Stray Kids sit at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 22 with their tenth mini album, “THIS & THAT,” a result that makes them the first act in the chart’s roughly 70-year history to see each of their first nine charting entries debut in first place.
Billboard revealed the placement in a chart preview published Aug. 16. According to Luminate, the album earned 369,000 equivalent album units in the United States during the tracking week ending Aug. 13, the largest week by units of the group’s career. Traditional album sales accounted for 357,000 of that figure, the best pure-sales week Stray Kids have recorded and enough to open the set at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart as well. Streaming equivalent album units contributed 11,000, the equivalent of 12.21 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs, and track equivalent album units made up the remaining 1,000.
The streak began with “ODDINARY” in March 2022 and has since run through “MAXIDENT,” “5-STAR,” “ROCK-STAR,” “ATE,” “HOP,” “KARMA” and “DO IT.” When “HOP” arrived at No. 1 in 2024, Stray Kids became the first act to debut its first six charting entries on top; that run now stands at nine. The Billboard 200 has published on a regular weekly basis since March 1956.
The ninth chart-topper also moves the group into a tie with the Rolling Stones for the second-most No. 1 albums by a group in the chart’s history. Only the Beatles, with 19, have reached No. 1 more often. Stray Kids separately extend their own record for the most No. 1 albums by a group this century.
The album’s title track performed on the singles side as well, entering the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 38, the group’s highest position on that chart to date and its sixth career entry, following “LALALALA,” “Lose My Breath,” “Chk Chk Boom,” “CEREMONY” and “Do It.”
The members responded to the news on the evening of Aug. 16 in an Instagram Story. “Today we are excited to share the most exciting news ever,” Bang Chan said, adding that the album had reached No. 1 for a ninth consecutive time. Felix thanked the group’s fanbase, known as STAY, saying the milestone would not have been possible without their support. In a separate statement issued through JYP Entertainment, the group said achieving a ninth Billboard 200 No. 1 in its ninth year since debut felt almost as if it were destined.
“THIS & THAT” was released Aug. 7 through JYP Entertainment and the Republic Collective. Its eight tracks were written and produced by 3RACHA, the group’s in-house unit of Bang Chan, Changbin and HAN, and the hip-hop-based title track was preceded by the pre-release single “RUN IT.” The album’s sales week was supported by 17 CD and vinyl variants carrying collectible photocards, posters and stickers, alongside eight digital download variants.
The chart result lands a week before the group’s next major date. Stray Kids are scheduled to perform at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Aug. 29 and 30, which would make them the first international male act to stage their own concert at the venue. They are also set to headline Rock in Rio in Brazil in September, following a Governors Ball headlining set in New York earlier this summer.