Stray Kids, BTS, TXT, ENHYPEN Lead Billboard World Albums Chart

• Stray Kids continue to lead charts along with extensive catalog endurance.
• New and established K-pop acts together ranked on the chart, indicating a more diverse and competitive global market.
• Solo and unit releases achieved significant rankings, indicating their increased importance in chart performance.

K-pop led Billboard's World Albums rankings for the week ending Jan 17, 2026, with Stray Kids retaining their dominance as both veteran and new groups filled the top tier. Stray Kids' latest release, DO IT, maintained its No. 1 position on the chart, marking its seventh week at the top. It also held its position at No. 155 on the Billboard 200, demonstrating a remarkable cross-market impact rarely seen this deep into a release cycle.

Apart from DO IT, Stray Kids’ other albums also ranked on the World Albums chart. KARMA placed at No. 3, 合 (HOP) at No. 8, ATE at No. 17, ★★★★★ (5-STAR) at No. 24, and ROCK-STAR at No. 25. These entries on the chart, ranging from 20 to 77 weeks, indicate long-term consumption of both current and earlier releases of the group.

Along with Stray Kids, BTS' 2022 anthology album Proof returned to No. 4 in its 187th week on the World Albums chart. Additionally, their 2020 album Map of the Soul: 7 re-entered at No. 12 in its 155th week.

Emerging K-pop Acts and Solo Projects Fill Mid-Chart

CORTIS, a newcomer to the global arena, saw its first EP COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES climb to No. 5 in its 18th week, indicating increased global popularity beyond home benchmarks. On the other hand, ENHYPEN’s sustained visibility with DESIRE: UNLEASH at No. 9 for the 32nd week and ROMANCE: UNTOLD at No. 23 for the 78th week. NewJeans' 2023 EP Get Up rose to No. 11 in its 122nd week, while ILLIT's bomb and BTS Jimin's solo MUSE landed in the middle of the chart at No. 13 and No. 14, respectively.

TXT and BOYNEXTDOOR Round Out Top 20

TXT member Yeonjun's solo mini album NO LABELS: PART 01 debuted at No. 15, and The Star Chapter: TOGETHER peaked at No. 20, indicating a continued interest in subgroup collaborations. BOYNEXTDOOR's The Action ranked at No. 22, highlighting a growing competition for chart position amongst emerging K-pop acts.

What Do the Rankings Show?

The Jan 17, 2026 rankings reveal three co-existing trends in global K-pop consumption, including persistent catalog strength from major legacy acts, growing global outreach with newer groups and solo units, and deep discographies' ability to preserve multiple concurrent chart placements well beyond release windows. Stray Kids' dominance on the World Albums chart exemplifies this multidimensional appeal, fueling the group's economic and cultural momentum into 2026.