Stray Kids Makes K-Pop History With Their Unprecedented KMCA Album Certifications
Since April 2018, Circle Chart (formerly known as Gaon) has been awarding certifications for Korean-language albums based on their shipment numbers, provided by their respective record labels and distributors. The KMCA — Korean Music Content Association — awards these certifications once albums reach certain sales numbers. Platinum certifications are awarded for 250,000 sales, double platinum at 500,000, triple platinum at 750,000, and million at one million sales. 2x, 3x, and further multiples are awarded for each multiple million sales reached.
Since the certification system was established in April 2018, only albums released after that date are eligible to be awarded certifications. Because of this, highly successful artists that debuted early in the third generation — such as BTS and EXO — have fewer album certifications than one might otherwise expect.
At this time, BTS has a total of eight album certifications, all of which are at the 3 million certification mark or higher (except for BTS World: Original Soundtrack, which has double platinum). They’re also the only K-Pop artist to have an album surpass both 4x million and 5x million certifications, given to Map of the Soul: Persona and Map of the Soul: 7 respectively.
When it comes to the K-Pop artist with the most KMCA album certifications, though, Stray Kids has every other artist beat!
With the most recent certification awarded to MAXIDENT — a 3x million certification, making Stray Kids the only artist besides BTS with this particular sales number for a single album — the fourth-generation boy group has a whopping 12 KMCA-certified albums.
Half of those albums — I Am Not, I Am Who, Clé 2: Yellow Wood, I Am You, Clé 1: Miroh, and Clé: Levanter — have surpassed 250,000 sales to earn platinum certifications.
Two of them — Go Live and In Life — have surpassed 500,000 sales, earning them double platinum.
One album — Christmas EveL — earned a triple platinum certification for surpassing 750,000 sales.
Two of Stray Kids’ albums — ODDINARY and NOEASY — reached the one million sales mark, and were awarded the appropriate million certification.
And lastly is the aforementioned MAXIDENT with a 3x million certification.
The K-Pop artists with the next highest number of albums with KMCA certifications are actually both SEVENTEEN and TWICE, who each have ten such albums.
Along with BTS, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, MONSTA X, and TXT are all tied for third with eight KMCA-certified albums each.
Congratulations to this impressive record set by Stray Kids! We have no doubt that the number of KMCA-certified albums by them will only continue to rise with each comeback they have.
Stray Kids
Share This Post
