There are many stereotypes about the music genre K-pop, and those stereotypes are, in some ways, true; they had to come from somewhere. A stereotype example is that all boy groups are just mass-produced pretty boys singing that same R&B tune, and all their fans are specifically girls who are obsessed to an unhealthy degree. But the reality is that boy bands are formed using a formula. According to Britannica, one of the world’s oldest encyclopedias- “Groups … are created by management and record companies, rather than formed by the members themselves…” So such a thing is accepted as normal in the community. And the fans try to keep each other in check. Instead of being genuinely rabid, they joke about being delusional but keep their distance from the fans who legitimately are. But Stray Kids breaks all of the stereotypes and that formula. This group is a self-made, self-produced group with a unique and important mission that they have chosen for themselves.
The road to becoming an idol is long and difficult for even the most dedicated. After being accepted into an entertainment agency, one must wait to be chosen for a group by the company while being trained in skills like singing, dancing, and performing. These people are called “trainees”. The leader of Stray Kids (SKZ), Christopher Chahn Bahng (Chan), was a trainee for seven long years. In these seven years of waiting, Chan practiced producing music from scratch, distinguishing himself from most other idols right off the bat. But waiting for so long had started to deteriorate his mental health. So he took it upon himself to pick each member by hand.
Most groups are performers. They don’t choreograph, write, or compose for themselves. Though they may have creative input, their job is to perform what’s given to them. This is a talent and skill that should be respected, of course. But SKZ does not abide by these rules. They create everything themselves. Of course, they work with other producers and choreographers; those occupations are all about collaboration. But the ideas, the concepts, and the energy are all decided by the members. Even if, like many other K-pop groups, each member specializes in a certain skill (singing, rapping, dancing, etc.), they all excel in more than their designated role. Han Jisung, one of the two main rappers of the group, is a great example of this. As he is often belting high notes and is part of a subgroup in the band called 3RACHA, the name that three members, Chan, Changbin, and Jisung, have given themselves as the three main writers and composers of the band.
Each member of SKZ has decided how much of their personal lives they want to share. But something that every one of them has always been very transparent about is their mental health. The formerly mentioned Jisung is known to have anxiety and to have had a noticeable personality shift due to what is suspected to have been a depressive episode that lasted months. Chan, as mentioned before, had mentally struggled during his time as a trainee. He himself has said that, without the members, he may not still be here. Hyunjin, one of the main dancers of the group, has expressed how hard trying to debut was for him, pleading for their fans not to abandon them. “All the time was filled with practice. I didn’t have time to take care of myself,” he said during their first concert. He continued: “I don’t want to part with you [the fans]. We worked hard. We worked hard … But we kept running into things … It was too hard … Everyone, don’t go anywhere. You have to stay by our side.” So from the very beginning, they had one goal- to be a reason for people to stay, for people to keep pressing forward and not give up on life. And that was such a core part of who they wanted to be and what they wanted to represent, that they named their fan base after it – Stay.
Stray Kids is more than a boy band, more than K-pop; they are a group of brothers who produce music because it’s who they are, and because they just want to be a reason for people to stay strong. And they aren’t afraid to show their own vulnerabilities. Their music has such a broad and varied sound and was made with great attention to detail. One doesn’t have to like all their music. But it’s easy to see how talented and dedicated these men are. So check them out, see if they’re your vibe.
