[Billboard Chart] KATSEYE Breaks Into Billboard 200 Top Spot for First Time, Becomes Fourth Ever After BLACKPINK

HYBE’s KATSEYE Makes History as Fourth Ever to Top Billboard 200, Taking Over With 170,000 Copies of “WILD”

Group sells 145,000 physical albums and enters the U.K. Official Albums Chart at No. 2

HYBE’s Formula for Success Is Reshaping the Global Pop Market

HYBE’s Korean-American girl group “KATSEYE” has stormed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the U.S. main albums chart, with its third mini-album, “WILD”. It is the fourth K-pop-based girl group ever to reach the milestone, following BLACKPINK, NewJeans and TWICE.

Billboard, the U.S. music trade publication, officially announced in a chart preview article on the 22nd local time that “WILD” debuted at No. 1, ahead of Phoebe Bridgers’ “LOST WEEKEND” and Stray Kids’ “THIS & THAT.” This marks the first time “KATSEYE,” which debuted in 2024, has claimed the top spot on Billboard’s main chart.

During the chart tracking period, “WILD” posted 170,000 album units, demonstrating its overwhelming sales power. Physical album sales alone reached 145,000, allowing the release to simultaneously top this week’s Top Album Sales chart. Streaming-equivalent albums (SEA) accounted for 24,500 units, while track-equivalent albums (TEA) totaled 500.

Led by the title track “Hootie Frutti,” the album reflects “KATSEYE’s” distinctive identity: embracing the self as it is and moving toward instinct and freedom. A top-tier production team, led by HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and global pop star Ed Sheeran, with Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin among its members, helped maximize the album’s musical polish. The group had already hinted at a global breakout by reaching No. 2 — its highest position to date — on the U.K. Official Albums Chart’s Top 100.

Created through “The Debut: Dream Academy,” a joint survival project from HYBE and Universal Music’s “Geffen Records,” “KATSEYE” cemented its position in the North American music market in February by earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. Meanwhile, Stray Kids’ “THIS & THAT” posted 82,000 album units and settled at No. 3, down two spots from the previous week.