K-pop idol group Stray Kids sold 1.65 million copies of their new mini-album and talked about renewing their contracts early.
Stray Kids released the album “ATE” on July 19 led by the main track "Chk Chk Boom."
According to Korea’s Hanteo music chart, “ATE” sold a total of 1,654,332 copies on the first day of release on July 19 and topped the daily physical album chart.
Stray Kids (X)
Stray Kids's Bang Chan and Felix with “Deadpool & Wolverine” stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (Instagram)
This is equivalent to a 1,779,011 in physical record index, a combination of total sales and album price, used by Hanteo Chart to rank albums.
A day before the release of the “ATE” album, JYP Entertainment, the group’s agency, announced that all members of Stray Kids–Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N–renewed their contracts.
This was ahead of the expiration of the contracts next year, their seventh year since debuting in March 2018.
“Stray Kids, an artist who is demonstrating the power of unrivaled music and performance in the global music market, and JYP, who has led and planned their growth, have renewed their contracts with deep trust and dreamed of a lofty vision,” JYP Entertainment said.
During the press conference for the album on July 19, Stray Kids talked about why they renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment.
“We came to this decision because we could really see ourselves growing together, thanks to the love and support that we’ve gotten from Stay [fans] and the company staff,” said leader Bang Chan, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Bang Chan added, “We really wanted to share the great news quickly.”
“What was so great was that every member had the exact same thought, which felt really touching to see as the [group's] leader. I believe that we have written a really good story as Stray Kids, even before our debut, but there are so many things that we want to show in the future,” he explained.
About their album’s title, Bang Chan said, “The title ‘ATE’ has two meanings; one is where people show that ‘they ate the stage,’ like when someone just rocks their performance. ‘ATE’ also sounds the same as the number eight, which symbolizes us Stray Kids. We tried to get across our sincerity through the album.”
The music video for "Chk Chk Boom” contained the special appearances of “Deadpool & Wolverine” stars Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
As of 4 p.m. on July 20, the music video has garnered 18 million views on YouTube since its release on July 19.
Stray Kids will launch their world tour "dominATE" in Seoul on Aug. 24, 25 and 31, and Sept. 1 at the KSPO Dome.
In the Philippines, Stray Kids will hold the concert on Nov. 23 at the Philippine Arena, which will be presented by Live Nation Philippines.
