Highlights
The week 33 Billboard world albums chart up to August 24, 2024, proves that K-pop remains to be the leading genre in the international market. Stray Kids stays at the top for the fourth week in a row with their ninth Korean extended play, ATE. Coming second is BTS’s Jimin with Muse. The chart also provides a good mix of the K-pop artists where artists from HYBE Labels dominated the top positions followed by SM Entertainment groups, and some artists from other agencies. These rankings of this week prove that the genre is popular and there is cut-throat competition among the Korean music artists in the global market.
Hybe Labels Artists At The Forefront
HYBE Labels remains to prove as a powerhouse label in the K-pop industry, as several artists place themselves in the Billboard World Albums chart. Following Stray Kids and Jimin, ENHYPEN’s second Korean-language studio album, Romance: Untold, remains at position three for five weeks in a row. The group has more than just this chart, however they also have a standing as one of the top one hundred on the Billboard 200.
SEVENTEEN and TOMORROW X TOGETHER are also making their appearance with their albums 17 is Right Here and minisode 3: TOMORROW ranking 11th and 15th. SEVENTEEN’s album is present on the chart for the 16th week of its album while TOMORRROW X TOGETHER has maintained its position for 20 weeks.
The group that was part of the pioneers of K-pop groups that have gained a huge following all over the world is still popular. This particular collection of songs is in fact their anthology album titled PROOF which has been a chart topper for an incredible 114 weeks and still counting standing at position #13.
SM Entertainment Groups Emerge
Despite the fact that HYBE Labels takes most of the positions, SM Entertainment groups show that they are not to be outdone. Aespa takes the lead for SM; Armageddon, which is their first studio album, enters the charts at #8 in its 12th week. Following close behind is Red Velvet’s June EP Cosmic which debuts at the #10 positions in its second week.
RIIZE, which is relatively a new group under SM, is not bad for it occupies the #12 spot with their first mini-album titled RIIZING which is also second week on the chart. This is a good showing across the different generations of SM artists proving the company’s capacity of churning out acts that have global appeal.
Non-Big 4 Companies Make Waves
It is not just the big three labels that can boast of K-pop artists since both (G)I-DLE and ATEEZ are on the chart. (G)I-ADELE’s newest mini-album I Sway also enters the chart at #6 although it was released in Korea and the US at different dates. ATEEZ continues to prove their international appeal, with their 2024 mini-album Golden Hour: Part 1 remains at number nine in its eleventh week on the chart for Holding Strong.
Zoe Kravitz’s Directorial Debut ‘Blink Twice’: A Psychological Thriller Exploring Power Dynamics
These achievements prove that the K-pop industry is expanding and opening up new opportunities as talents and fans can be found in any niche of the Korean music market.
