In brief
Following their record-breaking DominATE world tour, Stray Kids release their latest album 'Karma' and reflect on their rapid rise to fame. The group emphasizes collaboration and creativity even amidst hectic schedules and addresses challenges in their journey, including a defamation lawsuit faced by member Felix. Despite their achievements, the band remains humble, downplaying their success while expressing a strong desire for longevity in the music industry.
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 and baked potato outlets?
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.
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.
This track gains significance with the context of legal challenges faced by Felix, who has initiated a defamation lawsuit against an anonymous social media user.
In the tribal world of K-Pop, such cases are surprisingly common, with intense fan rivalries often leading to harsh scrutiny.
However, Stray Kids prefer to focus on their fans and the positive connections they've forged with their audience, known as STAY.
During their DominATE tour, they managed to break box office records for a K-pop band, selling 1.2 million tickets and taking home $182 million in revenue. Despite this success, Bang Chan downplays their fame, emphasizing they are still hungry to achieve more milestones.
The future seems bright for Stray Kids, who have aspirations to conquer the UK music scene further and collaborate with acclaimed artists. Their primary ambition remains clear: to create timeless music that guarantees their place in history.
