Biography
Stray Kids is a K-pop group formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The band has eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, I.N. They can further be separated into three units: 3RACHA (the producing/rap unit), VOCALRACHA (the vocal unit) and DANCERACHA (the dance unit).
Stray Kids' first self-produced tracks were shown during the survival show, with first single “Hellevator” getting a music video prior to the show’s premiere. The rest of the tracks were included in their January 2018 pre-debut EP titled Mixtape which debuted at #2 on Gaon Album Chart and Billboard World Albums Chart.
Stray Kids officially debuted on March 25, 2018, with their lead single “District 9” and EP I am NOT. This was followed by two more EPs in 2018, I am WHO? and I am YOU. These three EPs make up Stray Kids' first trilogy, dubbed the I am… series. They were met with widespread success in 2018, with each EP outselling the last. Stray Kids picked up eight rookie awards in the 2018 award season.
The first instalment of their second trilogy Clé was released on March 25, 2019, one year after their debut. Its' title track “MIROH” amassed a lot of public attention, earning the group their first music show win on MCountdown’s April 4 broadcast. The second instalment’s title track, the psytrance “Side Effects” also gathered a lot of public attention due to its' originality. In October of that year, former member Woojin left the group, for what JYPE only revealed to be “personal reasons.” The final instalment of the series, Clé : LEVANTER found Stray Kids starting to redefine their image as they dealt with the struggles of adapting to their new group line up.
The beginning of 2020 saw many projects for Stray Kids. Their first English versions were released on Step Out of Clé and Japanese versions on SKZ2020. The latter also included past songs with re-distributed parts to fit their new line up. Additionally, their Mixtape Project consisted of two unexpected releases: “Gone Days” and “On Track” and the band recorded the opening and ending songs for the anime Kami no Tō -Tower of God-.
Stray Kids' first full album, GO生 garnered a whole new image for the group. Released in June 2020, the title track “神메뉴 (God’s Menu)” showed off the group’s individuality and desire to do something different in the music industry, and it saw them a lot of success as the album topped the Gaon Chart. The effects of this inflation of success were evident in their next release, the repackage album IN生, with the album amassing 200,000 sales in the first week and title track “Back Door” garnering two music show wins. An official Japanese debut with “All In” followed shortly after.
2021’s activities started with Stray Kids joining Mnet’s Kingdom: Legendary War, competing alongside other K-Pop boy groups, taking first place on the show overall. After the show, they continued their Mixtape Project with “애 (OH),” which topped the Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales, marking the group’s first #1.
