Stray Kids are once again rewriting the rules of K-Pop and global pop culture. The eight-member group has achieved what no artist in Billboard history has ever done before: all seven of their first entries on the Billboard 200 have debuted at No. 1. Their latest full-length album, KARMA, released August 22 via JYP Entertainment/IMPERIAL/Republic Records, has cemented them as the most dominant K-Pop act in chart history.
KARMA stormed to the top of the Billboard 200 with 313,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, including a staggering 296,000 physical copies sold. This marks the third-biggest album debut of 2025, trailing only behind Morgan Wallen and The Weeknd. In doing so, Stray Kids broke the tie with BTS to claim the record for the most Billboard 200 No. 1 albums by any K-Pop act.
The success of KARMA extends far beyond the U.S, debuting at No. 1 in France, Germany, and Belgium, while also cracking the Top 5 in Australia. In South Korea, KARMA sold over 2 million copies on release day and exceeded 3 million in its first week, making it the country’s top-selling album of 2025 so far. On Spotify, it set a new benchmark with 18.26 million first-day streams for a K-Pop album this year.
The release of KARMA comes hot on the heels of the group’s monumental <dominATE> world tour, which saw them perform 54 shows across 34 regions. Of these, 27 were stadium shows, a first for Stray Kids. They broke records at venues worldwide, from becoming the first K-Pop act to headline stadiums in São Paulo, Seattle, and London, to setting new attendance records at Paris’ Stade de France, the largest K-Pop concert ever held in France.
For a group that debuted just seven years ago, Stray Kids have built a cultural movement that resonates with fans across continents. and with KARMA, Stray Kids have reshaped expectations for what a K-Pop group can achieve on a global scale. And judging by their momentum, this is only the beginning.
