Stray Kids aim for 9 straight Billboard 200 No. 1s as 'THIS & THAT' first-week sales top 3 million

THIS & THAT dropped on the 7th. First-week sales: 3 million copies. Stray Kids are chasing a ninth consecutive Billboard 200 number one, which would extend their existing record of eight straight chart-toppers — a streak no other act in Billboard 200 history has matched.

The math behind that dominance traces back to 3RACHA, the in-house producing unit of Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han. They write and produce most of the group's material. As of the 14th, Bang Chan had 239 registered works with the Korean Music Copyright Association. Once the new album credits are filed, that hits 240. Changbin: 203 registered works. Han: 201.

The touring operation runs just as deep. Last year Stray Kids played 56 world tour dates across 35 regions and landed at No. 10 on Billboard's year-end Top Tours 2025 chart — highest placement for any K-pop act on that list.

JYP Entertainment's Park Jin Young, who debuted the group in 2018 after they beat out a JYP-produced girl group in a final competition, said of this comeback: "As always, our Stray Kids did so well."

At the comeback press conference, Han explained the group's philosophy: "There could be safe choices, but when we make albums, we always do something challenging and experimental. That's more fun." Changbin has said the same thing before, more concisely: "Going forward, we will make music with conviction and principles."

Previous releases 특 (Special) and 소리꾼 were part of the same self-produced run that now has them one album away from a nine-peat.