Stray Kids

Stray Kids is a K-pop and rap group formed in 2017 in South Korea by JYP Entertainment, sharing their name with the reality TV show that brought them together. The members are Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N.  Their first EP Mixtape (2018) went to number 2 on the Korean Chart and Billboard's World Albums Chart. Follow-up I Am Not, the first in a trilogy of 2018 EPs, reached number 4 on the Korean Chart and number 5 on the World Albums Chart. The second release in the trilogy, I Am Who, peaked at number 3 on the Korean Chart and number 5 on the World Albums Chart. Finally, the third instalment, I Am You, hit number 2 on the Korean Chart and number 8 on the World Albums Chart. Their 2019 EP Clé 1: Miroh – the first release in the Clé trilogy - topped the Korean Chart and went to number 3 on the World Albums Chart while the title track reached number 2 on the World Singles Chart. Stray Kids performed in Japan ahead of a planned North American tour in 2019 before returning with the second installment in the Clé series: Clé 2: Yellow Wood. Originally a nine-piece, the boy band said goodbye to founding member Woojin in October 2019, and they returned as an eight-piece the following month with the release of the single “Astronaut.” That single was followed by the Clé: Levanter EP, the final instalment in this chapter of their career. After recording a number of English-language versions of their songs in early 2020, they packaged some of their greatest hits into the compilation SKZ2020. Maintaining a prolific release cycle in spite of the global pandemic, they unveiled their debut studio album, Go Live, in June of the same year, which went platinum within two months and spawned their first hit single in the form of “God’s Menu.” Continuing to flex their multilingual abilities, they catered to Japanese-language audiences in November 2020 with a newly translated EP, All In. They released their second album, Noeasy, in August 2021, which rose to the top of the Korean Albums chart. In December 2021, Stray Kids released SKZ2021, another compilation that featured re-recorded versions (without Woojin) of older tracks as well as some newer songs including the single “Scars.” Their next EP, Oddinary, was released in March 2022 and reached Number 1 in Korea and the US. In 2022, Stray Kids issued their second Japanese EP, Circus, which included the singles “Your Eyes” and the title track, as well as their seventh Korean extended play Maxident, a more experimental release that achieved pole position in the local charts. The Sound, their first Japanese full-length album, came out in 2023 and debuted at the top of the Oricon charts. That year, their third Korean album 5-Star hit Number 1 on the Circle Albums Chart, also cracking the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan. Continuing to prove themselves as a prominent force on the K-pop scene, their 13th EP ROCK-STAR emerged in November 2023, once again charting globally, hitting the top spot in Korea, Japan and the U.S and number 2 in Australia and across Europe. Their ninth Korean-language EP, Ate, was released on July 19, 2024 featuring the lead single "Chk Chk Boom." The EP topped album charts in South Korea, Belgium, France, and the United States. "Chk Chk Boom" also appeared on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100, reaching numbers 30 and 49, respectively. On November 13, 2024, they released their second Japanese album GIANT. On October 7, they released the pre-release singles "NIGHT" and "Falling Up". These songs were chosen as the theme songs for the TV anime Tower of God: Workshop War. On the same day, the English and Korean versions of these songs were also released.