Stray Kids Just Landed Their 9th Billboard 200 No. 1 With THIS & THAT — Here’s What Makes It Historic (2026)
Quick answer: Stray Kids’ 10th EP, THIS & THAT, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated August 22, 2026. It’s the group’s ninth consecutive No. 1 album. That puts Stray Kids second among all groups in Billboard 200 history for total chart-toppers — behind only the Beatles, tied with the Rolling Stones. The EP is streaming now on every major platform.
Stray Kids has not missed a single No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 since 2022, and THIS & THAT just extended that run to nine. When I checked Billboard’s own chart-beat coverage against Korea Times’ report on the same milestone, both independently confirm the same figure: nine No. 1 albums, with THIS & THAT moving 369,000 equivalent album units in its first tracking week.
That’s a strong number on its own. What makes it a genuine record, not just a good week, is what it sits next to — a group-only Billboard 200 ranking where Stray Kids now trails only the Beatles.
It also lands at a moment when K-pop chart stories are stacking up fast. Red Velvet, CORTIS, and ENHYPEN all posted their own chart milestones earlier this month, and Stray Kids just added the biggest one of the bunch. This part matters if you’re trying to keep the receipts straight — a lot of the numbers getting thrown around this week sound similar but measure completely different things.
Fast Facts First
- How Did THIS & THAT Hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200?
- How Big Is Stray Kids’ Now Nine-for-Nine Billboard 200 Streak?
- Where Does Stray Kids Rank Against the Beatles and the Rolling Stones?
- Every Stray Kids Billboard 200 No. 1, In Order
- Where Can You Stream THIS & THAT Right Now?
How Did THIS & THAT Hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200?
THIS & THAT debuted atop the Billboard 200 on the chart dated August 22, 2026, after moving 369,000 equivalent album units in its first week — the biggest opening week of Stray Kids’ career by that measure, according to Billboard’s own reporting.
📌 Related reading: K-pop isn’t the only chart story moving fast this month — see what’s topping Netflix’s own rankings in our A Bona Fide Killer: Cast, Where to Watch, and Why Its Ratings Keep Climbing (2026) roundup.
Traditional album sales made up the bulk of that figure, at 357,000 units, with the rest coming from streaming and digital track equivalents. Chart dates on the Billboard 200 always run about a week ahead of the actual tracking period, which is a detail that trips people up — the “August 22” date reflects sales tallied the week before, not release-day numbers alone.
How Big Is Stray Kids’ Now Nine-for-Nine Billboard 200 Streak?
Every studio release Stray Kids has put out since 2022’s ODDINARY has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and THIS & THAT is the ninth in that unbroken run.
For more on what led directly into this release, we covered the tracklist and streaming details before the chart result was known in Stray Kids’ THIS & THAT: Full Tracklist, Release Time, and Where to Stream (2026).
This part is easy to undersell. A single No. 1 can happen on a strong release week for almost any major act. Nine in a row, across roughly four years and multiple comeback eras, is a different kind of achievement — it means the group’s fanbase mobilizes at scale on command, release after release, without a single miss.
Where Does Stray Kids Rank Against the Beatles and the Rolling Stones?
Billboard’s own group-only tally now places Stray Kids second all-time for total No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, trailing only the Beatles and tied with the Rolling Stones at nine each.
That’s specifically a groups ranking, not an overall artist ranking — solo acts with more No. 1s, going up against decades of chart history, aren’t part of that particular comparison. Still, sharing a line with the Rolling Stones on a chart that goes back to 1956 is not a small thing for a group that debuted in 2018.
You’ll probably notice K-pop coverage sometimes rounds this up to “most No. 1s ever” without the groups qualifier attached. Worth keeping the distinction straight before you repeat the stat anywhere.
Context helps here. The Billboard 200 has run continuously since 1956, and the Beatles built their total across the 1960s and 70s, well before streaming, digital sales, or fandom-organized bulk buying existed as chart tools. The Rolling Stones’ nine came together over roughly five decades. Stray Kids reached the same number in about four years, entirely inside the streaming-and-fandom era of the chart — a different set of conditions, even if the final tally lines up.
Every Stray Kids Billboard 200 No. 1, In Order
Nine releases, nine debuts at No. 1 — here’s the full sequence, sourced from Billboard’s own chart-beat coverage of each individual milestone.
| No. 1 Order | Album / EP |
|---|---|
| 1st | ODDINARY |
| 2nd | MAXIDENT |
| 3rd | 5-STAR |
| 4th | ROCK-STAR |
| 5th | ATE |
| 6th | HOP |
| 7th | KARMA |
| 8th | DO IT |
| 9th | THIS & THAT |
✅ Quick gut-check: if you only know Stray Kids from THIS & THAT, ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR are the two earlier eras most new fans work backward to first.
Where Can You Stream THIS & THAT Right Now?
THIS & THAT is streaming now on Spotify, Apple Music, and Melon, with physical album versions available through JYPE’s official retail partners.
If you’re catching up on the back catalog too, all eight prior No. 1 albums remain on every major platform, so there’s no gap in the streaming history to work around — unlike some groups whose early releases get pulled during label transitions.
New listeners often ask where to start given nine full releases sitting there at once. ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR tend to get recommended first because they sit in the middle of the group’s sound evolution — heavier and more experimental than the earliest work, but before the sound shifted again for THIS & THAT. There’s no wrong entry point, though; the group’s fanbase has absorbed new listeners at every single one of these nine release points.
For Fans Who Want the Full Picture
- ✅ Check Billboard’s chart-beat page directly for the week-by-week sales breakdown behind the 369,000-unit figure.
- ✅ Cross-reference with Circle Chart or Hanteo if you want the domestic Korean numbers alongside the U.S. figures.
- ✅ Watch for JYPE’s official social channels to confirm any post-release physical or digital bundle updates.
- ✅ Bookmark the group-only Billboard 200 ranking if you’re tracking how this compares as new acts release albums later in 2026.
What Do People Keep Getting Wrong About This Record?
The most common mix-up is treating “ninth No. 1 album” and “most No. 1 albums by any artist ever” as the same claim, and they’re not — this is a groups-only comparison, not an all-time overall record.
The second mix-up is the chart date itself. August 22, 2026 is when the chart is dated, not when the album came out or when sales were tallied — Billboard’s tracking week runs ahead of the cover date, which is standard for how the Billboard 200 has always worked, not something specific to this release.
A third one shows up almost every comeback era: assuming a strong opening week guarantees the next one too. It doesn’t. Nine straight No. 1s is a streak, not a rule, and Billboard’s own coverage of each individual release treats every debut as its own contest against whatever else charts that same week. Skip that assumption and the record actually reads as more impressive, not less — nine separate wins, not one guaranteed outcome repeated automatically.
FAQ
How many Billboard 200 No. 1 albums does Stray Kids have now?
Nine, after THIS & THAT debuted atop the chart dated August 22, 2026. Every one of the group’s studio releases since 2022’s ODDINARY has opened at No. 1.
Is Stray Kids really tied with the Rolling Stones?
For total No. 1 albums among groups, yes. Billboard’s own tally puts Stray Kids at nine, tied with the Rolling Stones and behind only the Beatles. It is a group-only comparison, so solo artists are not part of that specific ranking.
Where can I stream THIS & THAT?
THIS & THAT is available on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Melon, along with physical album versions through JYPE’s official retailers.
Sources
- Korea Times: Stray Kids Lands Atop Billboard 200 With THIS & THAT, Group’s 9th No. 1
- Billboard: Stray Kids Score Ninth No. 1 on Billboard 200 With THIS & THAT
- Billboard: Stray Kids Claim Eighth No. 1 on Billboard 200 With DO IT
Fact-checked based on public sources as of August 19, 2026. Chart figures and rankings are current as of publication and can shift as new albums release.
