Stray Kids’ new album HOP puts K-pop back in a familiar spot – No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. HOP is the 19th No. 1 album or EP by a K-pop act on the Billboard 200. The first was BTS’ Love Yourself: Tear in June 2018.
Stray Kids and BTS have each had six No. 1 titles on the Billboard 200, which puts them in a tie for the lead among K-pop acts.
ATEEZ is runner-up with two No. 1s on that chart. SuperM, BLACKPINK, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NewJeans and TWICE have all have one No. 1 album to date.
BLACKPINK was the first female K-pop act to land a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. They scored with Born Pink in 2022. NewJeans and TWICE were the second and third.
K-pop groups tend to be large ensembles. TWICE has nine members, one more than Stray Kids and ATEEZ. BTS and SuperM each have seven members. TOMORROW X TOGETHER and NewJeans each have five members. BLACKPINK has four members. To date, no K-pop solo artists, duos or trios have topped the Billboard 200.
There have been multiple No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 by K-pop acts in every year since 2018 except for 2021, when there were none. The peak year (to date) for most No. 1 K-pop albums on the Billboard 200 was 2023, when there were five. There were four in 2022 and four again in 2024.
Here’s a list of all K-pop albums to top the Billboard 200. They are listed in chronological order.
