Stray Kids Are Looking For A New No. 1 — Will ‘Wicked’ Beat The K-Pop Stars?

2025 has been an especially busy year for Stray Kids, one of the most productive chart-topping musical acts on the planet. The South Korean boy band has now released four projects since January as the group’s latest mixtape Do It arrives.

Anticipation is always high whenever Stray Kids dole out brand new music, even if the outfit has been sharing tunes and even full-lengths throughout the past year. As it drops, Do It becomes a powerful seller in the United States, though it has thus far just barely failed to become a No. 1. That could change in the coming hours and days as more diehard supporters of the K-pop favorites come online and rush to not only hear, but buy the EP.

Stray Kids Nearly Hit No. 1 with Do It

Do It currently sits at No. 2 on the iTunes Top Albums chart. While sales in the music industry took a massive hit when online piracy became widespread, and then later when streaming platforms like Spotify took over and offered an alternative, a number of artists have helped reverse that course. Stray Kids is one of several acts that have developed fan bases eager to spend their money to support the singers, either digitally or on physical formats, and Do It is the latest in a long line of impressive sellers.

Wicked: For Good Beats Stray Kids

As of the time of writing, only one release beats Stray Kids on the iTunes Top Albums tally. The Wicked: For Good soundtrack wasted no time rising to No. 1. The set, credited to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — as well as, more generally, the entire Wicked movie cast — leads the chart, just as the film it accompanies is expected to rule the box office in just a few days.

Stray Kids Bring Karma Back to the Charts

As Do It gets off to a fantastic and almost perfect start, another Stray Kids release appears on the iTunes Top Albums chart. Karma reenters the ranking at No. 89, seemingly spurred on by the brand new EP.

Stray Kids Score a Top 40 Bestseller With“Do It”

The Do It mixtape is really more of an EP, as it features only five songs. Its tracklist includes four originals as well as two takes on the title tune and lead single.

Of course, “Do It” is the top performer on the iTunes Top Songs chart in America. Stray Kids score an initial top 40 success, as “Do It” appears at No. 38.

Not far behind “Do It” comes “Divine,” which debuts at No. 51. The festival version of “Do It” comes next at No. 87, while both “Photobook” and “Holiday,” the only two other tracks featured on the EP, round out a big moment for Stray Kids as they open at Nos. 112 and 145, respectively.

Four Albums In 2025 Alone for Stray Kids

Of the four collections Stray Kids have released in 2025, only one has charted in the United States. The album Karma, which dropped in August, gave the group another No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The Hollow EP was performed in Japanese, and traditionally, even when coming from superstars, Japanese-language projects don’t perform nearly as well in the U.S. A “single album” titled Mixtape: Dominate was too short to make an impact when it dropped in March.

How Many No. 1 Albums Have Stray Kids Charted?

Throughout the years, Stray Kids have scored seven appearances on the Billboard 200, the company’s ranking of the most consumed albums, EPs, mixtapes, and other similar releases in the U.S. The band’s track record remains absolutely perfect, as all seven of those releases have reached No. 1. Expectations for Do It are high, and the K-pop talents are absolutely looking for another strong performer and top seller. Based on how well things are going on iTunes just a few hours after the EP was released, the musicians could be on their way to a historic champion.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/11/21/stray-kids-are-looking-for-a-new-no-1—will-wicked-beat-the-k-pop-stars/