Stray Kids downplay global fame: ‘Success is a strong word’

At the end of an exhausting world tour, most bands would take a well-earned break.

Not Stray Kids.

Within weeks of wrapping up their record-breaking DominATE shows this summer – including two sold out nights at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – the Korean band released a new album, Karma.

It was their second album in under a year; during which time they’d also released a new EP and a 12-track mixtape, Hop, featuring solo tracks from each of the eight members: Bang Chan, Changbin, Felix, Han, Hyunjin, I.N, Lee Know and Seungmin.

Not only that, but they’d made their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, via a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, for which they also contributed the soundtrack song, Slash.

All that activity made them the fifth biggest selling act in the world last year, just behind Taylor Swift and Drake.

Unlike many K-pop groups, however, Stray Kids write and produce their own material. So how on earth did they sustain that level of creativity while touring the world’s biggest venues, playing three-hour shows every night, and making time to visit local art galleries (Hyunjin) and baked potato outlets (Felix)?

“We split up the parts as much as we could and shared the work among the members,” explains rapper and vocalist Han who, aged 25, has more than 170 production and writing credits to his name.

“Whenever we had a bit of time to record demo tracks, we’d gather in the room together and work on finishing the songs as a team.”

If that sounds like a soul-destroying way to make a record, you’ve underestimated Stray Kids.

Since their debut in 2017, the band have approached music with a combination of curiosity and hunger, constantly pushing their sound in new directions.

On Karma, that includes everything from the Brazilian funk rhythms of Ceremony, to pop-punk inflections of In My Head, which riffs on the sounds of Good Charlotte and Avril Lavigne.

“I think that’s a great song to listen to when you’re feeling stressed or going through a tough time,” says I.N. – the band’s youngest member.

The stand-out is a track called Bleep, a defiant riposte to their detractors – with a hook that employs the Korean slang term for a censor’s “beep” (삐처리)

“Fail, 삐처리 / Frail, 삐처리 / Lazy, 삐처리 / Hazy, 삐처리 / Yada, yada, noise cancellation.“

“That’s my favourite,” says Hyunjin.

“The lyrics feel bold and refreshing, and there’s something very satisfying about the message it holds.”

The song carries extra resonance when you learn that Felix – the band’s thunderous-voiced baritone – has won permission from a US court to unmask an anonymous social media user in connection with a defamation lawsuit.

According to legal papers filed in California, multiple posts accused the Australian-born musician of treating staff “like servants” and acting “as though he is a prince”.

Felix, who is suing the user in Seoul, said the accusations caused him “severe mental distress, physical distress and humiliation”.

In the tribal world of K-Pop, such cases are surprisingly common, as overzealous fans attempt to trash their rivals.

But, for the most part, Stray Kids prefer not to focus on negativity.

Anyone who’s watched their YouTube series will know they’re more interested in having fun – I.N. dressing up as a grandma; Changbin dunking Seungmin in a swimming pool; or the running joke about their record label supplying inedible birthday cakes.

On social media, the band forge a strong connection with fan army – known as STAY – with late-night live streams and Q&A sessions conducted from their hotel rooms.

It lends a particular intimacy to their celebrity, a quality that extends to their live shows.

In London this summer, I was struck by the way Stray Kids collapsed the distance between the stage and the audience.

Amid the precision choreography and pyrotechnics, they held dance challenges and karaoke sessions; and ran fans’ names across the screens during the Coldplay-esque ballad Cinema.

Between the songs, Changbin revealed he’d chosen Tottenham stadium because of his love of English football; and his bandmates started chanting spells in British accents, as if they were auditioning for the Harry Potter reboot.

For the encore, they cleared the perimeter of the stadium floor and drove around on giant, telescoping platforms, trailed by inflatable characters, like they were in a Macy’s Day parade. As a result, even the fans in the cheap seats got time up close with their idols.

“It was such an incredibly happy time for us,” recalls I.N of the tour.

“I feel like we’ll be looking forward to moments like that every day, and the tour really reminded us just how precious STAY is to us.”

“During the tour, I realised just how many STAY are out there supporting us, everywhere we go,” adds Han. “That really left a strong impression on me.”

In America and Europe, Stray Kids’ DominATE tour set box office and attendance records for a K-pop band, with 1.2m tickets sold and receipts of $182m (£135m).

As a sort of victory lap, Karma went straight to the top of the US charts – making them the first band in history to debut at number one with each of their first seven albums.

But when you ask them about all that success, the octet are suddenly bashful.

“Successful is a really strong word and I honestly do not have the confidence to judge if we are indeed successful or not,” says Bang Chan, the group’s designated leader.

“What I can say is that Stray Kids, including myself, have reached very far but we’re still very hungry to achieve more milestones.”

Conquering the UK is definitely on the bucket list. They’ve already incorporated elements of grime on the 2022 track 3Racha, and say they’d like to collaborate with Coldplay and The 1975.

“I love their musicality, and the way they pour everything into their performances,” says Seungmin. “Listening to their music always makes me feel so emotional and inspires me a lot.”

They’re tight-lipped, however, about larger career goals.

Asked if they’d like to play Glastonbury or the Super Bowl (they literally have a song named after the event), Seungmin reframes the question.

“Short-term goals are great, of course, but our biggest goal is to be a group that stands the test of time and remains in history as one of the longest-lasting groups.”

It’s an ambition they make explicit on Half Time, a boom-bap rap track that references the renewal of their seven-year contract with record label JYP Entertainment last year.

“This game isn’t over, it’s way too vast,” Felix promises. “They don’t know what’s coming next.”

In other words, Stray Kids are only just getting started.