STRAY KIDS

Stray Kids is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. Originally a nine-piece group, member Woojin left Stray Kids due to undisclosed personal reasons in October 2019. The group released their pre-debut extended play (EP) Mixtape in January 2018 and officially debuted on March 25 with the EP I Am Not.

NAME

The group's name Stray Kids was not defined by the agency JYP Entertainment but was designed by the members themselves. It was originally intended to speak of a lost child who wants to chase their dreams and then evolved into a sort of idea of finding a way together out of the ordinary.

History

2017–2018: Formation through a reality show, debut and I Am series

In August 2017, JYP Entertainment (JYPE) officially announced their new reality survival show aiming to launch a male idol debut project. More details and teasers were released in the next two months, including the show's title—Stray Kids. Prior to its premiere on October 17, JYPE released Stray Kids' first music video for a song titled "Hellevator", which was later released as a digital single. Two members, Lee Know and Felix, were initially eliminated from the group, but all nine members ended up in the final line-up.

Along with the launch of Stray Kids' official website, JYPE announced the release of the group's pre-debut extended play (EP) titled Mixtape. It contains seven tracks co-written and co-composed by the members, including "Hellevator" and other songs that they performed during the show. The EP, along with the performance video of its second track titled "Beware" , was released on January 8, 2018, while the performance video of "Spread My Wings" was uploaded online a week later. It debuted at number 2 on Gaon's Album Chart and Billboard World Albums chart.

On March 5, JYPE announced the debut showcase of the group titled Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 01: I Am Not), which was held on March 25 at Jangchung Arena. They officially debuted the next day with the release of their EP titled I Am Not, along with the music video of its title track titled "District 9", while the music video of "Grow Up" and performance video of "Mirror" were released on March 31 and April 23 respectively. I Am Not debuted at number four on Gaon's Album Chart and sold over 54,000 physical copies in March.

• On April 14, Stray Kids performed at KCON Japan 2018, the group's first overseas performance since debut.
• On July 12, JYPE announced the group's second showcase titled Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 02: I Am Who), which was held on August 5 at Kyung Hee University. Their second EP named I Am Who, along with its title track "My Pace", was released the next day.
• On October 4, JYPE announced the group's third showcase titled Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 03: I Am You), which was held on October 21 at Olympic Hall, and followed by the release of their new album EP I Am You.

2021: Kingdom: Legendary War, Noeasy, Christmas EveL and SKZ2021

At the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards, it was announced that Stray Kids would be joining Ateez and The Boyz on the inaugural season of Kingdom: Legendary War, a Mnet boy group competition show. BtoB, iKon and SF9 were later confirmed as participants as well.

On May 28, 2021, the group released a song for the final round of the competition titled "Wolfgang", which makes the group's first appearance on the main Gaon Digital Chart with number 138. The group won the program on June 3, awarding them their own reality show as well as a Kingdom Week special show for their comeback.

Before the program broadcast, Stray Kids held and broadcast their first official fan meeting, Stray Kids 1st #LoveStay 'SKZ-X' on February 20, 2021, via V Live, and their first Japanese fan meeting – STAYing Home Meeting – for the first anniversary of their Japanese debut on March 18.The group collaborated with Swedish producer Alesso and Chinese DJ Corsak to release a song titled "Going Dumb" in Korean version for the mobile game version of PUBG on March 19. The song debuted at number 13 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, making the group's first appearance on the chart.

Stray Kids surprise-released the third single for their Mixtape Project titled "Mixtape: Oh" on June 26. The song debuted atop BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales. The group released their second studio album Noeasy on August 23. It debuted atop Gaon Album Chart, selling over 1.1 million copies as of August 2021, and certifying million by the KMCA, making them first act under JYP Entertainment to sell more than a million copies for an album. The lead single "Thunderous" peaked at number 33 on Gaon Digital Chart, and number 80 on Global 200, and took six wins from music programs. The accompanying music video on YouTube hit 100 million views in 55 days after release, making the group's fifth and fastest 100-million-view music video.

The group released their second Japanese single "Scars" / "Thunderous" (Japanese ver.) on October 13. The single entered at number two on both Oricon Singles Chart and Billboard Japan Hot 100, selling over 180,000 CD copies. Christmas-themed "special holiday" single album, titled Christmas EveL was released on November 29, serving both the title track and "Winter Falls" as a lead single. The group concluded the year with SKZ2021, a compilation album including a re-recorded version of the previous songs, and the Korean version of "Scars", released on December 23

Members

On October 28, 2019, Woojin left the group and terminated his contract due to personal circumstances. On February 27, 2021, Hyunjin went on an official hiatus due to bullying allegations against him, and has resumed the group's scheduled activities starting July 2021.

Current members

• Bang Chan – leader, vocalist, rapper, dancer, producer
• Lee Know – dancer, vocalist
• Changbin – rapper, producer
• Hyunjin – dancer, rapper
• Han – rapper, vocalist, producer
• Felix – dancer, rapper
• Seungmin – vocalist
• I.N – vocalist

Former members

• Woojin – vocalist (2017–2019)

Notes

Bang Chan, Changbin and Han are also members of songwriting trio 3Racha. All three have participated in the creation of lyrics and composing and are usually credited as the first three lyricists and composers of their discographies. Bang Chan has participated in arrangements.

Тo summarize, stray kids managed to rise to a high level in 3 years of their career. But let's not forget that bts paved the way for any k-pop group to stardom.

you make stray kids stay/ Stray kids made stay stay.