At present, K-Pop is living in the era of Stray Kids.

The band Stray Kids is undoubtedly at their zenith, with each new album release hitting a new career high. Stray Kids continues to lead the global popularity of K-pop with its unique musical color, high quality, and strong identity. The continuous break of their own records is a meaningful journey that testifies to their growth.

Stray Kids made a comeback on the 2nd of this month, releasing their third studio album "5-STAR." The comeback was highly anticipated due to the global success of their previous albums. Stray Kids didn't disappoint, reaching another career high with the quality of their music.

The band's new album received much attention even before its comeback. The day before its release, it set a new record with pre-orders surpassing 5.13 million copies, breaking the K-pop pre-order record. Within a week of the comeback, Stray Kids sold over 4.61 million copies of their album, achieving the impressive feat of becoming a quadruple million seller.

This achievement, the highest in K-pop first-week sales, comes nearly two years after they first became million-sellers with their second full album "NOEASY" in August 2021. After their first million-selling album, Stray Kids had subsequent million-sellers with "ODDINARY" in March of the same year and "MAXIDENT" in October, showcasing their impressive growth and breaking K-pop records within a mere eight months.

Stray Kids' successes are equally remarkable on the global stage. They topped the U.S. Billboard 200 and Artist 100 charts for the third time in a row with "5-STAR." They also topped the Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and World Album charts, showcasing their strong presence in five Billboard charts. On Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform, they also became the third K-pop group ever, and the first fourth-generation group, to enter the Top 10 of the Weekly Top Album Global Chart, showcasing their formidable presence in the global market.

One of the factors that makes Stray Kids' growth and achievements even more noteworthy is that they are a self-producing group. Since their debut in March 2018 with the album "I am NOT," Stray Kids has filled every album with their own compositions. Their intention to build a unique area outside of the existing mold is included in their music, and they've managed to craft their own Stray Kids sound through telling their own stories. Their ongoing effort to create 'music only Stray Kids can do' speaks volumes about their determination.

This direct storytelling by the members has solidified the team's identity and musical color, and the perseverance they've shown since their debut has led to growth and meaningful achievements. Thus, their accomplishments are all the more notable for their 'special' growth narrative as a self-producing group, as opposed to typical K-Pop.

Moreover, they have not only composed their own music, but also been directly involved in producing, conceptualizing, and performing, which is why their future activities are highly anticipated. Stray Kids is praised for their performance skills as well as their musical abilities. Their performances, filled with powerful, unique, and intense energy, amplify the charm of their music. This is why they are rated as a team with overwhelming skills both musically and performance-wise.

As they continue to hit new career highs and define "the era of Stray Kids," all eyes are on their continued growth and global strides.

Copyright © 2023 Kpop Reporter. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.