Stray Kids South Korea Japan U.S. Information Hangul 스트레이키즈 / 스키즈 Origin Seoul, South Korea Genre K-pop, EDM, hip-hop, rock, acoustic, R&B Active 2018- Members Current:Bang ChanLee KnowChangbinHyunjinHANFelixSeungminI.NFormer:Woojin (2018-2019) Agency JYP Entertainment Distributors Dreamus Sony Music Labels Republic Records Associations JYP Nation Stray Kids (스트레이 키즈 seuteurei kijeu), shortened as SKZ (스키즈), is a South Korean boy group under JYP Entertainment, formed through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group officially debuted on March 25, 2018 with their debut showcase, followed by the release of their first mini album I am NOT on March 26.

Three of the members are part of a pre-debut hip-hop crew called 3RACHA. They are known as the composers and producers of the majority of Stray Kids' discography, under the same unit name.

Due to their self-produced aspect, Stray Kids grew to be known for their distinct and bold sound.

The name "Stray Kids" was coined by the team members. It expresses their determination to break the existing mold, "stray"ing from expectations and go one step forward to be out of the ordinary and find their own place.[1] They also hope that their music can resonate with and provide help to as many 'stray kids' around the world as possible.

The main slogan of the group is "Stray Kids everywhere all around the world". Similarly, it refers to people who are lost, wandering, and agonizing everywhere, and conveys the hopeful message of "let's find our way with Stray Kids instead of thinking that we are alone."

The fandom name "STAY" was obtained through removing the letter "r" from "Stray". It means that thanks to STAY, Stray Kids can stop "stray"ing and stay to make their music. With the fandom name comes the second slogan of the group, "You make Stray Kids stay".

The original logo was hand drawn by Bang Chan and changes colors with each era, particularly the letter "K".

Stray Kids's music style is hip-hop oriented with the signature genre being trap-pop, embodied by "God's Menu". They also use EDM subgenres, alternative rock and R&B. The moods vary greatly between hype ("Victory Song"), mischievous ("Christmas EveL"), melancholic ("Mixtape : On Track") or bright ("The View"). The lyrics are mainly centered around self confidence.

Stray Kids debuted to represent the concerns of the new generation and to step out of the norm, allowing "stray kids" all around the world to find familiarity in the way Stray Kids themselves struggle with their life and the uncertain future. Their early releases from I am and Clé series convey a strong sense of youthful angst through a blend of hip-hop, dramatic electronic-dance tracks and rock instrumentals.[2][3]

Since the release of "God's Menu", Stray Kids changed their point of view, getting rid of doubts about the future for a confidence enjoying the present; not overcoming anxiety and struggles, but running freely in spite of them. The process of making music evolved too, from sitting down and choosing a message first, to flowing along what's coming out first. Themes from older releases are still topical for this new confidence: "stray kids" around the world should embrace their oddinary or special sides, just like Stray Kids embrace the "noise music" label to make it theirs.[4]

The "malataste genre" became a common denomination since "God's Menu" and its cooking metaphor. The word comes from the Chinese hot soup malatang, and refers to their songs being a mixture of unusual sounds, structures and lyrics, numbing the listener with a strong and spicy impression, but also leaving him curious to hear/taste more. The malataste genre was continued with "Back Door", an "artful Frankenstein"[5] and "Thunderous", with its blend of trap and traditional Korean music. It evolved along their next releases to be simply called the "Stray Kids genre", which they wish to pioneer further.

Stray Kids positions were assigned since the survival show, but removed from the website in September 2020. This table is a record of positions officially provided by JYP Entertainment, as well as currently commonly accepted positions ("lead"/"sub" are not in use).

The group's positions are more commonly summarized by the three main units:

Formation, reality show, pre-debut mini album

The premises of Stray Kids go back to JYP's "BATTLE FIELD" trainee showcase which took place on August 18, 2016. The line-up at the time consisted of Chris, Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, Siwon, Yao Chen and Allen.[9] On February 21, 2017, the trainee showcase "NEW CITY" took place, adding in two new trainees, Woojin and Changbin to the line-up. In the following months, Siwon, Yao Chen and Allen left the project and Felix, Seungmin and Minho joined the company. Thus, the showcase "HOMECOMING" which took place on August 22, 2017 presented the line-up that we know.[10]

In August 2017, JYP Entertainment announced the agency's new reality survival show to launch a male idol debut project. More details were released in the next two months, including the show's title, Stray Kids, and its concept: trainees against the agency, working towards proving their skills and debuting together. The individual pictures and names of the nine trainees were released from October 11 to 13: Bang Chan, Kim Woo-jin, Lee Min-ho, Seo Chang-bin, Hwang Hyun-jin, Han Ji-sung, Felix, Kim Seung-min, and Yang Jeong-in. The team was based on the final line-up of the "Male Group Project" that had performed at JYPE's "HOMECOMING" trainee showcase which took place August 22, 2017. The line-up was formed cojointly by trainee Bang Chan and J.Y. Park.

Prior to the survival show's premiere on October 17, JYPE uploaded Stray Kids' first music video for a song titled "Hellevator", which was later released as a digital single on November 1. The song was written and composed by the trainees as the first mission for the show. During the course of the show, all the members' skills were tested to see if they would debut, and two members were eliminated: trainee Minho for his lack of confidence and mistakes on Episode 4, and trainee Felix due to his difficulties with the Korean language on Episode 7. Ultimately though, they were brought back on the final episode aired on December 19 for a last chance, and the public voted in favor of the 9-member lineup over the 7-member lineup. It was then confirmed that all nine members would debut together as Stray Kids.

Along with the launch of Stray Kids' official website, JYPE announced the release of the group's pre-debut mini album titled Mixtape, containing all seven tracks written composed and performed by the members during the show. The mini album was released on January 8, 2018. It debuted at number 2 on Gaon's Album Chart and Billboard's World Albums chart.

Debut, "I am" series

On March 5, 2018, JYPE announced Stray Kids' debut showcase, UNVEIL "Op. 01 : I am NOT", which was held on March 25 at Jangchung Arena. The next day, they released their first mini album I am NOT with its title track, "District 9". I am NOT sold 54,733 physical copies in the month of March.

On April 14, Stray Kids performed at KCON JAPAN 2018, the group's first overseas performance since debut.

On August 1, the fandom name "STAY" was officially announced ahead of their comeback.[11]

On August 5, the group performed at the showcase UNVEIL "Op. 02 : I am WHO" for their first comeback, and the mini album I am WHO, along with its title track "My Pace", was released on August 6. It sold 79,684 physical copies in the month of August.

On August 30, Stray Kids won their very first award, "The Rookie Award" at the Soribada Best K-Music Awards.

On October 21, the group prepared their second comeback with the showcase UNVEIL "Op. 03 : I am YOU", followed by the release of their third mini album I am YOU with the title track of the same name. The album sold 76,547 physical copies in the month of August.

Showcase tour, "Clé" series, 1st music show win, Woojin's departure, world tour

Starting from January 19, 2019, Stray Kids went for their first touring performances with the showcase tour "I am...", set to travel to four continents.

An official Japanese Twitter account was opened on March 7.[12]

Stray Kids' fourth mini album Clé 1 : MIROH and its title track "MIROH" were released on March 25, on the first anniversary of the group's debut. The album sold 103,021 units in the first month, and the group earned the first music show win of their career on April 4 at M!Countdown for "MIROH".

On June 4, JYPE announced Stray Kids' special album Clé 2 : Yellow Wood, consisting of three new songs and 4 CD-only songs from their previous mini albums. On June 19, they released the album with its title track, "Side Effects". It sold 123,903 copies in the first month.

After the end of the showcase tour "I am..." on September 27, Stray Kids released their first digital single Double Knot on October 9 as a pre-release for their upcoming fifth mini album Clé : LEVANTER, set for release on November 25, and also announced their first world tour, "District 9 : Unlock".

On October 28, JYPE released a notice announcing that Woojin had left the group due to personal circumstances[13]. As a result, the release of Clé : LEVANTER was delayed to December to be re-recorded, and the group's first photobook, Stay in London, was delayed as well to be edited accordingly.

On November 7, Stray Kids featured on the soundtrack for MBC's drama Extraordinary You, releasing the first OST of their career with the single "Neverending Story". It is their first release without Woojin as an eight-member group.

On November 13, JYPE released the music video for "Astronaut", a song included in Clé : LEVANTER. On November 23, Stray Kids held their the first concert in Seoul, as part of their world tour "District 9 : Unlock".

On December 3, Stray Kids held the showcase "Hi-STAY" in Japan, during which they announced that they would make their Japanese debut next year.

Clé : LEVANTER was finally released on December 9, with the title track "Levanter". It sold 182,300 in the first month.

Stray Kids concluded the year with the release of a second digital single, Mixtape : Gone Days, on December 26, which is also the start of their Mixtape Project series.

English debut, Japanese debut, "Life" duology, online concert

On January 14, 2020, Stray Kids announced their first English single Step Out of Clé, to be released on the 24th with the English versions of "Double Knot" and "Levanter", ahead of the North American leg of their world tour "District 9 : Unlock".

On March 18, Stray Kids had their Japanese debut with the release of the compilation album SKZ2020, made of 8-member re-recorded versions of their previous songs, and the japanese version of three of their title tracks. It sold 31,444 copies in the first week.

On February 16, 2020, the world tour "District 9 : Unlock" ended prematurely after the completion of the North American leg, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

On March 25, the group released the digital single Mixtape : On Track, the second installment of the Mixtape Project.

In late May-early June, Stray Kids released multilingual versions of their second OST single, "TOP", with the opening and ending songs for the anime Tower of God, based on the webtoon of the same name. While the Korean version was released on May 13, the English version was released on May 20, and the Japanese version was released on June 3 as their first physical Japanese single.

On May 26, Stray Kids announced their comeback with their first studio album, GO LIVE. The album was released on June 17 with title track "God's Menu", and sold 243,462 units in the first month. It is considered as a major milestone of Stray Kids' discography, providing the group with its first burst of popularity, redefining their identity as eight members, and setting the foundation for the "Stray Kids genre" developped by the group over the years.

In the continuation of GO LIVE, Stray Kids released the album's repackage, IN LIFE, on September 14 with the title track "Back Door". It sold 331,143 copies in the first month.

On November 4, Stray Kids released their first Japanese mini album, ALL IN, with the title track of the same name. The album sold 48,916 in the first week.

Stray Kids held an online concert, Unlock : GO LIVE IN LIFE, on November 22, to make up for the cancellation of their world tour.[14] A Korean version of "ALL IN", which was premiered during the concert, was released on November 26 as a gift for fans.

1st fanmeeting, Hyunjin's hiatus, Kingdom: Legendary War, 1st million-selling release

Stray Kids held their first fanmeeting "SKZ-X" on February 20, 2021.

A few days later, accusations of school bullying emerged online against Hyunjin, leading him to publish an apology on the group's Instagram account.[15] On March 4, JYP Entertainment announced that Hyunjin would be going on hiatus to reflect on himself, and that they would deal with the accusations accordingly. Stray Kids would promote as 7 members until his return, which includes the group's appearance on boys group competition show Kingdom: Legendary War. On June 3, it was announced that Stray Kids won the show.

Hyunjin's hiatus took an end with his appearance in the single and music video for Mixtape : OH released on June 26, after which it was announced that he would be returning to activities in July.[16] On June 29, JYPE revealed that Stray Kids were working on their next comeback with all eight members.

On July 22, Stray Kids announced that they would make their comeback almost a year after IN LIFE with second studio album, NOEASY to be released on August 23. While revealing details for the album, the group was featured on Mnet's special promotional program, KINGDOM WEEK : NO+. NOEASY was released with its title track "Thunderous" and became an important milestone, as it was both Stray Kids' and JYP Entertainment's first million-seller album,[17] selling 1,127,800 copies in the first month.

On October 13, Stray Kids released their second Japanese single, Scars / Thunderous (Japanese ver.) with the double title tracks of the same name. It sold 119,963 copies in the first week.

On November 29, Stray Kids released Christmas EveL, a "Holiday special single" as a gift for fans, with the double title tracks "Christmas EveL" and Winter Falls". The single sold 654,658 copies in the first month, and "Christmas EveL" was the first Stray Kids song to win a music show without being promoted on music shows.

Stray Kids concluded the year with the digital compilation album SKZ2021, following last year's SKZ2020 with the remaining songs of their earlydiscography re-recorded as 8 members.

2nd fanmeeting, 2nd world tour, sales records

Stray Kids held their second and first offline fanmeeting, "2nd #LoveSTAY "SKZ'S CHOCOLATE FACTORY" • 3rd FANMEETING "PILOT : FOR ★★★★★" •