Stray Kids is proving that its rise in the U.S. is no passing wave. With its latest album KARMA, released Aug. 22, the eight-member group has claimed the crown as America’s top-selling album of 2025 so far.
According to U.S. chart tracker Luminate, KARMA sold nearly 393,000 copies in the country between Jan. 3 and Sept. 18. That puts it ahead of any other album released this year — a striking feat for a Korean act performing largely in its native language.
Beyond that milestone, Stray Kids has become the first K-pop act to surpass 1 million combined physical and digital album units sold in a single year in the U.S. Its cumulative sales have topped the million mark for a second consecutive year.
The group had already set records when KARMA debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, smashing its own first-week sales record in the U.S. This marked Stray Kids’ seventh career chart-topper on the Billboard 200, making it the first artist in the chart’s 70-year history to see its first seven albums all enter at No. 1.
Fans in Europe are also showing their love. In France, KARMA earned gold certification from the French music industry association SNEP, awarded for albums that sell more than 50,000 units. It is the group’s fifth gold record in France, following ★★★★★ (5-STAR), 樂-STAR (Rock-Star), ATE, and SKZHOP HIPTAPE 合(HOP).
Stray Kids is set to close out its world tour with two encore concerts, “Stray Kids World Tour < dominATE : celebrATE >,” at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium in Korea on Oct. 18–19. The shows will serve as the finale of a record-breaking tour spanning 54 performances across 34 regions worldwide, and mark the group’s first-ever stadium concerts in Korea since its debut seven years ago.
The final show on Oct. 19 will be streamed live via the Beyond LIVE platform.
by Byung-Yeon Yoo
yooby@hankyung.com
