This is Biography Stray Kids are a South Korean music group formed in Seoul in 2017 via a reality show of the same name.The group consists of the members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, I.N.In August 2017, JYP Entertainment announced the release of a reality show titled Stray Kids, which was intended to form a new male music group.On 7 October, JYP released the group’s first music video, ‘Hellevator’, which was later released as a digital single. During the programme, Lee Know and Felix were eliminated, but were later reintegrated into the group’s final line-up.Along with the programme’s victory and the launch of the Stray Kids’ official website, JYP also announced the release of their first album, a pre-release EP entitled Mixtape. The EP was released on 8 January 2018 and includes a total of seven tracks co-written and co-composed by the members; these include ‘Hellevator’, ‘Beware’ and ‘Spread My Wings’, whose music video was uploaded online a week later. On 5 March, JYP announced the group’s first public performance, Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 01: I Am Not), which took place at the Jangchung Arena in Seoul. The following day, the group officially debuted with the release of a second EP, titled I Am Not, and the music video for the title track, ‘District 9’, which set a record as the most successful K-pop music video ever.
JYP announced the group’s second showcase: Stray Kids Unveil ( I Am Who), which was held at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace. Their third EP, titled I Am Who, and its lead track, ‘My Pace’, were released the following day.JYP announced the group’s third showcase: Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 03: I Am You) held on 21 October of the same year at the Olympic Hall and was followed the next day by the release of the new EP I Am You.On 12 October, at MAMA 2018, the group won two awards in the categories ‘Best New Male Artist’ and ‘Rookie of the Year’.
Stray Kids announced several new projects: Global Unveil Tour, Hi-STAY Tour in Korea, reality shows, SKZ-Player, Mixtape Project, the release of the group’s official lightstick, and the arrival of their first ever concert (as the two held during the debut period were not considered official).Stray Kids announced the group’s comeback on their first anniversary, 25 March. On that day, the album Clé 1: Miroh was released. Thanks to the title track, ‘Miroh’, Stray Kids won their first music award during the M Countdown programme on 4 April. The date coincides with the title track ‘4419’ released on the Mixtape EP.
A second album, Clé 2: Yellow Wood, led by the title track ‘Side Effects’, was released and the Stray Kids Unveil tour (Op.03: I Am You) resumed soon after. The band then announced the release of a new digital single, ‘Double Knot’, scheduled for 9 October, and two projects: the new District 9 Unlock World Tour, scheduled to kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea, on 23 November, and the release of follow-up album Clé: Levanter, scheduled for 25 November. The music video for ‘Astronaut’ was released on 9th December and the music video for ‘Levanter’, the song with which the band won their second music award, was released on 19th December.
The first single from the Mixtape Project, announced earlier in the year and entitled ‘Mixtape: Gone Days’, the band released the English versions of ‘Double Knot’ and ‘Levanter’, tracks from Clé: Levanter. The group also made a music video for the English version of ‘Double Knot’, which was released on 24 January 2020.The group Stray Kids made their Japanese debut with the collection SKZ2020, which featured their most popular hits recorded without Woojin, and also included the Japanese versions of ‘My Pace’, ‘Double Knot’ and ‘Levanter’.Meanwhile, the group released the second track of the Mixtape Project, entitled Mixtape: On Track, and on 1 April
2020 announced the release of their first Japanese mini-album, TOP, on 3 June. The song ‘TOP’, later translated into Korean and English, was used as the theme song for the anime Tower of God. The music video was released on 26 May.They released their first studio album, Go Live (GO生) with the title track, ‘God’s Menu’. The album became the group’s best-selling album, debuting at the top of the weekly Gaon Album Chart, selling 243,462 copies by the end of the month and then placing on the monthly Gaon Album Chart. The album was also certified platinum for selling more than 250,000 copies in August, becoming the first Stray Kids album to reach that mark. The track ‘God’s Menu’ became the group’s first single to appear on the weekly Gaon Download Chart, at position 144.
In September, an album entitled In Life (IN生) was released, containing eight new tracks, the main one being ‘Back Door’. During the promotion of the album, the group won two awards on MBC’s Show Champion and Mnet’s M Countdown music shows. The track ‘Back Door’ was also included by Time in the eighth position of its Top 10 Songs of 2020 chart, becoming the only song by a Korean artist on the list.Stray Kids released their first Japanese album, titled All In, and led by the title track of the same name. The album includes seven tracks, including Japanese versions of ‘God’s Menu (神メニュー)’ and ‘Back Door’, as well as the single ‘TOP’. On 22 November, the band held their first online concert, Unlock: Go Live in Life, considered the follow-up to District 9: Unlock postponed due to the pandemic. During the concert, the band performed the Korean version of ‘All In’ for the first time, which was released as a digital single a few days later on 26 November.
At the MAMA 2020 in December, it was announced that Stray Kids would participate in the Mnet Kingdom: Legendary War programme alongside the male music groups Ateez, The Boyz, BtoB, iKon and SF9.Stray Kids participated in their first fan meeting, Stray Kids 1st #LoveSTAY ‘SKZ-X’, on VLive. On 18 March, their first Japanese fan meeting, STAYing Home Meeting, took place to mark the first anniversary of the group’s Japanese debut. On 19 March, the single Going Dumb, later used for the mobile version of the game PUBG, was released in collaboration with Swedish producer and DJ Alesso and Chinese DJ Corsak. On 28 May, the Stray Kids released the track ‘Wolfgang’ for the final of Kingdom: Legendary War, winning the programme on 3 June, they released the third track of the Mixtape Project entitled Mixtape: Oh (애). On this occasion it was also announced that Hyunjin would return to participate in the group’s activities from July, after a hiatus following allegations of bullying made against the idol the previous February and all of which turned out to be false.July saw the announcement of the 13 October release of their second Japanese single, ‘Scars’.
August, the group released their second album entitled Noeasy, the title track of which was ‘Thunderous (소리꾼)’. The album sold 930 000 bookings and surpassed one million copies sold after the first week of release, becoming the best-selling album in the history of JYP Entertainment. To mark the comeback, the Stray Kids participated in a reality show and the Kingdom Week special show, a prize for winning the Mnet programme of the same name.On 23 December, they released SKZ2021, with ‘Scars’ in Korean as the main track and the remaining re-recorded songs not featured on the previous compilation.It was announced that the Stray Kids had signed a contract with US record label Republic Records to promote the album in the US as part of JYP Entertainment’s strategic partnership with the label. The group held its second fan meeting, 2nd #LoveStay ‘SKZ’s Chocolate Factory’, from 12-13 February at Olympic Hall, the second day of which was also broadcast via Beyond Live. On 18 March, the Stray Kids released their sixth EP Oddinary, with ‘Maniac’ as the single. It became the first Stray Kids album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, making them the third Korean group in history to top the chart, after BTS and SuperM, selling over 1.5 million copies in March.
In support of the EP, the following 6 March the group announced the arrival of their second world tour, Maniac, which kicked off in April in Seoul, with continuation in Japan and the United States, and released their second Japanese album, Circus, with the Japanese version of ‘Maniac’, the track ‘Your Eyes’ and the eponymous track ‘Circus’ as singles. The album debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart and on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums Stray Kids released Maxident, their ninth EP with the single ‘Case 143’. Maxident sold over a million copies and was certified triple million by KMCA, making it the first Stray Kids and JYP Entertainment album to reach this milestone..their third compilation album, titled SKZ-Replay, contained their previously unofficially released songs, along with songs sung by each member solo.Stray Kids released their first Japanese-language debut studio album, titled The Sound. The group announced the June 2023 release of their third studio album, 5-Star (특),
with the single ‘S-Class’. The album was accompanied by the group’s third fan meeting ‘Pilot: for 5-Star’ at the KSPO Dome on 1 and 2 July.The group released their third studio album, 5-Star, on June 2023, with the single ‘S-Class’, featuring rapper Tiger JK on the track ‘Topline’. It addresses themes of uniqueness, confidence and aspirations. The album reached number one in various regions, including South Korea, etc.; it is the group’s third consecutive number one album in the country. It sold over 5 million copies in June and was certified as such by KMCA. ‘S-Class’ won the award for Best K-Pop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards 2023.
They released the group’s third Japanese-language EP, entitled Social Path / Super Bowl (Japanese version), on 6 September, preceded by the singles ‘Social Path’, featuring Japanese singer-songwriter Lisa, and the Japanese version of ‘Super Bowl’. It became the second number one and the first certified one million record in Japan. The Stray Kids appeared on the remix version of Lil Durk’s ‘All My Life’ in October and released their eighth Korean-language EP Rock-Star on 10 November, featuring lead track ‘Lalalala’. The EP topped the charts in South Korea and the US, while ‘Lalalala’ made the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in the group’s history at number 90.The IFPI named Stray Kids the third best-selling artist of 2023, behind Taylor Swift and Seventeen, as well as 5-Star the second and Rock-Star the ninth best-selling album globally in 2023.
K-Pop in which all members appeared together at the Met Gala, and were ranked number one in the Red Carpet Power Ranking in the male category, according to The Hollywood Reporter the Stray Kids released the single ‘Lose My Breath’, featuring American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, the song reached number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 97 on the UK Singles Chart ,JYP announced on 18 July that the Stray Kids had renewed their contracts with the label. Their ninth Korean-language EP ‘Ate’ was released in July, along with the single ‘Chk Chk Boom’. The EP topped the album charts in South Korea. This made the Stray Kids the first male group and the second ever to reach the top of the charts with their last five chart-topping albums. ‘Chk Chk Boom’ also became the highest personal peak on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 at number 30 and 49 respectively. In support of the EP, the band headlined the major music festivals I-Days in Milan, BST Hyde Park in London, and Lollapalooza in Chicago, as well as embarking on their third world tour, the ‘DominATE World Tour’, departing in August from Seoul and travelling to Asia, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe.In addition, the Stray Kids wrote and produced ‘Slash’, which is featured on the soundtrack album of the American superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Discography
2018 – Mixtape
2018 – I Am Not
2018 – I Am Who
2018 – I Am You
2019 – Clé 1: Miroh
2019 – Clé 2: Yellow Wood
2019 – Clé: Levanter
2020 – Go Live
2020 – In Life
2020 – All In
2020 – SKZ2020
2021 – Noeasy
2021 – SKZ2021
2022 – Oddinary
2022 – Maxident
2023 – 5 STAR
2023 – Rock STAR
2024 – ATE
