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#StrayKidsFraudOnBillboard: Fan war begins as 'Oddinary' predicted to top BB200

Stray Kids' latest album is their best-selling yet as they had 1.3 million pre-orders and made 676k actual sales in South Korea

Stray Kids is currently one of the popular fourth-gen boy groups. They had reached 1.3 million pre-orders for their latest mini-album ‘Oddinary’. They went on to have their highest first-day sales as the album crossed 496k copies in South Korea. It has now reached a total of 676k sales according to Hanteo Chart. It also topped iTunes in 57 regions while the title track ‘Maniac’ topped iTunes in 35 countries. And now predictions are coming through that the album might very well debut at #1 on Billboard 200 Album Chart.

Chart watchers calculated the sales of albums in USA for the third and fourth week of March and made a list where Stray Kids was on the top with approximately 115k sales. This means that ‘Oddinary’ could very well give the K-pop boy group their very first #1 on the BB200 Album Chart. However, a certain condition on merchant websites that sell the album has non-fans speculating that fraud might occur.

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Non-fans accuse Stray Kids of fraud

While Stray Kids have sold more than 676k copies, it reflects the sales in South Korea through Korean merchant websites and stores. The sales that usually count towards Billboard charting like the BB200 Chart depend on the number of albums sold in USA. However, non-fans pointed out that Stray Kids’ sales made through Korean websites like ‘Yes24’ would count to Billboard-charting which was unfair. They also shared that since the lead single ‘Maniac’ was not topping charts, it seemed suspicious that the album would. Such users went on to make long threads of how JYPE was manipulating the sales.

Many even created a Twitter Space to discuss the issue. This has led to a fan war as Stray Kids’ fans tried to defend themselves while non-fans started trending #StrayKidsFraudOnBillboard. One BTS fan tweeted, “So it was fraudulent when the biggest group in the world had a #1 song on the Hot 100 for weeks but when Stray Kids have a fraudulent BB200 #1 with no Hot 100 entry it’s ‘the chart’s wouldn’t allow manipulation’.

Another user commented, “If you selling 1.3 million in album sales but not charting with the single there’s no way the sales are real.” One user added, “So you're telling me stkz fans are buying passes for melon so those who aren't in Korea can stream?! And they're also counting sales that wasn't bought in U.S. for billboard?! And calling it ‘ORGANIC GROWTH’? but 875 is ‘manipulating the charts’? LMAO.”

‘Whats the reason for this obsession for SKZ’

However, fans have taken it upon themselves to defend Stray Kids. One Stay explained, “Terms and conditions says that it only counts for billboard if you buy the album from USA with a USA address 😂 you can check in http://YES24.com.” Another fan shared a Billboard article that explained how the album could chart despite the lead single not doing well digitally, “They even got the professionals to speak.” One Stay added, “Everyone just remember that skz's success won't cause your favs failure so stop being jealous and chill bro,ur favs already have great numbers,whats the reason for this obsession for skz??” Another simply celebrated, “MY KINGS ARE DOING WELL I SEE.”

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