Stray Kids Make History with Five RIAA Gold Albums, a First for K-Pop

Stray Kids have achieved a remarkable milestone by earning their ninth RIAA Gold certification with their album SKZHOP HIPTAPE '合 (HOP)', making them the first K-pop group to hold five RIAA Gold-certified albums.

According to the RIAA's official website, Stray Kids received the Gold certification for SKZHOP HIPTAPE '合 (HOP)', released on December 13, 2024. The RIAA awards Gold status to singles and albums that have sold over 500,000 copies in the United States.

With this achievement, Stray Kids now boast nine RIAA Gold certifications, including singles '神메뉴' (God's Menu), 'MANIAC', 'Back Door', '소리꾼', and albums '★★★★★ (5-STAR)', '樂-STAR', 'ATE', 'MAXIDENT', and '合 (HOP)'. Notably, they are the first K-pop group to receive more than five Gold certifications in the album category.

Stray Kids continue to shine in the global music scene. Felix's feature on Japanese artist LiSA's new track 'ReawakeR (feat. Felix of Stray Kids)' topped the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart on March 8, 2025.

Their world tour, 'Stray Kids World Tour ', is set to break records with 2.2 million attendees across 55 shows in 34 regions, marking the largest audience for a single K-pop tour. The tour kicks off with two performances in Santiago at Estadio Bicentenario La Florida on March 27-28, and will cover Latin America, Japan, North America, and Europe with a total of 34 stadium shows.

Ahead of this, Stray Kids will release their first 2025 project, a new digital single 'Mixtape : dominATE', on March 21. This marks the fifth installment in their 'Mixtape Project', which began in 2019. The group, led by their producing team 3RACHA, is involved in the songwriting process, heightening anticipation for their unique musical style.

Reported by Kim Ji-won, TenAsia