Stray Kids Topped iTunes in 41 Countries. At Home, "RUN IT" Didn't Chart at All.
"RUN IT" hit No. 1 on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart within hours of its June 24 release. By the morning of June 25, it had done the same in 41 individual markets, including the US, UK, France, Brazil, and Australia. In the US specifically, it peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre iTunes chart - Stray Kids' best showing there to date. The music video topped YouTube's trending chart in 34 countries.
On South Korea's four major streaming platforms - Melon, Genie, Flo, and Vibe - the song did not chart. Not low. Not fading. It never appeared.
JYP Entertainment released "RUN IT" with almost no promotional lead time: a teaser dropped at midnight KST on June 22, and the single arrived two days later, on June 24 at 1 p.m. KST. The track is the first piece of a rollout that continues with the eight-track album "This & That" on August 7, alongside a newly announced fourth world tour under the same "RUN IT" name. The single was written and produced by the group's in-house unit 3RACHA - Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han.
The gap between the song's international and domestic reception has become its own story online, with one chart-tracking account on X describing the absence from Korean charts as "the biggest flop of 2026." JYP Entertainment has not issued a statement addressing the domestic chart performance.
The split is not without precedent in K-pop, where international fandom-driven sales - bulk downloads, coordinated streaming campaigns - can move iTunes rankings independently of a song's traction with general domestic listeners on algorithm-driven platforms like Melon. "RUN IT" arrived as a pre-release single rather than a full title track campaign, without the broadcast stage performances or variety show appearances that typically build domestic streaming momentum in Korea.
Stray Kids' commercial baseline heading into this release was already established. Their previous mixtape, "Do It," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in November 2025, extending the group's streak to eight consecutive entries opening atop the US albums chart - a record no other K-pop act has matched. On June 6, they became the first K-pop act to headline the main stage at New York's Governors Ball.
"This & That" will be the real test. Whether the album closes the gap between Stray Kids' international chart dominance and their reception at home arrives August 7.
