Stray Kids (Korean: 스트레이 키즈; RR: Seuteurei Kijeu; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South
Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 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 due to undisclosed personal
reasons in October 2019.
Stray Kids released their pre-debut extended play (EP) Mixtape in January 2018 and officially
debuted on March 25 with the EP I Am Not, followed by other two I Am series EPs, I Am Who and I
Am You. Their Clé trilogy EPs were issued in 2019, consisting of Clé 1: Miroh, Clé 2: Yellow Wood,
and Clé: Levanter. The group's first studio album Go Live was released in 2020, becoming their first
platinum-certified album by Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). That year, Stray Kids also
made their Japanese debut with the compilation album SKZ2020 through Epic Records Japan.
In 2021, Stray Kids' second studio album Noeasy became their first million-selling album. After
signing with Republic Records for promotions in the United States in 2022, the group released the
EPs Oddinary and Maxident, which marked their first appearances atop the US Billboard 200 and
the UK Albums Chart. Maxident was certified triple-million in album sales by the KMCA, making
them just the second group to achieve this in Korean history. As of October 2022, Stray Kids has
sold over 10 million albums across both Korean and Japanese releases.[1]
Name
Logo of Stray Kids
The group's name "Stray Kids" was not defined by JYP Entertainment but conceptualized by the
members themselves. It originally referred to a lost child who wants to chase their dreams and later
evolved to represent the idea of finding a way together out of the ordinary.[2][3]
History
2017–2018: Formation, debut and I Am series
In August 2017, JYP Entertainment (JYPE) officially announced their new reality survival show with
the goal of launching a male idol debut project. More details and teasers were released in the next
two months, including the show's title, Stray Kids.[4][5][6] 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
returned to the final nine-member line-up.[7][8][9]
Stray Kids at a fan event in the COEX Live Plaza in January 2018.
Along with the launch of Stray Kids' official website, JYPE announced the release of the group's predebut 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 on the show.[10] The EP, along
with the performance video of its second track "Beware" (Korean: Grrr 총량의 법칙), was released
on January 8, 2018, while the performance video of "Spread My Wings" (Korean: 어린 날개) was
uploaded online a week later.[11][12][13] It debuted at number two on the Gaon Album
Chart and Billboard World Albums chart.[14][15]
On March 25, the group held their debut showcase of the group, Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 01: I Am
Not), at Jangchung Arena.[16][17] 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 "District 9", while the music video of "Grow Up"
and performance video of "Mirror" were released on March 31 and April 23, respectively.[18][19][20][21] I
Am Not debuted at number four on the Gaon Album Chart and sold over 54,000 physical copies in
March.[22][23]
On April 14, Stray Kids performed at KCON Japan 2018, the group's first overseas
performance.[24][25] On July 12, JYPE announced the group's second showcase, Stray Kids Unveil
(Op. 02: I Am Who), for August 5 at Kyung Hee University's Grand Peace Palace. Their second EP, I
Am Who, was released the next day along with lead single "My Pace".[26][27][28] On October 4, JYPE
announced the group's third showcase, Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 03: I Am You), for October 21
at Olympic Hall. The performance was followed by the release of their new EP I Am You the day
afterward.[29]
2019: Clé series and Woojin's departure
Stray Kids in April 2019
Stray Kids began the year by bringing their showcase tour, the Unveil Tour "I Am...", to the AsiaPacific, starting on January 19 in Bangkok.[30] The group also held their national promotional Hi Stay
Tour in Busan, Daejeon and Incheon in March, as well as a finale in Seoul in Olympic Park on April
20.[31] On March 5, JYPE announced Stray Kids would make their third comeback on March 25,
2019, with the release of their fourth EP Clé 1: Miroh in commemoration of the first anniversary of
the group's debut.[32] The group earned their first music show win on April 4 on M Countdown for the
album's lead single, "Miroh."[33] On June 19, they released their first special album Clé 2: Yellow
Wood, along with lead single "Side Effects" (Korean: 부작용), between the American and European
legs of their first world tour.[34]
Stray Kids released a digital single titled "Double Knot" on October 9 and announced their District 9
Unlock World Tour, beginning with shows at Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea from November 23–
24. Their fifth EP Clé: Levanter was initially scheduled for a November 25 release; however, on
October 28, JYPE announced that Woojin had left the group due to personal circumstances, and the
release date would therefore be postponed.[35] On November 13, the group released the music video
for "Astronaut," their first single as an eight-member group,[36] followed by Cle: Levanter on
December 9. Stray Kids held the Japanese shows for the Hi Stay Tour on December 19 at Yoyogi
National Gymnasium, Tokyo with an audience of 8,000 people.[37] The group released the digital
single "Mixtape: Gone Days", the first single of their Mixtape Project, on December 26.[38]
2020: Japanese debut, 生 series and All In
Stray Kids' "Top", and its B-side "Slump" featured as theme songs of Tower of God (logo illustrated)
Stray Kids released the first English versions of "Double Knot" and "Levanter" as digital singles
together titled Step Out of Clé, along with a performance video of the English version of "Double
Knot" on January 24.[39] They officially debuted in Japan on March 18 with compilation
album SKZ2020, which contained new recordings of previous songs and included Japanese
versions of "My Pace", "Double Knot" and "Levanter", through Epic Records Japan.[40] The group
released the second Mixtape Project digital single "Mixtape: On Track" on March 26.[41] On June 3,
Stray Kids released their first Japanese single, "Top", and its B-side "Slump". The former was used
as the theme song for the anime Tower of God;[42] a Korean version was released on May 13,[43] and
an English version on May 20.[44][45] The single debuted atop Oricon Singles Chart, making them the
fourth foreign male artist in history to debut at number one on the chart with their first single,
after Jang Keun-suk, Exo, and iKon.[46]
On June 17, Stray Kids released their first studio album Go Live alongside lead single "God's
Menu",[47] including on the tracklist the Korean versions of "Top" and "Slump" and previously released
singles “Gone Days" and "On Track". Go Live became the group's best-selling album at the time,
debuting atop the weekly Gaon Album Chart and selling 243,462 copies by the end of the month to
reach number five on the monthly Gaon Album Chart.[48] The album was certified platinum by
the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) in August 2020, the group's first album to achieve
this.[49] "God's Menu" became the group's first single to appear on the weekly Gaon Download Chart,
debuting at number 144.[50] Three months later, the group reissued their first studio album as In
Life on September 14.[51] During promotions, the group received two music show wins: once on MBC
M's Show Champion and once on Mnet's M Countdown.[52][53] Lead single "Back Door" was
recognized by Time magazine at eighth on its list of the 10 Best Songs of 2020, the only song by a
Korean act on the list, and described as "an artful Frankenstein that’s as catchy as it is complex".[54]
On November 4, Stray Kids released their first Japanese EP, All In, with title track "All In" serving as
lead single. The EP also included Japanese versions of "God's Menu" and "Back Door", as well as
their first Japanese single "Top".[55] On November 22, the group held their first online concert, titled
"Unlock: Go Live In Life", via Beyond Live, which was considered a continuation of their "District 9:
Unlock" Tour that faced postponement and cancellation due to concerns over the COVID-19
pandemic. During the concert, the group performed the Korean version of their song "All In" for the
first time, which was eventually released on November 26 as a digital single.[56][57]
2021: Kingdom: Legendary War and Noeasy
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;[58] BtoB, iKon and SF9 were later confirmed as participants as well.[59] On May 28,
2021, the group released a song for the final round of the competition titled "Wolfgang", which
marked the group's first appearance on the main Gaon Digital Chart, at number 138.[60] They won the
program on June 3, earning them their own