Stray Kids Breaks Sales Record with ‘Hollow’
[CBC News] Stray Kids has proven their massive popularity in Japan once again. Their third Japanese mini album ‘Hollow’, released on June 18, shattered records by achieving the highest first-week sales for any fourth-generation K-pop group.
‘Hollow’ Hits Half-Million Before Release Day
Remarkably, the album surpassed 610,000 copies in sales on June 17—before the official release—earning half-million-seller status in record time. This marks the group’s second pre-release half-million-seller in Japan, following their 2023 EP ‘Social Path (feat. LiSA) / Super Bowl -Japanese ver.-‘.
Topping Charts Across Japan
Stray Kids’ ‘Hollow’ debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Top Album Sales chart (June 16–22) with over 730,000 copies sold. It also secured the top spot on Oricon’s Weekly Album Ranking and Weekly Combined Album Ranking. With this, Stray Kids set their personal best and a new benchmark for all 4th-gen K-pop acts. Notably, they’re the first non-Japanese artist this year to exceed 500,000 first-week album sales in Japan.
Global Digital Domination
The album’s digital performance mirrored its physical success. ‘Hollow’ topped Apple Music and iTunes charts in Japan across multiple categories including overall, pop, and K-pop albums. It also ranked No. 1 on Japan’s Oricon Weekly Digital Albums chart and dominated rankings in 21 regions worldwide, including Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia.
A Fully Original Japanese Comeback
‘Hollow’ marks Stray Kids’ first all-original Japanese album since their 2022 mini album ‘CIRCUS’, released nearly three years ago. Every track was written and produced by the in-house unit 3RACHA—Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han—showcasing the group’s reputation as a self-producing idol group.
The Meaning Behind ‘Hollow’
The title track ‘Hollow’ creatively combines the English word “hollow,” meaning empty, with the Korean word “홀로” (hollo), meaning alone or lonely. The emotional fusion plays out through a powerful blend of synth leads, electric guitar, and poignant piano melodies. Upon its pre-release on June 11, the music video soared to No. 1 on YouTube’s Music Video Trending Worldwide chart. As of June 25, it nears 10 million views.
(Photo Credit: JYP Entertainment)
