Yahoo Lifestyle Stray Kids’ ‘HOP’ Tops Albums Chart as Kendrick Lamar Holds Strong at No. 2
Stray Kids, an eight-piece South Korean K-pop group, has scored its sixth No. 1 album and second this year on the Billboard 200 albums chart, bumping Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” to No. 3 after it made a two-week return to the top.
With “HOP” at No. 1, Stray Kids are tied with Linkin Park, BTS and Dave Matthews Band for the most No. 1s among groups on the list since 2000. The 12-song “HOP” — composed of solo and group performances — logs a total of 187,000 units in its debut week, per Luminate. It’s the top selling album in the United States with a total of 176,000 albums sales.
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American fans have the opportunity to purchase seven different CD variants, all containing collectible items such as photocards, posters, stickers and trading cards. They scored 171,000 CD sales and 5,000 digital downloads.
The Republic Records signees — also the label for Swift, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande — scored their first chart-topper on the list earlier this August with “ATE.”
The second spot on the latest chart belongs to Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” with a solid 100,000 equivalent album units earned. Lamar’s sixth studio LP was a surprise release, on Nov. 22, and opened at No. 1 with 319,000 units sold, some of the biggest first-week numbers posted this year.
The rest of the top 10 continues with Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” at No. 4; The “Wicked” film soundtrack at No. 7, Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” at No. 8 and Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” at No. 9.
Meanwhile, Michael Bublé’s 2011 “Christmas” album is the highest-charting holiday set on Christmas week at No. 5 with 68,000 units earned. Bing Crosby’s “Ultimate Christmas” compilation is at No. 6 while Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit, “Merry Christmas,” lifts to No. 10 for a seventh consecutive holiday season.
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