The solo track music videos of the members of Stray Kids‘ new album are gaining global popularity.

Stray Kids released a new format album SKZHOP HIPTAPE ‘合 (HOP)’ and the title track ‘Walkin On Water’ on the 13th. Since the 16th, they have been sequentially releasing music videos for a total of 8 solo tracks from the new album, and as of the 18th, ‘Unfair (Felix)’, ‘HALLUCINATION (I.N)’, and ‘That Way, Slowly, Us (Seungmin)’ have taken over the 1st to 3rd places on YouTube’s music video trending worldwide as of the morning of the 19th. In particular, the video boasted popularity, ranking among the most popular videos on YouTube in about 20 regions around the world, including the United States, Mexico, and France.

The members‘ solo track music videos attracted attention from the content ‘UNVEIL: TRACK’ that was previously released on the official SNS channel. In the video, I.N. showed deep emotions and unexpected charm, while Seungmin gave warm comfort to the youth. Felix increased the immersion with delicate expressiveness, and each video is filled with the individuality of the members, expanding the group’s appeal.

In addition to the three songs, attention is focused on the music videos for the members‘ solo tracks ‘Railway (Bang Chan)’(Railway), ‘Youth (Lee Know)’(Youth), ‘So Good (Hyunjin)’(So Good), ‘ULTRA (Changbin)’(Ultra), ‘Hold my hand (Han)’(Hold my hand)’(Hold my hand).

The new album ‘合 (HOP)’ is continuing its global record. On the day of its release, it sold over 1.42 million copies according to Hanteo Chart, an album sales aggregation site, achieving million-selling in just one day and topping Hanteo Chart’s weekly album chart (12.09~12.15). From the 13th to the 14th, it ranked #1 on the Worldwide and European iTunes Album Charts, and also took the highest spot on the Daily Sales Rankings of Tower Records, Japan‘s largest record shop, on the 18th. The title song ‘Walkin On Water’ also maintained the top spot on YouTube’s Music Video Trending Worldwide from the day of its release until the morning of the 17th.

Stray Kids has recently been raising their status as a ‘Global Top Artist’. At the ‘2024 Billboard Music Awards’ held on the 12th (local time), they won the Top Global K-Pop Artist category, taking home the trophy at the awards ceremony for the second consecutive year. On the Year-End chart released by Billboard on the 13th, ‘樂-STAR’ (ROCKSTAR) ranked 4th in the Top Album Sales category, the highest ranking among domestic artists, ‘ATE’ (Eight) ranked 9th, and they were named in the upper ranks of many other charts, including 1st and 2nd in World Albums, 1st in World Album Artist, and 2nd in Top Album Sales Artist.

They are also going on a new world tour. They will hold a solo concert as part of the ‘Stray Kids World Tour ’ (〈Dominate〉) in Jakarta on the 21st, and will head to Hong Kong on January 18-19, 2025. Starting in March next year, they will enter mega stadiums in 20 regions in Latin America, North America, and Europe to show off their ‘stadium artists’ momentum. Stray Kids, who are continuously expanding their tour radius with sold-out concerts and additional shows, will hold a total of 48 concerts in 32 regions around the world.

Photo = JYP Entertainment

Reporter Lee Seul-bi, Donga.com misty82@donga.com