Credit
ArticleSeo Seongdeok (Music Critic)
DesignKim Minkyoung

Stray Kids’ EP ATE and Jimin’s album MUSE debuted on the Billboard 200 this week at numbers one and two, respectively, making this the first time that K-pop has dominated the top two spots of the chart simultaneously. All five of Stray Kids’ debuts on the same chart have been at number one—the first group in history to do so—and includes ODDINARY and MAXIDENT (2022), as well as 5-STAR and ROCK-STAR (2023). The only individual to have ever achieved the same thing is DMX, with albums released between 1998 and 2003. The rapper hasn’t released a number-one album since, but Stray Kids have the opportunity to push their record to even greater heights.

ATE hit the ground running, moving 231,000 units in its first week—the highest of any K-pop album so far this year, and sixth when not counting for genre. Album sales made up 218,000 of those units, a majority of which were physical copies, and trails only Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which sold 1.91 million copies in its first week. Not surprisingly, ATE claimed the top spot on the Top Album Sales chart. Eleven different versions were released on CD, and the album was streamed 19.05 million times, making up 13,000 units.

MUSE debuted at number two with 96,000 units moved in its first week: 74,000 from sales and 15,000 from streams. The album also puts Jimin on the Top Streaming Albums chart for the first time, where it currently sits at number 48. His debut solo album from last April, FACE, similarly debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. When FACE made the chart, Morgan Wallen’s album One Thing at a Time was at number one for a fourth consecutive week—a position it went on to claim a total of 19 times. Wallen’s album is still near the top today, some 70 weeks later.

The tracklists for both ATE and MUSE are primarily made up of songs written in Korean. To date, 25 non-English albums have topped the chart, including 16 in Korean, five in Spanish, and the remainder a mix of Italian, French, and Spanish. BTS, who made six of those albums, and Stray Kids, who made five, together account for more than half of the Korean written songs.

Last week’s number-one album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) by Eminem, has fallen to number three, selling 79,000 units. Swift’s TTPD is right behind Slim Shady at number four with 74,000 units. Aside from Stray Kids’ and Jimin’s albums, the highest-ranking album new to the chart this week is the soundtrack for the movie Twisters. The OST currently sits at number seven after moving 57,000 units. In an odd twist, although Twisters isn’t a movie about country music, most of the songs off its soundtrack fall within the genre. In light of the recent rise in popularity of country, as much went into making the OST as the film itself. Country heavyweights popular with all age groups like Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, and Shania Twain all put out new songs for the movie, with country fans going gaga over the soundtrack as a number of tracks off the album saw a release two or three months in advance of the movie hitting theaters. As the sole OST to hit the top 10 this year, it’s now seen the best single-week performance of any OST of 2024.

For the second week running and third overall, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is at number one, making waves in every category. “Bar Song” consistently sells more than 10,000 copies each week, an unprecedented showing for a song that didn’t just come out. “You Missed” by Tom MacDonald sat atop the Digital Song Sales chart last week, bumped out by Jimin’s single “Who” this week, and while “Bar Song” is only at number two for digital sales, it still made it to number one on the Hot 100 thanks to overall units moved. It’s at around 40 million streams, although just starting to slow, but it’s still hanging onto the top. Considering the speed with which number-three single “Not Like Us” dropped all the way down to streams measuring in the mid-30 millions this week from its more than 50 million streams two weeks earlier, the sheer number of streams of “Bar Song” stands as a testament to the track as a successful genre crossover that appeals to listeners beyond fans mainly invested in only a single genre like country or hip hop. And it’s only doing better and better on the radio, having jumped from number three to number one on Country Airplay this week and from number five to number four on Rhythmic Airplay. By contrast, Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s single “I Had Some Help,” currently number two on the Hot 100, is number one in airplay but has seen growth dwindle to a measly 1%, compared to “Bar Song,” which has seen over 10% growth every week for four weeks and has brought the gap between it and “Some Help” on the radio to less than 1%. In other words, Shaboozey’s single is within striking distance of taking number one across streaming, sales, and airplay—something not seen since Adele released “Easy On Me.”

Jimin’s song “Who” went right to number 14 when it debuted on the Hot 100, the highest new entry for a K-pop single this year. It’s also the idol’s sixth song to hit the chart and his highest charting since “Like Crazy” went to number one. Breaking it down, “Who” is number 25 in streaming and number one in digital sales, the highest of any song to debut this week. “Who” also reached number one on both the Global 200 and the Global Excl. US charts. Jimin’s song is the fourth among the BTS members’ solo singles to take the two charts together after Jung Kook with “Seven,” “3D,” and “Standing Next to You.” In fact, BTS is the only group to have had more than one of its members top both charts simultaneously.

Stray Kids’ single “Chk Chk Boom” is number 49 on the Hot 100, making the song their first top 50. They reached number 90 twice, with singles “LALALALA” and “Lose My Breath” in November last year and May this year, respectively. Only two songs debuted straight into the top 50 this week, and they’re both K-pop: “Chk Chk Boom” and “Who.” “Chk Chk Boom” is also number three on the Digital Song Sales chart, a personal best for the group. Previously, their song “S-Class” peaked at number 22, “LALALALA” at number 20, and “Lose My Breath” at number eight. Stray Kids’ latest single also debuted at number 10 on the Global 200 and number four on the Global Excl. US charts, surpassing their previous best, “LALALALA,” which charted at numbers 10 and six, respectively.Not only are “Who” and “Chk Chk Boom” the only new songs in the top 50 of the Hot 100 this week, but they’re also the only new ones to the top 100 of the Global 200.

Stray Kids and Jimin saw their popularity spill over from the Billboard 200 and into the Artist 100, where they jumped up to numbers one and two. The only other time the Artist 100 top two were simultaneously occupied by K-pop artists was when BLACKPINK and BTS did the same back in October 2020. Meanwhile, ENHYPEN slipped from number two to number 22, NCT 127 returned at number 59, ATEEZ charted at number 90, and aespa squeaked in at number 100.

Back on the Billboard 200, ENHYPEN’s album ROMANCE: UNTOLD fell from number two to number 21 last week, while NCT 127’s sixth album, WALK, debuted at number 117.

Currently, numbers one through three of the Top Album Sales chart are all occupied by K-pop releases. Following ROMANCE: UNTOLD at number three are WALK (eight), GOLDEN HOUR: Part 1 (ATEEZ, 16), Armageddon (aespa, 17), minisode 3: TOMORROW (TOMORROW X TOGETHER, 29), and NA (NAYEON, 46).

Finally, on the Global 200, almost every track off Jimin’s new album MUSE is charting, with “Be Mine” at number 123, “Slow Dance” at number 159, and “Rebirth (Intro)” at number 187. Here’s the full breakdown of the K-pop songs on the Global 200 this week:

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