Have you ever seen a band who genuinely loved making music, each other, and their fans? Well, let me introduce you to the Korean band Stray Kids who debuted on March 25th, 2018.
This group consists of 8 members: Bang Chan, Lee Know (Minho), Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung, Lee Felix (Yongbok), Kim Seungmin, and Yang Jeongin (I.N). In 2017, there was a survival show that took place under the same name, Stray Kids, produced by their company, JYP Entertainment, in which they debuted through.
January 17th, 2017 is the date of Stray Kids’ sub group, 3RACHA, formation, which consists of Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han. This subunit is the main rap line in the group and they are also the main producers, writers, and composers of their content and music.
On January 8th, 2018 Stray Kids released their pre-debut album, ‘Mixtape’, with the title track ‘Hellevator’. This song was immediately a hit with the current fan base and showed how much potential and talent the group truly have. Now, with that being said does that mean they were always popular and debuted with ease?
No, the eldest member and leader, Bang Chan, picked out all the members himself and was the first person to be able to do so in the K-Pop industry, so they were called a joke. Two members, Felix and Lee Know, were originally eliminated off of the show, but were later added back for another chance and, upon proving themselves, the group ended up debuting on March 25th, 2018 with the album ‘I am NOT’ and the title track ‘District 9’, as a nine member group with the former member, Kim Woojin, leaving the group on October 28th, 2019 for reasons announced as ‘personal reasons’.
Although they barely had any promotions and were labeled as the company’s flop group, they ended up proving themselves well when they received their first win for their music video ‘Miroh’ on April 4th, 2019. This group later went on to do their first world tour, named District 9: Unlock Tour, but towards the end of 2019-2020 it was cut short due to COVID-19, but that didn’t slow them down or break them apart.
Bang Chan, their leader, has said before, “I think that one of our biggest weapons is the brotherhood we have.” This is only one of the many times they have proved to their fans just how close they truly are to each other. They aren’t only close and loving towards each other, but also to their fans. They always speak encouraging words whenever they can whether it’s at a concert, in their songs, or in their other content.
In 2022-2023 they went on their first full year world tour, named Maniac World Tour, and at the first concert all of the members broke down into tears as they saw how much their fan base grew. Fans sang their songs and showed their support by putting on a video full of Stray Kids memories and encouraging words to the group on the concert stage screens. This led to Bang Chan saying, “I’m gonna protect all of you, each one of you. I will protect you all. “
The next day they did another concert and he said, “Hello everyone, welcome to the Stray Kids concert. What you have just seen is something very precious. It is something you won’t see everyday..you know it’s funny cause the eight of us we actually don’t cry that often, but when we’re in front of you guys we can’t hold our emotions and it hits us really hard. And we want to thank you for just existing and for living with us in the same time line…But because of you guys we can really exist as well. It’s all thanks to you. And I, on behalf of the group, and the group itself, we will always protect each other and protect STAYs. So thank you for being with us today. I’m gonna protect all of you, each one of you. I will protect you all. All the staff, fans, and members. No one set a finger on them. Don’t you ever dare to touch them.”
Those words are one of the most loved speeches by their fandom, STAY, because it shows how genuine of a group they really are. The second eldest member, Lee Know, once mentioned how they would never stop making music and they will continue doing so even when they are in wheelchairs. The whole group shares a goal to be the longest lasting K-Pop group so they don’t let down their fans nor each other.
In short, Stray Kids are the most genuine group whether with fans, each other, or their music. Is there another music group this genuine or enjoyable? If so, leave a comment and they might be my next topic.
