Play in this article ↓Stray Kids ATE: Chk Chk Boom and a Fifth Straight Billboard 200 No. 1
Published:
- Category: Album guide
- Artist: Stray Kids
KPOP NO1 Editorial · Sources checked November 10, 2026
Summer 2024 was meant to be eaten up. ATE, Stray Kids' ninth EP, came out on July 19, 2024, led by "Chk Chk Boom." The EP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the group's fifth in a row, and the title song reached the Hot 100.
Here's the idea behind the name, the title song, the eight songs and the official videos to open.
The idea: eat up the summer
JYP says the name ATE reflects Stray Kids' ambition to "eat up" the music markets at home and abroad that summer. The EP came about eight months after 樂-STAR. 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) led the work on every song, and Felix wrote and composed track 5, "Runners." JYP album page (JYP's page is in Korean; the summaries here are our translation.)
The group came into the release on a run. Before ATE, JYP counts four straight Billboard 200 No. 1s. It also notes that "락 (樂)" made Stray Kids the first fourth-generation K-pop boy group on the Hot 100. All members also attended the 2024 Met Gala, which JYP calls a first for a K-pop group.
Start with Chk Chk Boom
Chk Chk Boom is built on a Latin-style hip-hop rhythm, an addictive loop and a laid-back, distinctive topline. The song carries the confidence of aiming at a goal more perfectly than anyone. JYP album page The music video went up on JYP Entertainment's channel on July 19, 2024 (Korean time).
Two teasers came first, on July 12 and 15.
Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube
Watch the original on YouTube ↗
Archival photo: the eight members of Stray Kids at Incheon Airport on May 3, 2024. Credit: 티비텐 (TV10), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Linked from Wikimedia Commons at a smaller size; no other edits by KPOP NO.1.
How the comeback rolled out
The trailer went up on June 19, 2024. JYP says it shows the group as the faces of "ATE," a fortune-cookie brand that brings luck, and that it reached No. 1 on YouTube's worldwide trending chart and trended in about 40 regions.
Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube
Watch the original on YouTube ↗Around the release, Stray Kids headlined three major festivals: I-Days in Milan on July 12, British Summer Time Hyde Park in London on July 14 and Lollapalooza Chicago on August 2 (local dates). JYP album page
The third track also got its own video. JJAM went up on August 7.
Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube
Watch the original on YouTube ↗The 8 songs
JYP's track list opens with MOUNTAINS, Chk Chk Boom (title), JJAM and I Like It. The release text names all eight. JYP album page
| Song | What Stray Kids say |
|---|---|
| MOUNTAINS | The opener; an epic with strong guitar and synths and energetic bass and drums; the confidence of standing on a mountain peak |
| Chk Chk Boom (title) | See above |
| JJAM | A synth opening and a varied structure; follows the "RACHA JAM" unit stages |
| I Like It | A pop dance song with bright synths and a drill beat; about liking where you are with someone, even when the relationship can't be defined |
The rest of the EP: Runners, 또 다시 밤, Stray Kids and Chk Chk Boom (Festival Ver.).
Our take: start with MOUNTAINS and Chk Chk Boom, the first two tracks, then try JJAM for the unit stage energy.
A fifth No. 1 and a Hot 100 entry
ATE debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 232,000 equivalent album units. Of those, 218,000 were physical album sales. Billboard said it was the biggest week of 2024 for any K-pop album, and that the physical sales were the highest of any genre that year apart from Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department. BTS member Jimin's Muse debuted at No. 2 that week, the first time the top two spots belonged to K-pop albums. Yonhap via The Korea Times
"Chk Chk Boom" reached No. 49 on the Hot 100. As of December 2025, The Korea Herald counted it as the group's highest placement on that chart. The Korea Herald The streak continued with HOP five months later. Our HOP guide covers the sixth.
ATE also came after a run of awards. JYP lists the 2023 Billboard Music Awards' Top K-Pop Album for 5-STAR, the 2024 People's Choice Awards' Group of the Year and the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards' K-Pop Album of the Year. JYP album page Our 5-STAR guide covers the album that won the first of those.
Official ATE videos
Dates are the YouTube publication dates in Korean time.
| Type | Official video | Channel | Published, KST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trailer | "ATE" Trailer | JYP Entertainment | June 19, 2024 |
| Teaser | "Chk Chk Boom" M/V Teaser 1 | JYP Entertainment | July 12, 2024 |
| Teaser | "Chk Chk Boom" M/V Teaser 2 | JYP Entertainment | July 15, 2024 |
| Music video | "Chk Chk Boom" M/V | JYP Entertainment | July 19, 2024 |
| Music video | "JJAM" M/V | JYP Entertainment | August 7, 2024 |
Keep exploring
New to Stray Kids? The Stray Kids starter guide introduces the eight members, and the STAY fandom guide explains the fans.
The albums around this one: ROCK-STAR before it, and HOP next.
Sources
- JYP Entertainment, ATE album page (Korean)
- Yonhap via The Korea Times, "Stray Kids scores 5th Billboard 200 No. 1; BTS' Jimin at No. 2," July 29, 2024
- The Korea Herald, "Stray Kids land 5th entry on Billboard's Hot 100," December 2, 2025
- Official YouTube channel: JYP Entertainment