 200, it also conquers the Top Album Sales chart, where they have also earned half a dozen champions…as well as one set that failed to rule.
