Stray Kids’ mixtape HOP debuted at number one this week. The group has landed six entries on the Billboard 200 chart, all debuting at the very top. The previous albums were the EP ODDINARY, MAXIDENT (2022), 5-STAR, ROCK-STAR (2023), and the EP ATE (2024). Stray Kids’ achievement represents a Billboard first in the many years since it was established in 1956. Rapper DMX previously held the record for debuting five albums at number one between 1998 and 2003. The Kids also join BTS, Linkin Park, and Dave Matthews Band in the list of groups with six number-one albums since the year 2000.

HOP sold 187,000 units in its first week. Of these, albums made up 176,000 copies, earning it number one on the Top Album Sales chart. CD sales across seven different versions totaled 171,000 copies, with digital downloads at 5,000. Streams amounted to 14.8 million, equaling 10,000 units.

With HOP’s inclusion, four K-pop albums managed to reach number one on the Billboard 200 in 2024. The other three were With YOU-th by TWICE in March, ATE by Stray Kids in August, and GOLDEN HOUR: Part 2 by ATEEZ in November. Only 27 albums that weren’t English-language albums have ever hit number one, with 18 of them being K-pop albums, and all after BTS first reached the milestone in 2018.

Looking at the rest of the top of the chart, Kendrick Lamar’s album GNX remained at number two on the back of 100,000 units, topping the streaming albums chart. The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift dropped from its place at number one last week down to number three, with 85,000 units, putting it at number two on Top Album Sales. Holiday albums in the top 10 included Michael Bublé’s Christmas at number five, Bing Crosby’s Ultimate Christmas at number six, and Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas at number 10. Crosby’s album, which, like his duet with V, came out earlier this year, climbed to its highest position yet.

Mariah Carey’s perennial “All I Want for Christmas Is You” sat at number one for the third week this year and for the 17th time since first released, putting it in second place for number of weeks at number one on the Hot 100. It trails only the 19 weeks held jointly by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” The achievement also surpasses Carey’s own record for her 1995 song “One Sweet Day,” which held number one for 16 weeks. When her entire catalog is taken into consideration, this marks her 96th week at number one. Even if it doesn’t happen this year, it’s highly likely that she’ll go on to someday set the record for number of weeks at number one, both by a single song and by an artist.

This week, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” saw double-digit increases in streaming and airplay and an 80% jump in sales. Given this week’s chart looks at the period from December 13 through 19, the song clearly benefitted from the festive sprit of the season. “All I Want” also topped the Streaming Songs chart for a record-breaking 21st time, while sales of the 30th-anniversary edition of the single, including on vinyl, CD, and cassette, continued to skyrocket. Carey’s song was number one in Digital Song Sales, too. Considering the Christmas classic’s iconic status, physical releases could very well see consistent returns every time the season comes back around. Finally, the song was number 16 in radio.

Overall, Christmas songs swept the top five, as well as nine spots in the top 10, with the only outlier being the Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars duet “Die With a Smile” at number six.
Meanwhile, two modern holiday classics broke into the top 10 for the first time: Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” at number nine and Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” at number 10. Both tracks had previously peaked at number 11. Grande’s was released in 2014, while Clarkson’s came out in 2013, and these original songs represent the youngest Christmas songs to make it into the top 10. “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which came out in 1994, was number one, while the classic 1984 Wham! track “Last Christmas” sat at number three. Will we see another generational shift in holiday hits a decade from now?

Taking to the top of the Emerging Artists chart this week was Lola Young. Her album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, released in June, topped the Heatseekers Albums chart as well. Both charts use the same metrics as the Artist 100 and Hot 100, but they focus on artists who haven’t yet reached prominent chart positions, and that makes them a great indicator of the kind of reception these rising artists are getting. Young recently gained widespread recognition after appearing on the song “Like Him”—off Tyler, The Creator’s latest album CHROMAKOPIA—which peaked at number 29 on the Hot 100 and currently sits at number 56. Young’s most recent single, “Messy,” climbed to number 54 this week, marking a new high three weeks after debuting on the chart. Her album This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway, meanwhile, debuted at number 180 on the Billboard 200. In short, the British singer-songwriter, born 2001, is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Young’s story isn’t one of success at home that followed her abroad. Rather, she broke through with a passion-filled US tour, building up a healthy fanbase along the way. Not surprisingly, things are a lot different for her now than they were in the early days. A teenage Young entered the BBC audition show Got What It Takes? in 2016 with a guardian then began putting out several EPs around the time she became an adult. However, without proper artistic control or a full understanding of herself, Young found herself boxed into making generic ballads. For example, she covered the 1984 song “Together in Electric Dreams” in a Christmas commercial for John Lewis, a department store. But after deciding to be totally open and put who she is—vulnerabilities and all, including her mental health—on full display, she released her debut studio album, My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, in 2023, followed up quickly by This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway in June 2024. She then continued to get her name out into the world with an emotional, energy-filled tour.

Tyler, The Creator reached out to Young and asked her to lend her vocal chops to his album—not out of mere chance, but because he recognized an artist who had found her artistic identity. The same thing goes for the meteoric rise of “Messy.” Shortly after the release of CHROMAKOPIA, Young dropped “Messy” as an official single, but it didn’t immediately gain traction. The momentum came when it unexpectedly went viral on TikTok. A lot of people found out about the song from influencers Jake Shane and Sofia Richie shimmying to the track in a short video. While the reactions to the videos itself had a “so is this dancing now?” vibe, the number of views proved that people were paying attention to the song in the background. After appearing on TikTok, the song debuted at number 115 on Spotify’s weekly US chart and later climbed to number 59 and again to 42. Her recent entry into the Hot 100 and subsequent rise in ranking stemmed directly from this. Should it have gone viral for a dance that’s barely even a dance, you ask? Dance or not, that’s not what matters—it’s the song that’s earned its place in the spotlight.

ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” holds strong at number one on both the Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts for a ninth consecutive week. Global streams are gradually declining, currently hovering at around 140 million. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” takes number two in global streams, with next week’s chart set to cover the period that includes Christmas Day. It remains to be seen whether “APT.” can hold off the wave of holiday tunes and pull off a 10th week at the top. The song is number 22 on the Hot 100, 28 on Streaming Songs, four on Digital Song Sales, and 18 on Radio Songs—the last of which marks its fifth and best week. ROSÉ’s album rosie sits at number 21 on the Billboard 200, number 36 on Top Streaming Albums, and number 13 on Top Album Sales. ROSÉ herself is number 34 on the Artist 100.

The Stray Kids album HOP debuts at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales. Their song “Walkin On Water” debuts at number five on Digital Song Sales, number eight on Bubbling Under Hot 100, and number 66 on the Global 200. The group also returns to number one on the Artist 100.

TWICE’s 14th mini album, STRATEGY, comes in at number 56 on the Billboard 200 and number eight for album sales, while the girl group is number 60 on the Artist 100.

Jung Kook’s album GOLDEN returns to the Billboard 200 at number 109 and the Top Album Sales chart at number 21. Vinyl copies of the album began shipping in the US, contributing to its sales performance and giving GOLDEN its debut on the Vinyl Albums chart at number 11.

MUSE by Jimin is at number 136 on the Billboard 200 this week. The BTS member’s song “Who” is number 47 on the Hot 100, number 32 on Streaming Songs, and number 25 on the Global 200.

ROMANCE: UNTOLD by ENHYPEN is number 169 on the Billboard 200 and is 25th for album sales.

GOLDEN HOUR: Part 2, ATEEZ’s latest EP, is number 43 on Top Album Sales.

On the Heatseekers Albums chart, KATSEYE’s EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) is number five and XG’s EP AWE sits at number 15.

Meanwhile, on the Emerging Artists chart, ILLIT is at number 20, KATSEYE at 29, XG at 30, and LISA at 46. Returning to the chart is NCT DREAM, this time at number 44.

Finally, here’s a full review of the K-pop artists currently on the Global 200: