UPDATE: Links to the timestamp for each song are here... 1:10 MOUNTAINS 6:40 Chk Chk Boom 10:45 JJAM 16:15 I Like It 20:00 Runners 26:25 twilight 31:50 Stray Kids 37:25 Chk Chk Boom (Festival Version) Thanks to @Rain-oy5on for the list of timestamps. ♥♥♥Thanks everyone for watching, commenting and educating me on Stray Kids and Kpop! The response has been mind blowing. I appreciate y'all!
Well usually not the ONLY producers. So the others like Millionboy RESTART or VERSACHOI deserve their props too- but yes stray kids having this much creative input on the production process (on tracks as amazing as THESE) just shows how well they understand how to create quality music.
@@shinigamis_like_apples4797thats true yes but usually they only help with some of it, skz do the whole track and recording and then im pretty sure versachoi and more (im so sorry i rlly cant remember names) help with arrangements and so on
Not wanting to diminish other kpop groups, but you won't find anything like Stray Kids, they are simply different and unique, their production levels are at a level that hardly another group could achieve, and in addition to the group members themselves producing, writing and compose the songs, besides ALL the members can do EVERYTHING, all the members are rappers, all the members are vocalists (and if anyone has autotune it's on purpose because the members don't need it) and all the members are great dancers, there's no a kpop group as complete as Stray Kids
Did you say "Skrillex would be proud?" You have no idea how proud and happy Bang Chan would be of that compliment. :D (Chan is the leader of Stray Kids, also 1/3 of 3Racha, their in-group composing/writing/production team and he likes Skrillex a lot)
dude I absolutely LOVE this typa reaction: actually analysing the sound of it, being super honest about what you liked or not etc instead of just being “oh wow cool! ok lemme know what other stuff you want me to react to, bye”
@@tonystocco with STAYs you can bet we will appreciate whatever you’ll give us if this is the quality, also you actually got me curious about TOOL’s music, even just to understand your pov on music better, so yeah, you’re doing great man. I’m looking forward to other videos about SKZ or kpop in general, I think it could be interesting to know your thoughts about other groups too, like Ateez, XG or TXT (I’m thinking about these 3 groups because these are the ones I listen to the most, but it could be whatever, even some BTS’ songs since they’re the most popular kpop boy group). And ofc thank you for giving a chance to our hardworking boys
Thank you! I've heard of BTS and black pink but wanted to try a band I'd never heard of. And wow, couldn't have predicted this response. It's unbelievable. And if you're really interested in Tool (yay!) I recommend listening to their song "The Pot" first. If you like that song, then you're in for a wild ride. OH - and DO NOT watch their music videos yet. The videos are crazy bizzare and make it difficult to focus on the music. Listen to audio only first, then watch the videos. Good Luck and I'd love to hear how that journey goes. "Spiral Out 🌀"
@@tonystocco My brother is a TOOL fan. Based on the little I’ve heard of their music, they also seem to like to experiment. I remember him showing me their Fear Inoculum album when it was released and the packaging blew me away. Talk about innovative.
In the kpop community stray kids music gets called "ear bleeding" "pots and pans" and "dog shit" so seeing non-kpop fan react to stray kids and be respectful is always appreciated. I recommend their song "Thunderous" where they clapback at their haters :)
@@tonystocco Another band that is stray kids' juniors that sound AWESOME are Xdinary heroes! They are a K-rock band in the same company as skz and you should totally react to them 😁 (their song Strawberry cake gets EVERYONE into them)
Wow. That’s crazy! Their music is actually innovative and interesting. I find other k pop extremely basic and boring. I like that SKZ write and produce their own music.
Welcome stay and stray kids all around the world!!!🐺🐣🐿️🐰🦊🥟🐕(🐰🐷) Dwekki aka changing is the piggy bunny because his skooz character is a mixture of both😊
I love that you picked out Han each time he came on saying “he can really sing.” Han is one of the producers of the group and is considered the ACE! Complete all-rounder. He also wrote Twilight, the softer song on the album.
Kudos for giving something out of your wheelhouse a chance. The producers and engineers are actually the members. It's not super common in KPop to write/produce your own music. It is a big reason why I became a fan.
Stressing here. NOT super common (it is rare) they are their own producer/writer/arranger of their own music. They are the special group in clouds of K pop groups. No other like them.
I thought it would be outside the wheelhouse, but after listening to the album and reading all these comments, Stray Kids might be the single Kpop band that's most similar to my wheelhouse. 🤣
@@tonystoccothey are the only K-pop band I truly LOVE besides ateez. There is just such soul and it’s amazing to see their passion :) they are the reason I expanded my horizons and I’m very grateful to them
@@tonystocco You may also want to try out Ateez (8-member boy group that writes their own lyrics and has a rock-ish vibe) and Dreamcatcher (7-member girl group with a rock/metal/horror? concept)! Xdinary Heroes (self-produced) also recently released a metal song called iNSTEAD!
I come from a Metal background and Stray Kids was the first kpop i ever heard and holy moly it made me change my views on the genre. They are outcasts of sorts in Kpop because they defy typical sounds. These guys are the epitome of uniqueness and talent, not to mention they produce their own music from a very young age, and have climbed their way to the top on their own. Their Music Videos display a whole other level of awesome. Thank you for taking the time to react to this.
this is the greatest example of how just having an open mind goes a long way. glad you gave them a chance! they have a lot of songs that sound different than everyone else's, not just different from kpop, but different from everyone. and they enjoy making their own music and enjoy exploring all genres. i think someone said they have explored 50+ genres throughout their discography
Edit to my OG comment 1. Mountains is about how they clawed their way to the top, and then stayed there 2. Chk Chk Boom is the 'title track' main song of the album. The MV features Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (Deadpool and Wolverine, there is a whole backstory as to 'why') I love to see SKZ playing around with Latin vibes. 3. JJAM is legit a music jam showchasing vocal, dance and rap/production. (they have RACHA units/ Racha means 'wind gusts' in Spanish. Koreans love wordplay and word themes, no matter the language). There is 3RACHA (a play on Sriracha sauce, spicy and windy, they were a production unit/team before Stray Kids debuted as a team), DanceRacha and VocalRacha... it's just a way for them to showcase their main talents (because they can seriously do it all). It's a play on the Korean word for 'fun/having fun', 'jam session' and like.. Jam, the food. It's sticky and gets all over you, but you love it. 4. I Like It - honestly, a track I didn't think I'd like, but I love that they did. It's just laying out a 'romance/situationship' in like...yo... I like you, but not enough to be serious. It's probably the most 'pop' I've heard them sound, but they're so smooth with it. Probably one of their more 'pop' sounding songs. 5. Runners - I don't know if you noticed in your first listen, but this song is entirely in English. They've 2 Aussies, so... English speakers, and the rest Korean speakers (as a first language, all of them are multilingual). This is a song about their journey, also running/going hard, always afraid to fall, still running. One of my favorites from the album. It somehow feels darker than the track, but it could just be because I know so much about how long these 'kids' have been running. 6. I LOVE that you enjoyed Twilight. It was written by HAN (the youngest member of 3RACHA), and he is often teased by the others how its their least favorite song on the album. He had a direction he wanted to go, and they went there with him. That's just HAN though. HANPop is a whole other thing. He and Bang Chan, and Changbin are credited with a solid 99.999999% of SKZ tracks, with Bang Chan (the leader) having the most song tracks of any person within his generation of KPOP (generations are hard to define, but SKZ are known to be '4th Gen') 7. The song Stray Kids by Stray Kids isn't something that folks would really understand, unless they knew Stray Kids. It's essentially a "STAY" (the fandom name) song. It is SKZ (Stray Kids) singing about how it doesn't matter how hard it is, or where it takes them, they're never going to give up on their dreams, so we (the fans) should never give up on them as well. "Hellevator" - their pre-debut song (the first ever song, even before their first album) plays heavily into it. Please watch the MV. 8. They actually have multiple versions of this title track. The festival version is so fun, purely because they, as a group, are having fun. They recently did Lollapalooza in Chicago, and seriously... so much fun!! As far as 'albums' as a whole goes - this one is pretty good. 5-Star and Rockstar, and Oddinary are perhaps my favorites. I would say that the ATE album is almost abnormal. As great as it is, it is perhaps the most 'mainstream' friendly of any of their albums. I don't hate it. I def have some tracks I love (JJAM is my current fav, but I also love choreography), but there are other albums I love more. 5-STAR is amazing. It's so diverse! I came to know of SKZ during their ODDINARY era back in 2022... and legit, have never fell out. One of the great things about KPop, for the most part is that They.Never.Stop. Stray Kids, since their first 'debut/coming out' in 2018, have put out 32-ish albums. in some form or another. Some short, some in Japanese, some in English, some not even physical, but they seriously, never stop. KPOP, as a whole, is Koreas biggest export. But from Rockstar to ATE - there was about 9 months, the longest they ever took to drop something new. Since my time (ODDINARY) in2022, they've dropped .. idk. I own ODDINARY, Maxident, 5 Star, Rockstar and ATE and have gone backwards to own many, many, many more. Sorry this is so long! I really, really hope you've dive into them more. I did, and haven't looked back.
I would also like to add about the track 'stray kids', that it's meant as a message for their fans that they aren't going anywhere. In kpop they have contracts that only last a certain amount of years. and it's not often that groups will continue after the contract expires. So typically when the time comes that the contract expires fans start to get worried. ATE the album came out very shortly after stray kids resigned, so i think this self titled track was a message to their fans not to worry, that they will continue to make music for the forseeable future. But the track itself has a lot of easter eggs in it, which is really cool for fans that know those. EDIT: also another note because you mentions not liking the crowd effect of 'stray kids' in the song. In Korea there's a thing called 'fan chant', during a concert when they perform a song, the audience have their own lines (chants) that they sing during the song, this is for engagement from the fans without fans singing over the artist, i think it's really cool. So that part of the song is where the audiance during the concert would shout 'stray kids' as a form of engagement. It's really cool how they do it tbh, once you see it in action. The 'stray kids' song is a song that is designed for concerts I think.
The entire song of “Straykids” is a reference. So when you hear “there ain’t no last Step Out” that’s a reference to their greeting, “Step Out”. Or “Hellavator” was their first song so that’s a reference to their debut. That’s why “Straykids” is such an important song to longtime fans. Just wanted to explain that since you probably didn’t understand the references:)) amazing video and welcome to STAYVILLE
The song "Stray kids" holds enormous meaning to all the Stray Kids members as well as to their fandom, STAY. It references their journey as band as well as musicians. It is softer in its mood, bringing tears into eyes of all, who followed their not always easy way as self producing, self writing, unapologetic non-K-pop style, tight knit band of brothers and their close relationship to their fans. The song is intentionally written as an anthem to be sung at the end of a concert , ready made to let the fans joint in the call for "Stray Kids", to celebrate their and STAYs existence.
As a metalhead I wouldn't have listened to kpop some years ago. I somehow found Skz and totally fell in love with them. I really admire their hard work especially 3racha (Bang chan is a genius!) for all the writing, producing and everything else they put up together for every album. I just love Skz. They're so unique!
There is literally every genre in Kpop. Kpop is more of a term for the music industry of idols in South Korea. I loved all your insight! As a fan of Stray Kids (Stay), it's fascinating to hear the opinions of someone who isn't familiar with their style.
True, I think there is a kpop group out there for almost everyone. I have friends that are into kpop too but they like completely different groups from me bc their taste is different. But its still all considered kpop
@@Kassabonnyeah I agree. because kpop is more of an industry and not really a genre, there's a lot of variation in styles of music. of course kpop as a name is kind of misleading lol, you go in expecting pop (and you will find it) but you'll also find skz hard hitting anthems, baekhyuns completely rnb solos, whatever crazy stuff NCT is cooking up at the moment, etc lol.
This is honestly one of my favorite skz reactions, so honest and noticing all the little details made me appreciate this album even more. Chan def would appreciate this!!! Happy you enjoyed this album!
He really would, I'm almost tempted to send this reaction to Chan. I think he'd appreciate the attention to detail, noting the little extras thrown in that don't always get noticed but add to the track nonetheless
Stray Kids are a Kpop group but I think what sets them apart from other Kpop groups is that they produce their own music themselves (with the help of maybe one or two people for a song sometimes.). If you look at the credits for their songs the name "3racha" is basically everywhere. It's a sub-unit group with 3 members of Stray Kids. This allows them to experiment a lot and try out different genres. They have songs in Korean, English, and Japanese. They have a lot of very heavy songs but there's also a lot of fun ones, many ballads, etc... The members also have several solo and unit songs most of which are on the album "SKZ-REPLAY". They have more on RUclips only (fans are hoping that they'll officially release them on streaming platforms sometime soon so we can listen to them more easily!). ATE was their 11th EP. Those are shorter usually and will contain only up to 9 songs max. However, they have 3 studio albums that contain about 12 to 14 songs each. Their first studio album was repackaged with 7 extra tracks added. They debuted in 2018 as a group, but blew up in 2020 with the song "God's Menu" off their 1st studio album "GO LIVE". They've been growing quite consistantly ever since are now starting a 40+ city stadium world tour starting off in Asia and Australia. I highly recommend checking out their music videos even off camera as they take those seriously and take a lot of pride in them (also they're VERY fun to watch). Thanks for checking them out and sorry in advance about the long comment and any english mistakes as it's not my first language! :')
Hi yaasmiine! Thanks for the details and I understand your comment perfectly. The first time I hear a song I like to focus only on the audio. Then later on I'll read the lyrics and watch the music videos.
@@tonystocco STAY (fans) LOVE watching long reactions to stray kids. If you were to do deep dives with audio, lyrics, mv, and dance practice for a song, we would all die happy😅❤️
@@tonystocco I guess there is another fact that I still haven't seen other Stay mentions here. Stray Kids is also famous for their unique choreography to match the beat and meaning of their songs. On top of that, they are an excellent performers. They have just finished as top liner in 3 big world festivals. One in Milan, one in London and the most recent one is in Chicago USA.
I'm a huge TOOL fan and love rock and metal in all its forms. I tried K-Pop when BTS was blowing up everywhere and couldn't vibe with it. Then Stray Kidz showed up on my TikTok and RUclips algorithm and i am hooked! There is something this group has that just pulls me in.
Me pasó lo mismo. Me gusta BTS y les tengo cariño pero no tengo esa conexión a nivel musical como la tengo con Straykids ❤ Y también soy fan de Tool btw😅
Twightligh is what the fans call HAN pop, because is a staple of how one of the members rights and produces the songs! Collison, Chill on the albums and then some as individual songs like Alien and HaPpY
There is definitely a negative air around the use of autotune--I was right there too. I think so many groups/people use it as a crutch, Stray Kids is amazing at using it as an effect. Trust me, they do not need it. They are kind of known for using sounds that should not work (ie. Alarms, car horns, etc) or should be so off-putting, but they are SO good at making them work SO well.
Thank you for an honest reaction! You clearly went into this with a preconceived idea of what kpop is...but...because you kept an open mind, you quickly realized it was not what you thought! Like you...I started watching this reaction with a preconceived notion. "Ugh...he's not watching the music video." But it didn't take long to realize that I really like your style! So many reactors get overwhelmed when watching the music video...the camera work, the transitions, the dance moves, etc...and miss so much of the actual music. Some even try watching the video, reading the English translation, and listening to the music all at the same time. Obviously, they get so overwhelmed that they only absorb bits and pieces of everything. It was refreshing to have you just listening to the music without any distractions. I saw in one of your comments that you like to listen to the music and read the lyrics before watching the music video. Keep in mind, Stray Kids love to play with their lyrics. They like to use word play, they sometimes refer to Korean phrases that we won't understand, and they frequently write lyrics that can have more than one meaning. One example is a song that just two of them did together, "Red Lights". On the surface, it can look like the lyrics are about an obsessive relationship. If you watch the music video, you might think it's about a sexually obsessive relationship. However, they have said that when they wrote it, they were writing about obsession in general. The two that did this song can be obsessive to a fault. They both have been known to work all night trying to get something perfect. Both have been known to "forget" to eat because they are so focused on something they are working on. Stray Kids have been together officially as a group for about 7 years. As others have pointed out, the song "Stray Kids" is more of a look back on where they've been, and letting the fans know that they aren't going anywhere and plan to still be around for a long time. These guys have been exploding in international popularity over the last few years. They've been setting records, winning awards, and breaking new ground. They've topped global Billboard charts, won a VMA last year, and most recently performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Some are official ambassadors for top fashion houses, and all are insanely talented. But with all this, they remain humble. They never are satisfied with what they've done or how far they have come, and you will find them frequently saying that they have so much more work to do and they are always striving to "do better". Stray Kids have over 20 albums that have been released (some short like this one, some longer, some Japanese exclusive) and about 300 songs...some released, some not. Some you can only find on social media or on the Stray Kids RUclips channel. (Some members will occasionally release a single on the Stray Kids RUclips channel, but it's not been released on any album or on Spotify or Apple Music.) Some have only been performed at concerts or fan meets, and some predate the formation of the group. Pre-debut, three of them got together to start writing their own songs and called themselves "3Racha". 3Racha is now known as the writers and producers of the group. A lot of 3Racha's older songs are out there, but are harder to find. Fans of Stray Kids are called "Stays". If you watch their official music videos, you'll see at the end of every video the phrase, "STRAY KIDS EVERYWHERE ALL AROUND THE WORLD, YOU MAKE STRAY KIDS STAY." Stray Kids are intensely dedicated to their fans, and their fans will throw hands to defend Stray Kids! Welcome down the rabbit hole that leads to what we call "Stayville"!
You're correct that I always go for just audio only on the first listen. That way I can consume all of the audio without any distractions. In fact, the first listen for me I rarely identify any words (even when in English) - I hear the voices as their own instruments and how well they play with the other sounds. Thanks for this comment!
as a former industrial/metal dj who loves stray kids, keep going! Also, check out Xdinary Heroes-Instead. I think you might like them. The song "Stray Kids" is more a message to the fans that they aren't going anywhere and has a lot of reference to past songs, so it's understandable it was your least favorite. Auto Tune as a tool isn't a sin, reliance on it to make bad singers sound good is not. Stray Kids use it as a tool.
I really hope the leader of the group, Bang Chan, finds your reaction. He is the one making the beats (often with other in house producers from their company) and he would be delighted to hear your comments!
i loved it when you called them not ordinary because they literally have an album called ODDINARY which is obviously consisting of two words, which is odd and ordinary and stray kids are really the odd one out in K-pop too, they have their unique sound and unique vibe. Everyone was hating on their sound before, but then people started to like it an now they became so popular that it blows my mind. As i said in the beginning they were even called the failure of their company. Even other idols and celebrities etc were looking down on them and disrespecting them. Nobody believed in them except themselves and their little fanbase. But when they slowly getting bigger other companies were literally spent thousands just to block their way at some point and this is crazy because it shows how big their potential is. But now they have the success that no one ever expected in kpop. They are even in the guinness world records with the first boy group ever to debut at number one with 5 albums in a row at billboard200 charts. Im so proud to be with them since the beginning, they made it. and i would like to recommend their NOEASY album
I believe there is no other group like Stray Kids in kpop because what you’re hearing is their signature sound that only they do because they produce their own songs. Stray Kids are great artists. You’ll never get bored with any of their albums/songs because they have so much to offer.
I'm 57, I love Tool and I love Stray Kids too - so much so that I went to see them at a festival in London in July, they drew a crowd of 65,000. ATE is a mini-album, they do releases like this several times a year (although this year might be an exception as they have started a world tour). This group is very experimental, they write/compose/produce all of their own music, unlike a lot of Kpop groups. They were also chosen by the leader of the group, who is one of the main producers in the group. They are one of the only (maybe the only), groups in Kpop that wasn't put together by their company. Kpop is an industry, not a genre. Stray Kids experiment with a lot of different genres. The song Jjam is just pronounced Jam with an emphasis on the J sound. In the Korean language, double letters are meant to indicate a harder pronunciation of that letter. I recommend checking out some of their MVs, they have REALLY good directors. Some of my favourites are Side Effects, Venom, Easy, Lalalala, God's Menu, Thunderous, Double Knot, Voices, and Victory Song. Check out their very first song - Hellevator, which was written by them when they were ages 17-22 and put out before they debuted. Their debut song is District 9 which is also worth a watch. If you want to see them with just regular vocals, they've done the Japanese show 'The First Take' several times, which is just them singing in front of a microphone, with only 1 take. And, yes, they can sing. They do use autotune, but usually as more of an effect than to fix their voices. They are all very dedicated to their craft and take vocal lessons. There are 8 members in the group btw, they can all sing and rap, but some members excel at rapping while others excel at singing. The leader, Bang Chan, was born in Korea but moved to Australia very young as such, he can speak English fluently. He moved back to Korea *by himself* to train when he was 15. He was a trainee for 7 years and during that time he indicated an interest in learning production, and it's become clear that he's a genius. His first 'kid' was Han, who is also one of the main producers and known within the Kpop industry as an 'Ace' - he is one of the main rappers of the group and one of the fastest in the industry as well - but he is also an amazing writer, composer and producer. The soft song on the album 'Twilight' was written by Han. The third member of the production team is Changbin, who is the one with the lower raspy rapping voice, he is also one of the fastest rappers in the industry. These three as the production team are known as '3Racha'. The lowest voiced is member Felix (aka Yongbok), who is a Korean Australian - he was born in Australia. He moved to Korea to train as an idol when he was 17, he did not speak Korean at all and had to learn it very quickly. Member Hyunjin is an *amazing* dancer and has some self-choreographed videos, but you can also see him front and center a lot in their music videos because he is really such a good dancer. Lee Know (Lee Minho) is also an amazing dancer, but much more of a technical dancer (danced from a young age and has competed in worldwide competitions) whereas Hyunjin is more of an emotionally influenced dancer. These two along with Felix are known as 'Danceracha'. The last two members are Seungmin and I.N. they are the two youngest of the group and known as the main vocalists or Vocalracha. The whole racha thing is based off Sriracha - because the group is hot :) The song Stray Kids is about their 7 years in the industry and has a lot of lyrics that throwback to many of their other songs. It's a song mostly for the fandom (called Stays).
@@tonystocco I only have knowledge of Stray Kids because they found me last year (it's said Stray Kids find you when you need them most). I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and was in a really dark time. I started listening to Stray Kids and went WAYYYYY down the rabbit hole with them (hyperfixated), to the point that as I mentioned in my comment, I went to see them in London a couple months ago. I edited the comment quite a bit btw, because I was watching the video while writing it so I updated things based on things you said in the video. I do listen to some other groups, but I haven't gone deep into any others because Stray Kids take up enough of my time lol. I mostly listen to other stuff when a Spotify playlist of SKZ has run out and starts playing other similar groups.
@ValerieWallace Hi, loved your intro to them. I would just like say those ages you quoted were their Korean ages. In international ages Chan was 13 when he moved to Korea by himself in April 2011. Hellavator was written when they were 15 to 20. Just a few months before Innie's 16th birthday in February. Korea changed to the international age system at the beginning 23 or 24. I just feel your info was impressive but when you use international age it's even more impressive. Either way, love your work.
@@phylisbrown1181 Yeah I know it's Korean age - probably should have mentioned that but a lot of people don't understand the difference and if you watch the Eric Nam interview Chan says he was 15 when he moved to Korea.
Love this reaction. I was not sure what i was getting into with your background, but was pleasantly surprised with how you listen and your comments. Thanks for checking them out and glad you enjoyed
Hello there, I really enjoyed your reaction to the whole album. Always love to see people who is genuine & appreciating their sound production in details since they wrote, compose & produce their own music. Every single track here is produced by them and the leader of Stray Kids is one of the digital engineers as well & he’s what I call an audio nerd 😅 Stray Kids is not as popular in Korea cause their songs don’t fit in the typical pop music genre but I love how they are passionate about their music & own sounds & not afraid of showing it. Funny the vocal you love so much in the song Twilight, he’s the writer & composer for the song and he is the Main Rapper of the group …yes they All sing & rap really well in this group. And the song “Stray Kids” is a song they wrote for their fans, summarising their journey & hardship over the years. I know the sound of it is not for everyone & probably least fav for most people, but the lyrics & the MV is very emotional & heartfelt for us 🥹 Once again, thank you for this lovely reaction & looking forwards to more. 🙏🏼❤ (Highly recommend “5 Star” the whole album, or songs like : Side Effect, Thunderous, Maniac, Venom, Freeze just to name a few )
0:40 “Ate” has eight (ate) songs, the group has eight (ate) members, American slang “ate” means being really good at something, and the number eight in Southeast Asia means really good luck, so it all around means they’re just amazing (which they are)
They debuted in 2018 They are ages 23 - 26 Fandom name is Stay #2 Best Selling Artist in U.S 2023 #3 Globally Best Selling 2023 They are unique for several reasons... First, the leader Bang Chan was allowed by JYP (owner of the company theyre under) to hand pick all of the members himself. They were not placed together in a traditional way, by the company. Second all of them are all arounders. They can all sing, rap, dance, produce and write. Third, they have written and produced about 99% of their music. Numbers of songs each member has copyrighted according to Korean Music Association (KOMCA) so far... Bang Chan 193 (#3 in KPop) Changbin 163 Han 161 Hyunjin 27 Felix 23 I.N 21 Seungmin 20 Lee Know 17 While they can all do everything they do have 3 different subunits... 3Racha... Bang Chan, Chang Bin and Han which are the main producers and lyricists. They are always credited as 3Racha. 3Racha Achievements - Producers of Consecutive Five Time Billboard 200 #1 album debuts - only group in history - Hot 100 Hitmakers - 3rd, 11th, 12th Most Credited Idols on KOMCA - Produced Albums Sold Over 20 Million Copies - Japan Hot 100 Hitmakers - 100+ Weeks on Hot 100 Lyricists - 100+ Weeks On Hot 100 Composers - 2023 Asia Artist Awards Best Creator - Makers of Time Magazines 2020 #8 Best Song (their song Backdoor) Danceracha... Lee Know (in charge of leading dance practices), Felix and Hyunjin. They also contribute to the choreography. Vocalracha... Seungmin and I.N While the songs are hype they always have significant meaning to them. Their lyricism is always insane. Since they are so experimental their sound has its own genre called mala taste and they have a very diverse discography with 40+ genres. Example... Gods Menu, Back Door and Case 143 all completely different sounds. So in KPop they have mini albums and full albums 😊 ATE is a mini album Full albums.. Go Live NOEASY 5 Star Mini albums... too many to list 😅 They have 200+ songs and put out 2 - 3 albums (mini albums) a year. We never know what we're going to get with Stray Kids which is one of the reasons we love them so much. They use autotune as a stylistic choice A few of their heavier hitting songs.. Gods Menu Battleground The Sound MegaVerse WHY District 9 (debut song) They have behind the scenes of them recording you can watch. It's a lot of fun since Bang Chan, Changbin and Han (the 3 members who are the main producers and writers) are usually the ones directing the others.
Came back again, after that stellar "7 misconceptions about k-pop" production! I was grinning as the merch kept piling up in it, but Ollie in the Felix shirt gave me a good laugh!
I loved hearing your compliment to "whoever" produced the album... well it is Stray Kids themselves. They write and produce their own music! It's one thing that sets them apart from most groups is they are not only performers but actually do the work to make the album. With each album release, they also put out a BTS for each song and show the creative process. They really are a fantastic group! Maybe check out God's Menu - it's kinda their claim to fame song! Thanks for the reaction! Really enjoyed it ❤
11:48 first two songs started pretty dark and now we are moving of like a poppier lighthearted sound 12:06 OR NOT I like so much that part of the video, I love JJAM, for me is the most stray kids song of the album ♥ Thank you for reacting to them. You are so sincere, and your appreciation of the album was so complete and honest.
Hi there. I listened to this video last night, and you made me smile so many times. I am myself a former(?) metal head, that accidentally discovered Stray Kids. A snippet of "Maniac" came on my Instagram, and I was very surprised by the combination of Felix's face and his voice. So I turned to RUclips to see/listen to the whole song and went "huh. I wonder if they have any other good songs?". And that was it. I just love that intensity that they brought to the table. This wasn't the "polished and silky" pop I expected from "k-pop". This was actually good. Now the K-pop industry is strange to me as a westerner. That they train so many people and put them together in groups and tell them how to move and dance and smile and sing. So I was very pleased to find out that Stray Kids mostly wrote and produced their own music. 3RACHA (Chan, Changbin and Han) has an impressive list of tracks to their name. Through Stray Kids and the competition "Kingdom" I learned about Ateez - they also have a "darker" and intense vibe to them. (You might want to give them a listen too, later on.) Now what I really, really enjoyed about your video was that you were genuinely interested in their music. There are so many "reaction" videos on RUclips where people overact their surprise and shock (doesn't really matter what they are so-called reacting to). You were so calm, and you focused on how they sounded. Not how they look or how they dance - the _music_ was the main character. Also, the way you stopped the track to point out different details and putting words to the things that I can't phrase any other way than "It just scratches my brain right", was a real treat. Since you're new to k-pop you also made me giggle a few times, like when you said you didn't know how many singers they had. Well, by now I'm sure you have been told that all 8 of them sing. They have also expanded on who writes and produces. The leader, Bang Chan, really wants everyone to shine and not get stagnant in one "role". Most k-pop groups have strictly defined "roles" and one of them is actually to be a "visual". A rather crazy concept when you come from a different musical direction than k-pop. Even though metal-heads can be quite obsessed with their visuals ;) I'm really happy I found your account and will be checking out the rest of your content - AND rediscover Tool as a side benefit. Thank you for being so respectful to the boys and a music genera that is highly frown upon as being only for "kids". Cause here I am, 44 year old, and finally enjoying new music and not just the tracks and artists I discovered between 1990 and 2005.
Thank you for this comment. "not just the tracks and artists I discovered between 1990 and 2005" is why I started doing this RUclips thing - I was listening to the same stuff over and over - and the Apple Music / Spotify "Recommendations" just reinforced the same old sounds. Took a chance on Stray Kids and the suggestions of new bands came flooding in via these comments. These human suggestions are so much better for new music discovery than any algorithm.
As a producer, I recommend you listen to the songs The Tortoise and Hare and the song Maze of memories (2021 version) the production of these songs are great and it's a lot of fun to analyze their instrumentals, both songs are by Stray Kids and I recommend you listen, if you can react with the colored letters so you will know the names of the members
Stray Kids write, arrange and produce all their own music. When they debuted in 2018, the leader Bang Chan was 20 yrs old and the others were 19, 18, 17, 16 years old. They have been touring for 6 years. I don't feel like k pop is a description of what they do. I am a 62 year old life long head banger rocker chick. My 32 year old daughter introduced me to Stray Kids over a year ago, I am a fan. I love their diversity and they are genre bending literally with so many influences. They also have a live band behind them, that is a group of very talented, seasoned musicians. This group have been world touring for quite some time now. You really cannot appreciate what they do as performers unless you watch their videos or live performances. I liken it more to music performance art, they are fantastic to watch. React to one of their intro videos that introduces the members and you will be surprised. The group is 8 young men who do it all. Sing, dance, perform visually, write, arrange produce and are wildly successful globally, yet are still very humble and appreciate their fans. You will enjoy diving into better acquainting yourself with them.
I come from a rock background, and the rock to Stray Kids pipeline is real, lol. They tend to be a lot heavier than a lot of "Kpop", at least with the title tracks. The joy of Stray Kids is that they can do whatever they want, so they hit a lot of genres. Their festival set list is banger after banger. They do some of the slower songs in concert though. Saw them in 2023 in Ft. Worth and it is definitely in my top 5 concerts (for reference my #1 is Elton and Billy Joel, and #2 is Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer. It's right there at #3.) I will echo the previous commenter that the videos are worth a watch. Lalalala, Megaverse (both are off the mini album Rockstar from Dec 2023), Thunderous (off the full album Noeasy), and Topline (a fan favorite in concert, off the 2023 full album 5-Star). And of course, God's Menu (off the full album Go Live from 2020). Hellevator as well, its their pre-debut song from 2018.
As for the song "Stray Kids", its a retrospective song, about their journey. There are many many references to past songs both in the song and the MV. It's an anthem for fans basically. They had just renewed their contracts for another 5 years, and it is reassuring their fans that they are not going to stop. Hellevator was their very first song, pre-debut.
if you want to hear vocals, Cover Me off Rock Star. Also one of the Main Vocalists, Seungmin started a little series called Song By. He covered a Radiohead song in the second episode ruclips.net/video/5kzosf3zko4/видео.htmlsi=QtPYI4BMrGy0ta4p. And something I don't think I or the other comments have mentioned is that they put out a LOT of behind the scenes content, from the Making of the videos to Album Intros describing their process to recording sessions.
@@ladyshar42 I agree, @tonystocco should definitely check out Seungmin's cover of High and Dry by Radiohead. I actually like it more than the original!
Loved the reaction! Not many people focus on the actual music (too distracted by the fancy music videos and everything else great about them) but 3Racha would love to hear this take, the good and the bad. You've probably seen in other comments that 3Racha are the members that produce all their music, but I will warn you that Bang Chan, the leader and the one who makes a grand majority of the beats/production choices, DOES watch reaction channels. He's Australian and has eyes all over the internet to get a read on how his group is doing and has openly admitted he likes watching people react to their stuff--that this take is 100% about his music specifically I feel will really strike a chord too if he does see it. I also think 'Stray Kids' the song is probably the weakest musically of the album but only because it's designed specifically to emotionally destroy people who were already fans. It's a call back to their past 7 years as a group, particularly amongst rumors this year that they'd need to disband (which thankfully ended up not being true as they've just signed on with their company another 8 years!). It is definitely more a gift to people who have been fans a long time and completely meant for everyone to be able to sing along at concerts, etc. I'd LOVE to see you react to more if you're interested in them. They're a unique choice to start with as they're unlike any other kpop group so they're not the best 'example' of what the industry is like exactly but if you like contrast then the next song you listen to I guarantee will be completely different from the last! They're always switching it up and doing wild stuff--and by that I mean whatever tf they want to do next lol. You can't really miss with them!
I was just trying to find 'good' music (which means music that *I* like) not necessarily Kpop. Discovering new music is the reason I started doing reactions. The stars aligned and for whatever reason I randomly picked this album from all the others in Apple Music labeled "Kpop". I can't explain how that happened, but so glad it did. Now I'm getting blown up by all the Stays and it's surreal. Thanks for this comment.
@@tonystocco, I'm SO excited to follow your journey into STRAY KIDS!! I'm here for it,! I think you will enjoy their discography! STRAY KIDS are like Hotel California, you can check in anytime you want, but you can never leave!!! Besides being incredibly talented, they are just such special people! The song STRAY KIDS, is kinda their anthem, the more you get to know them, the more you'll understand it! There's no one like them in the industry!
I love your objectivity and honesty. A lot of reactors would just say that they love it no metter what, but you gave honest compliments while also saying things like "yeah, I would not add it on my playlist probably", and I really appreciate that. Straykids are definitely unique and their musicality is experimental and beyond what k pop usually is, they are not scared of having fun. They take inspiration by different genres and create their own at the same time. There is something in their music that I cannot find anywhere else.
Every time you complimented the vocals, it was Han. I’m gonna say you like his voice the most out of all of them. Thanks for checking out stray kids! I love your opinions. Pls listen to more of them! If you wanted to listen to another full album of theirs I’d recommend either “NOEASY” or “Five Star”. These albums are longer compared to ATE. Like 40 mins each
Thank you Felix for pointing out the singer - I'm surprised I was consistently calling out the same person. Had no idea how many people are in the group before I recorded the video.
I fell down the rabbit hole of STRAY KIDS 2 years ago. I have now found myself in the sinkhole of Asian Pop. South Korea is brimming with talented artists. I'm familiar with over 150 idol groups, soloists and rappers now and discovering new ones every week. Through STRAYKIDS I have also come across amazing artists from Thailand, Japan and China. I have a spotify liked list of 2000 songs, only 200, maybe, is not from Asia. The West needs to learn from these talented people. BTW I'm a 56yo female who was brought back to music after a long hiatus by STRAY KIDS. They did indeed find me when i needed them the most.
Oh and the Stray Kids self titled track is definitely one for their fans, it as released to celebrate their resigning of their contract with JYP and to tell the fans they aren't disbanding. It references their journey and has Easter eggs in the MV and within the lyrics referencing 15 other songs from their career. It is a walk down memory lane for us Stays
I love seeing honest reactions to k-pop because I relate. A few years ago you'd have never seen me listening to k-pop but Stray Kids changed me. I truly believe they have something for everyone no matter what you're into. Their discography is so vast and the fact they do it all themselves means so much to them as well as their fandom. Since they have full control, produce, compose and song write they can control the album with performances in mind, as well as for casual listening. I do think Stray Kids are very different from the rest of k-pop though, you found the hidden gems.
Thanks for being so open-minded! They do love their stylistic autotune haha, but they don't use it all the time, and they do have songs that showcase their lovely natural voices as well. There are 3 members who write most of their music (Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han), but sometimes they write solo as well. Twilight sounds so different because it's Han's song - he has a different vibe when it's just him writing a song instead of all 3 producer members. My favourite on this album is Runners, which was written by the 2 Australian members (Bang Chan and Felix) and is actually all in English. The two of them also sang the last 2 lines in Runners (Felix has the deep voice).
Also, song length has been a popular topic of discourse in kpop spaces recently...they just keep getting shorter and shorter. I don't totally mind it in isolation as long as each song still feels complete, but it's an annoying trend when you look at the industry overall, and it does make some songs feel unfinished (although I rarely feel that way with these guys). One of my favourite songs from Stray Kids is "3rd Eye" (from their debut album) which is just over 4 minutes long. Gives the song some more time to breathe so they can develop it in interesting ways.
As I mentioned, I'm a huge Tool fan and their songs are ridiculously long - many over 10 minutes. I agree with you 100% on short songs (and the long Tool songs) that the song should be over when it's over, not based on the clock.
Stray kids are successful but you're right they're not everyone's cup of tea, especially kpop fans used to mainstream/poppy songs. Stray kids get called "noisy" "pots and pans sounds" but they took that and made it their group identity with songs like Jjam, that as fun as they are they are "too much" for some ears. I would love to see you react to more of their albums, the group is almost 7 years in and they have around 200 songs. The members produce and write themselves, if you want to read lyrics you can search them up online or watch "color coded" videos, that have the lyrics and who sings. Also, Stray kids have "Intro" videos in which they talk about the process of making/recording the album, that might interest you. (They do use a lot of autotune as a stylistic choice haha)
@tonystocco You might like the song Thunderous then. That's their response to people who used to talk a lot of crap about their sound, leaning into the label of noise music.
I'm still watching your listen so I'll edit as I go but as the others have said kpop covers pretty much all music coming out of S. Korea. Stray Kids really have developed their own sound unlike anything else because they are self produced. OG kpop fans consider them noise music or construction music because they play so much with sounds. They have embraced that label with songs like Thunderous where the lyrics talk about the Thunderous ones arrival and an album called No Easy which is a play on noisy. They tend to be loud and aggressive with their songs though they do have some really beautiful ballad songs. I'm 49 years old and have loved rock and metal all my life. Stray Kids found me in 2022. I haven't looked back since. They are the only kpop I love (I do occasionally listen to Ateez as well but not as much). Stray Kids have so much to offer. Their work ethic is unmatched, they literally don't stop working. When they aren't recording or filming the members do vlogs and talkers they post to their youtube that show everything frok their recording process to them just having fun backstage. They are a hardworking and really fun group of guys. They tackle a lot of common issues like depression, anxiety, the fight against conformity and the struggle to be yourself. The singer in Twilight you said could really sing is our Ace (naturally good at singing, rap and dancing etc) Han. He writes some really emotionally beautiful songs. He is one of the producing team and while all are incredibly talented, he takes it to another level. thank you for reacting to them. You will find their fan base adores watching new listeners give them a chance. I hope you listen to more.
Thanks for adding this context. It's clear now why I liked the music because it's similar to Tool in experimentation with sounds - and the darker tones.
Coming over from a APC reaction, and am only about 5 minutes into this one, but I would absolutely say "Side Effects" is the song you need to hear. It's just so different, especially when it was made, and for a Korean audience, but sheez... it's deep. And yet just one of many examples of Stray Kids don't do genres, genres ask that Stray Kids come and play haha. Seriously, they're such a unique bunch! I would add, color coded lyric videos, or the music videos themselves are great, just for context of what they're singing about. They often have English subtitles and do not get copywrited into oblivion.
@@Resistance_Is_Futile1of3 I mean SKY-HI and 3RACHA, or SKZ and LiSA, famous Japanese artist haha... there are SO many artists that HAN has covered, that are now obsessed with him! I can't wait to hear SKZ on the Arcane S02 (LoL) soundtrack, with Young Miko and Tom Morello! SKZ seriously have a 'sound' for everyone. Some call it 'Noisy'. I call it Genius lol
@@Tristana.Keauna Can you blame them.. Stay are obsessed with him lol...I love side effects - genius choice.. I am about to fall off my chair about these upcoming Arcane OST.. the new TOG tracks also.. and I am wearing out the slash out of SLASH [my newest obsession right now] 🖖🏽
When you started talking about how short the songs/album is, all I could think was, "We all said the same thing, but they can do so much with it!" So I loved your comment about that very thing later 😂 Their discography is extremely diverse. I highly suggest checking out more of their stuff! Since you really zero-in on the audio and appreciate the random sounds, I highly suggest: God's Menu, Thunderous, Backdoor... For their softer stuff (and all if them are actually incredible singers, just some do it more than others): Cover Me, The View, Levanter, Gone Away
'Stray Kids' is a reminiscent track. Its nostalgic. Because some people didn't and still don't like their music, they weren't expected to make it big. But, they stuck 5heirvmiddle fingers up to their haters and continued to blow everyone away! They did some diss tracks to the haters, like Thunderous, and Cheese. Imo, I think they have every right to blow their own trumpets 😍😋
I've come to realize a lot of people who are into rock-adjacent genres end up liking Stray Kids. I was a Linkin Park fan as a teenager and now I'm a Stay lol I loved it when they released Battle Ground because it gave me LP vibes. I'd recommend you check out that song. You probably would also like Guerrilla by ATEEZ. I'm not an ATEEZ fan but I love that song and it reminds me of LP as well.
Thank you for the reaction, first time here (I see Stray Kids, I click, hah) but I really enjoyed your input and comments! As several people has said before, Stray Kids is an 8-member South Korean group. There's probably no bigger compliment than your constant comments on how great the production is, as they are self-produced - they write over 90% of their music and lyrics and put it all together. They can all sing, rap and dance too, the autotune is more of stylistic choice than a means to fix anything. Someone already mentioned 'Cover me' as a great example of their vocal abilities and I second that, I would recommend checking color-coded lyric videos though (ofc only if you are interested in actually getting to read the translated lyrics, in my opinion it adds tot he experience as they are really skilled lyricists, plus you can see who sings which part and get to know them a bit :)) Other than that, you might enjoy the whole previous album (Rock Star) as well. For some of their older tracks I would recommend Thunderous, God's Menu, Cheese, Circus, Case 143 and probably many, many more ;)
36:45 👋 😊 hello , stray kids the song is actually meant to be a fan anthem for concerts so the chants in it and on how easy listening poppy feel it is for everyone to sing along to in a full stadium. Also their lyrics in this song and mv reference a core part of their entire discography tying back to their previous songs it's a song for fans. (Coming from a fan who actually cried when I first heard it). 😅 On the other songs some stylistic choices I think are on purpose because beyond ❤vocals and the❤ music, they are performance masters and it's a challenge when performing live to both sing and dance an entire choreography on stage 😮 you should watch the mtvs for ATE 😊
When you said the music you liked 1st, i knew you would enjoy this. My husband likes the same type of music and he really likes Stray Kids. Like you, he doesn't care if he can understand the words because it's the overall song he listens to. In fact, non of my family complains about me listening to them when im cleaning without headphones. I think they secretly prefer me to not wear them, especially when the boys release new music so they can hear it too. All three of them got me my 1st album for Christmas since we had the funds for it. They're going to slowly get me the albums, 1 for Christmas and 1 for my birthday until i have them all so im excited for my birthday for the 1st time ever.
26:58 That is our rapper🥰, and yes he REALLY can sing(he is the one that wrote and composed this song twilight actually), he is an allrounder (han jisung one of the 3 producers) every single one of stray kids (they are 8) is talented,they produce their oun music which is not really common in kpop the producers are chan the leader, changbin and han, the rest of the members also help sometimes (lee know, hyunjin, felix, seungmin, i.n) they are all amazing you will never regret discovering them the lyrics for stray kids(the song) are really meaningful and it is kinda for the fans and them it makes us both emotional (they said that they almost cried while writing it) so yeah it has a meaning for it (that just stays understand, there is a lot of hidden meanings in it)
"Who knew?" I feel that. 😂 I fell in love with this group from the start. From their album trailers (that are like movies) to their interviews and music, they are a breed apart.
You'll be surprised at which member has the deepest voice. Guarantee it. SKZ sometimes will do unit songs, which are songs that do not involve all 8 members, and solo tracks. For a group that has cameras shoved in their face every move they make, they put out an inordinate amount of music.
Ty for listening with an open mind!!! Stray kids are special and very unique. They self-write and self-produce and literally never sound the same. They have an amazing backstory and are truly beautiful human beings. I really hope you look into them more❤. The song you liked least (stray kids) is actually a song for fans with places for us to sing with them at concerts/festivals. The mv made the entire fandom cry with callbacks to their past works and struggles. The cord progression and lyrics mirror the first song they created together (Hellevator), and with it, they made a promise to us to keep going ("there ain't no last step out"). Stray kids have over 100 songs and have dabbled with over 40 musical styles. They have a rapper who has outclocked Eminem, vocalists that can truly sing, and dancing/choreo that is pure art. Beyond the production skills you noticed, they also use a great deal of wordplay in multiple languages. JJam for example, used 4 different English meanings for "jam" as well as the korean meaning ("fun"), and tied it all to a korean nursery rhyme (dori dori jam jam) used to get kids moving. I guess the thing about Stray Kids that I find most amazing is their ability to get so many different people stimulated and thinking in unique ways (just look at all of the paragraphs people write about them in the comments😂). Don't expect all kpop groups to be the same, though. Stray kids are actually more popular outside of korea than inside it, and they actually have a lot of haters (hence they have a lot of hype songs). Tyty again. Subbing in hopes you will go down their rabbit hole. I recommend checking out some of their mvs like maniac, megaverse, the sound, circus, jjam, top line, etc❤.
Hello Erica - Yes, look at all these comments! The amount of likes and positivity and lengthy, respectful comments is a shock. Thanks for adding your comment... and OMG 100 songs???
@@tonystocco well over 100, Bang Chan has 193 credits to his name with the Korean music copyright association (KOMCA). Han and Changbin aren't far behind.
@tonystocco if you're interested, search "stray kids mv's in order" on RUclips...then go to their official RUclips channel and look under the Playlist tab...the amount of content they have will blow your mind. They are 8 artists who are absolutely driven. And they share almost everything with fans❤️.
This was awesome! I am also a Tool fan and Gen Xeer and I absolutely love Kpop! I didn't think I would ever love pop again, but Kpop is something special and SKZ are pioneers in the world of Kpop. You're about to have a lot of subscribers, sir. Hoping to see more and hopefully hear what you think of other Kpop artists. Enjoy the journey!
@@amandaericksen7090 LOooooove it! I feel like there's such a mass appeal that I don't think we've seen in such a long time! I'm so happy to be making friends who love music!
This was a great and refreshing look at Stray Kids. By the end I was happily smiling at your positive comments. It was fun to listen to the album again without the visual interference (although frequently the best part for total enjoyment of the musical concept) of the music videos for some of the songs. I appreciated your observations of the music. I hope you will continue with this journey, I want to hear your take on the rest of their albums. Everyone has given great feedback. I will add, as others have said, we love to listen to anyone getting into Stray Kids for the first time. No video is ever too long for us Stays. ❤
i usually watch stray kids reactions to get more insight on the songs (production wise and all) or find things i didn't hear before so this reaction video is right up my alley. thank you so much for taking the time and giving this album a chance :D
Stray Kids is definitely in a whole class of their own. I'm a huge kpop fan, but Stray Kids stands out in that they write and produce all their own music. Thank you for your reaction video. I like someone else said, enjoy seeing non kpop fans discovering Stray Kids 💗 it fills my heart with joy as I have also been a fan of Tool for a long time.
19:20 lmao when you said it sounds like ghost i suddenly had a thought about the song. Cuz that song is about a guy who loves situationship but doesn't want to get into a relationship. So, the ghost sound linda make sense if they're going to start ghosting the other person of things got too serious lol
@@tonystocco honestly, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that it was intentional. They really love putting small details that just make enjoying their songs better (as a whole performance, even the dance for this song really elevates the message of the song because the choreography is very playful and unserious like how the song is towards relationships hahahaha)
I loved this. Your thoughtful, honest, inquisitive comments won me over instantly. I’ve been a fan of them since last May. They have given me such a new and exciting view of music. I hope you continue to explore their albums. I’ll go with you on your journey!
I definitely enjoyed that reaction, it's always nice to come across new people reacting to Skz for the first time. They're such a unique group, with a sound all their own, so it's nice to see people being introduced to that. And welcome to the family, we're always happy to have new Stays join us on the trip down the rabbit hole. And what a trip it will be... Despite only debuting 6 years ago, these guys have been prolific with a discography of almost 200 songs. This album was actually a mini-album rather than a full album, which is part of why it's so short. They're are a fully self-produced group, so every song you're hearing is written and composed by the members of the group (mostly 3racha: Bangchan, Changbin, and Han) in collaboration with team producers like Versachoi. In addition to this album, they also have a song on the Deadpool and Wolverine soundtrack called Slash. Definitely worth a listen, I think they outdid themselves with that one. They also had a collab with Charlie Puth, but you could definitely feel his influence because it's very pop. For this album specifically, Twilight was written by one of the members who really likes actively exploring numerous other genres, so that's a bit of why it's such a departure from the others. My mom will really appreciate your love for Twilight, though. It's her favorite on the album. The song Stray Kids, that you didn't like as much, I think doesn't carry as much meaning to new fans who don't really know the group. But the lyrics of the song itself, as well as the music video, has numerous callbacks to previous songs. For instance, "Stray Kids still gonna rock on the Hellevator"? That is a callback to their first song, Hellevator, written pre-debut, then Bangchan was only 20, Changbin was 18, and Han was 17. So it's really meant as a tribute to their fans and to their journey, a really meaningful song for their live performances to connect with fans. It's more about the emotion than the music. I do appreciate the genuine reaction, though. The one thing you'll find with Stays is that we appreciate genuine reactions and opinions. Some reactions fall into just praising and acting like everything is amazing and overdoing their reactions. Stay will very quickly read the room and move on. The reactors that tend to have staying power are ones with a genuine love for our boys, who are honest if they're not feeling something. So I would definitely love to see a lot more genuine reactions, Stray Kids definitely has A LOT of unique music to offer. And if you're ever in the mood, their live performances are even better.
your reaction was so refreshing, i don’t think i’ve ever watched a full reaction without lyrics AND mvs when i first discovered skz i was surprised as well cause i was never that interested in pop so why would i enjoy korean pop? but yeah like people have already mentioned if you check kpop with a open mind you’ll 100% find something to enjoy and i’m so glad you stumbled upon stray kids also one thing that will help you understand how their releases work: each album is made with performances, concerts and festivals in mind so like you said mountains is the perfect anthem, jjam is the perfect track to introduce and highlight the different subunits (vocalracha, danceracha and 3racha), stray kids was an homage to their career and the fans (emotional speech and crying on stage lol), and twilight for a chill vocal moment, you’ll probably notice that in each of their albums the pattern is kinda repeated even if the songs sound nothing alike i hope you’ll get more into their music, rock-star and 5-star are the most recent projects after ate and totally worth a reaction imo
Hi Elena - I've seen lots of reactions with videos and/or lyrics, but I'd rather focus on all the details in the audio. I can't do that while using my eyes to read lyrics or watch the videos. I always start new music with audio only.
@@tonystoccoThat's so great. I really appreciate that you gave it a chance and listen even if so bits you didn't take to. I like you album reaction format. STAY would love it if you reacted to the 5 albums that got them in the guiness book of records for being #1 on the billboard 200 charts in a row. "Ate" was one of them. The others are "Rock Star", "5 Star", "Maxident" and "Oddinary". Plus their album "No Easy" put them on the map. Hope you'll consider reacting to them!! 🙏
Stray Kids embrace the musical freedom, blending genres & experimenting with new sounds their passion for music is evident and they take pride in their diverse and creative approach. For them mixing genres is like playing in their own musical playground. I've always enjoyed their interviews because you can clearly see and feel their authentic & genuine passion for music.
15:15 yeah, stray kids always uses unconventional sounds in their songs that many haters call "noisy" but stray kids are proud of noise music lmao they even have an album called "noeasy" a word play for noisy. About auto tune, i don't think there's many musicians that uses auto tune as well as stray kids does. I mean stray kids never use autotune as a crutch, they use it as a tool and more for artistic choice.
picked hell of a group to start with! Stray Kids often gets hate from kpop fans because their music is "agressive" for the genre their in. I feel like you'll like their older music, like the album "I am who" its alot more rock based, like their debut, "District 9".
Not me turning into practically a rolling in the bed, kicking feet in the air, giddy watching another TOOL fan turn into a Baby STAY. I've been a die-hard TOOL fan since they came out, and Maynard is my favorite singer. Stray Kids blew me away and hasn't stopped doing so in much the same way...but more so. Tbh I saved this video to my watch later first to prepare myself for the worst while hoping you'd see what so many of us see/hear, and you did. It's obvious that you're actually LISTENING and watching your eyes light up and the quiet realization that these Kids are really something was so, idk, weirdly validating from another TOOL fan. There's so much that STAYs are going to want to (and will) share. I just want to say this, their whole discography has an underlying story through the albums. You get their journey through it as well. The STRAY KIDS song is an anthem to all these past albums and their past. This is why there was this 'Stray Kids' crowd type chant, because its representing STAY's cheers. 'Stray Kids still gonna rock from the Hellavator' being a direct reference to their debut album. That said, Welcome to STAYville! I hope you get to know and love these guys as much as we do. They are amazing and hugely unique as individuals as they are with their music. Happy to have you on this journey with us man.
Those who produce Stray Kids' songs are the members themselves, they all compose, write songs and also produce, they even post the process of producing and recording the songs on their channel.
FYI they have top (1st) the Billboard 200 list five times in row, they have a huge international fandom base. And when you give your kudos to the producers and composers it’s to STRAY KIDS (3racha, producing, writers team) themselves you give it too And yes they do use autotune sometimes, but it’s rare….There are 8 members and they are all multitalented artists (dancers, rappers, vocalists, writers, producers and composers) And every and each song on their albums have a different color. Make a deep dive into StrayKids and you will be amazed why Stray Kids music hits hard. “Stray Kids” ( the song) is a tribute to themselves… if you listen to the lyrics it’s their history. It’s abt their struggles and how they have overcome the obstacles and come as far as they have… the song was also released right before we got to know that they have renewed their contracts with their company. Anyway welcome to STAYVILLE. You won’t regret it. 😊
I’m glad you actually liked the production! There is a dedicated group within the members of stray kids who self-compose and write, which can be pretty rare for K-pop groups
Oh also I know the song stray kids BY stray kids sounds like it’s just supposed to be a ‘we’re cool’ song, but it’s in celebration of them renewing their contract with their record label after 6 years, which is a feat as most K-pop groups disband after 5 years together or so. They really love what they do and I recommend some of their older albums, like Mixtape, I am NOT, Clé: Levanter and I am YOU.
I'm sooooo happy you were open minded enough to give Stray Kids a listen and liked what you heard. Kpop is different to regular western pop. I really hope you'll delve further and discover more kpop groups. There is so much more. I look forward to more reactions. Thank you!
Funnily this is the most "Pop" album they have in their discography. They love to experiment with generes and every comeback they want to show something different and and with this one they wanted to try something "new" (referring to their usual more hard sound). Still they try to play with different genres and make it their own in a way. Probably some already commented on it, but it's actually three of them who are the producers of their own music (3Racha), really talented people! If you ever deep into StrayKids the only thing I can say to you is to expect the unexpected, they have tried soooo many music genres, you may love some stuff you may hate other stuff, but if you liked this one im confident you may LOVE some of their past music but, even more than the albums, if you re a Tool fan I think you could love the remixes they do for their Lives that's a different experience as they keep remixing their own songs with a mix of more rock and electronics with even a live band T_T (which is unusual for kpop groups) Anyway, amazing reaction, Is the first time I actually sit down for so long just to listen to someone opinions, and all legit ones. Also, n defense of the song "StrayKids", that song is meant for the fans, it portrays their journey from the beginning (with a couple references in the lyrics that only fans can understand) and is a song meant to show continuity without an end (they also have vocally expressed they care more about longevity than about reach top charts or stuff like that), I think that message is well portrayed in the repetitive sound where there are not impressive twists like other songs may have as it finishes abruptly as it should keep going and you would expect more, but indeed more is about to come :) In the future, with more releases, more songs, new music. Also, it a super easy song to sing along so it's meant to be sing together with the fans. Completely legit that you don't like it, sound wise is neither my favourite, message wise, I love it. Anyway... . .. . Would be aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing to see you reacting to other SKZ albums or songs as well. My Album suggestions: Oddinary, NoEasy, 5stars, Rockstar My Songs suggestions: God's Menu, Megaverse, Lalalala, Side Effects, Double Knot
Thanks Aniquila!! If this album is really their most pop-like, then I absolutely have to listen their noisier albums. That is really helpful. Thanks so much for giving me this context!
I have seen this video very early when it came up, and coming back to it after 3 months, and Tony being a Stay (probably favourite) reactor, buying concert tickets and albums is so funny 🤣
4 of those songs have music videos, Chk Chk Boom, Mountains, Jjam, and "Stray Kids". Jjam has a bit of a horror element. Han is the one that started out Twilight that you liked and he's also one of 3Racha and a main rapper. Their discography is huge and they just resigned for another 7 years. There is also an untold number of songs waiting to be released on Bang Chan's laptop. They have been very busy boys since their Debut in 2018. The Hellevator they refer to in their song "Stray Kids" is their pre-debut song from the survival show they competed on to win the chance to debut. They had to Compose, Write and choreograph a song and that song was Hellevator. Because they are self-produced, they have full control over their music and write song about whatever they feel like including the more taboo topics in k-pop of mental health, struggle, and loneliness. If you are curious, here is a guide. ruclips.net/video/SsaaldZ-bCA/видео.html&ab_channel=Chandora%27sWorld if you want to see how they perform ruclips.net/video/UMAXjS73-WE/видео.html&ab_channel=KPOPJAMM ruclips.net/video/A8ablrsnnyI/видео.html&ab_channel=%E5%A8%81%E7%9A%84%E8%BF%BD%E6%98%9Flife This is their KOMCA credits (before Han released a song called Human a few days ago on his birthday) Bang Chan: with 194 song credits he is the most credited 4th generation idol and 4th idol overall Changbin: with 166 songs registered under his name, he is the 2nd most credited 4th gen artist and the 10th most credited overall Han: with 162 song credits he is 3rd most credited 4th Gen & 12th most Credited Artist Hyunjin: 28 Felix: 24 Seungmin: 22 I.N: 22 Lee Know: 17 *Updated after their concert solos and ATE album release
The song Stray Kids can sound like “yeah we are cool” for folks who are new to them, but this song is a thank you to their fans, their team, and themselves. Lots of references to their early days tracks before they got so popular. This song makes me cry 🖤🥹
41:25 they do make the charts... all 5 of their full length, official albums have been Billboard 200. And ATE actually pulled up to the Billboard 100 with CCB. ❤️🔥
It was really refreshing to watch your reaction, to hear your honest opinions and get your insights. I'm a die-hard Deftones fan who never thought I'd listen to k-pop, but I've totally fallen for Stray Kids. I especially love that they write and produce all their own music, I think it gives them an edge that you don't find with other bands.
Oh shiiiiit Deftones! Another band I should listen to. Completely forgot about them... And I agree with you on appreciation for artists who can do it all.
I really appreciated your reaction. Initially I was disappointed you weren’t watching the MVs but I was pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyed watching your reaction. Like others have said, it’s rare to see someone simply listen to Stray Kids’ music. You enjoyed them for their music alone, not the fancy visuals and music videos. Your analysis was very thoughtful. The voice you kept complimenting was Han, one of the producers. He also wrote and produced Twilight. Han has written and produced many songs that are similar to Twilight that I think you would enjoy like Collision, 12345, Maybe, Alien, Human, and many more. Thanks for taking a chance on these guys. There’s a lot of content to explore beyond their music too. If you ever get the chance maybe check out SKZ Code. They’re really funny guys and you get to see their personalities shine here. SKZ Code is them doing fun things like going on vacation, having a sleepover, going to a haunted house, stuff like that.
While autotune is a stylistic choice for Stray Kids, you can watch their videos on The First Take and get their natural voices. They were the first Korean group to be invited to perform on that channel. Personally, my favorites on The First Take are Slump and Case 143. Their Lose My Breath Stray Kids Ver performance video where they sit in chairs and just sing also gives you more of their natural voices. Thanks so much for listening to Stray Kids and enjoying their music! Us Stay (fan name) are usually very welcoming and informative. You've already had quite a few paragraphs for information so I won't repeat that. I will say that you should absolutely check out the albums Go Live, No Easy, Maxident, Rockstar, and Oddinary. Stray Kids are unique within the K-pop world and I absolutely adore them. I didn't grow up listening to rock music but I did develop a love for bands like Tool, Slipknot, Evanescence, etc. The elder Millennial emo/punk/rock fan to Stray Kids fan pipeline is real. I loved your comments and hope you react to more Stray Kids!!
I assumed there was no connection from rock to this, which is why I picked Kpop originally. People in the comments saying they love Stray Kids and Tool/rock/metal is still bizarre to me. It was a happy accident.
@@tonystocco Believe it or not, Stray Kids even have some really cool rock based songs. District 9, Beware, YAYAYA, Battleground, LALALALA (Rock version) are a few examples. Their concerts/performances usually have a live band, too. You definitely picked the right group to start your journey into K-pop. I've started branching out to other groups only recently but Stray Kids is still unique and hold a special place in my heart.
I love seeing someone appreciate JJAM so much. It’s one of the least popular on the album since the sound is more out there but I absolutely love how unique it is and appreciated hearing from someone who knows more about music than me what technically is behind that. Thanks for this reaction!!
What I love about Stray Kids is they are self made, they write and produce their own songs(3Racha the writers and producers Chan, Changbin and HAN), they make their own misic. Their choreography and stage presence is unmatched. There is no other K-Pop band like them. Truly one of a kind. All 8 members can sing, rap and dance and they do it all live. No lip singing. I'd love to see you watch some of those Music videos or live performance. I went to their Maniac tour last year in Atlanta and they are amazing, they go hard for almost 4 hours and they sound exactly the same live as they do on the albums. Thank you for all your kind works about SKZ. 💕Even with the language difference their music is fun and beautiful.
This has been my fave reaction that I have seen in a long time. Loved how you gave genuine responses to each song and really appreciated the little details. I' was also a tool fan, a metal fan for life and stray kids is the first ever kpop group I have ever been into (now in my 30s), I was just as surprised as you to be honest never saw it coming for me either. Stray Kids are just different, they are just so insanely talented especially around composing, writing and producing all their own stuff, also as a metal fan you will find so many songs in their discography that will scratch that heavier darker feel just right. Try as i might no other group even comes close to them for me, they really are their own genre and you will not regret listening if you are anything like me. Looking forward to seeing more of your reactions!
UPDATE: Links to the timestamp for each song are here...
1:10 MOUNTAINS
6:40 Chk Chk Boom
10:45 JJAM
16:15 I Like It
20:00 Runners
26:25 twilight
31:50 Stray Kids
37:25 Chk Chk Boom (Festival Version)
Thanks to @Rain-oy5on for the list of timestamps.
♥♥♥Thanks everyone for watching, commenting and educating me on Stray Kids and Kpop! The response has been mind blowing. I appreciate y'all!
Hi. I love your reaction. I hope you can react to their “5-Star” album as well which also has a variety of sound types. 😊
Yeah, we do that 😂 Almost every reactor I've watched (and we watch alot!) has said the same thing. "If you watch it, we will come."
@@OkieDoak19 STAYs just like Chan are always watching👀
It is kind of crazy that you had 15 subs yesterday when I first commented on this video and now you're nearly at 400 :) well done!
I KNOW!!!! I keep wondering if this is real. Unexplainable. None of this makes any sense.
Seeing non-pop fans discover stray kids is my favorite thing.
Samee
yes ma'am
Fr. It’s like “we bagged another one boys!” 😂 Stray Kids world domination.
They cant help but love our guys
It makes my heart happy. ❤
it’s so fun to hear people give props to “the producers” because stray kids ARE the producers 😭 it makes me so proud
Well usually not the ONLY producers. So the others like Millionboy RESTART or VERSACHOI deserve their props too- but yes stray kids having this much creative input on the production process (on tracks as amazing as THESE) just shows how well they understand how to create quality music.
@@shinigamis_like_apples4797THIS‼️‼️
same!!!
IM SO PROUD i started tearng up hajwje
@@shinigamis_like_apples4797thats true yes but usually they only help with some of it, skz do the whole track and recording and then im pretty sure versachoi and more (im so sorry i rlly cant remember names) help with arrangements and so on
Not wanting to diminish other kpop groups, but you won't find anything like Stray Kids, they are simply different and unique, their production levels are at a level that hardly another group could achieve, and in addition to the group members themselves producing, writing and compose the songs, besides ALL the members can do EVERYTHING, all the members are rappers, all the members are vocalists (and if anyone has autotune it's on purpose because the members don't need it) and all the members are great dancers, there's no a kpop group as complete as Stray Kids
Couldn't have agree more.
Just facts
Factssss
Facts❤
Straight up facts 🔥
Did you say "Skrillex would be proud?" You have no idea how proud and happy Bang Chan would be of that compliment. :D (Chan is the leader of Stray Kids, also 1/3 of 3Racha, their in-group composing/writing/production team and he likes Skrillex a lot)
Yes I did say that. 😁
dude I absolutely LOVE this typa reaction: actually analysing the sound of it, being super honest about what you liked or not etc instead of just being “oh wow cool! ok lemme know what other stuff you want me to react to, bye”
I appreciate that! I was worried nobody would find it interesting.
@@tonystocco with STAYs you can bet we will appreciate whatever you’ll give us if this is the quality, also you actually got me curious about TOOL’s music, even just to understand your pov on music better, so yeah, you’re doing great man.
I’m looking forward to other videos about SKZ or kpop in general, I think it could be interesting to know your thoughts about other groups too, like Ateez, XG or TXT (I’m thinking about these 3 groups because these are the ones I listen to the most, but it could be whatever, even some BTS’ songs since they’re the most popular kpop boy group).
And ofc thank you for giving a chance to our hardworking boys
Thank you! I've heard of BTS and black pink but wanted to try a band I'd never heard of. And wow, couldn't have predicted this response. It's unbelievable.
And if you're really interested in Tool (yay!) I recommend listening to their song "The Pot" first. If you like that song, then you're in for a wild ride. OH - and DO NOT watch their music videos yet. The videos are crazy bizzare and make it difficult to focus on the music. Listen to audio only first, then watch the videos. Good Luck and I'd love to hear how that journey goes. "Spiral Out 🌀"
And if you do reactions on RUclips to Tool, the Tool Army will show up and support you. Guaranteed.
@@tonystocco My brother is a TOOL fan. Based on the little I’ve heard of their music, they also seem to like to experiment. I remember him showing me their Fear Inoculum album when it was released and the packaging blew me away. Talk about innovative.
In the kpop community stray kids music gets called "ear bleeding" "pots and pans" and "dog shit" so seeing non-kpop fan react to stray kids and be respectful is always appreciated. I recommend their song "Thunderous" where they clapback at their haters :)
I just finished a reaction to NOEASY and will post it today (I hope).
@tonystocco oh great i cant wait! I already subscribed and will be watching :)
@@tonystocco Another band that is stray kids' juniors that sound AWESOME are Xdinary heroes! They are a K-rock band in the same company as skz and you should totally react to them 😁
(their song Strawberry cake gets EVERYONE into them)
Wow. That’s crazy! Their music is actually innovative and interesting. I find other k pop extremely basic and boring. I like that SKZ write and produce their own music.
@user-pj7id8oc8m same! They're so different from other groups and I think that's a reason kpop stans hate their music
🤣🤣🤣”I think I’m a Stray Kids fan.” Don’t be sad about it, glad to have another STAY!!🤣🤣☺️
I'm a proud Baby Stay.
@@tonystoccoYooo! Welcome, mate! ❤
@@tonystocco welcome to the fandom StayVille baby stay!!
Welcome stay and stray kids all around the world!!!🐺🐣🐿️🐰🦊🥟🐕(🐰🐷) Dwekki aka changing is the piggy bunny because his skooz character is a mixture of both😊
I love that you picked out Han each time he came on saying “he can really sing.” Han is one of the producers of the group and is considered the ACE! Complete all-rounder. He also wrote Twilight, the softer song on the album.
Kudos for giving something out of your wheelhouse a chance.
The producers and engineers are actually the members. It's not super common in KPop to write/produce your own music. It is a big reason why I became a fan.
Stressing here. NOT super common (it is rare) they are their own producer/writer/arranger of their own music. They are the special group in clouds of K pop groups. No other like them.
I thought it would be outside the wheelhouse, but after listening to the album and reading all these comments, Stray Kids might be the single Kpop band that's most similar to my wheelhouse. 🤣
@@tonystoccothey are the only K-pop band I truly LOVE besides ateez. There is just such soul and it’s amazing to see their passion :) they are the reason I expanded my horizons and I’m very grateful to them
I am a hardcore Stay, but I also love Ateez. @TonyStocco you should check them out as well.
@@tonystocco You may also want to try out Ateez (8-member boy group that writes their own lyrics and has a rock-ish vibe) and Dreamcatcher (7-member girl group with a rock/metal/horror? concept)! Xdinary Heroes (self-produced) also recently released a metal song called iNSTEAD!
I come from a Metal background and Stray Kids was the first kpop i ever heard and holy moly it made me change my views on the genre. They are outcasts of sorts in Kpop because they defy typical sounds. These guys are the epitome of uniqueness and talent, not to mention they produce their own music from a very young age, and have climbed their way to the top on their own. Their Music Videos display a whole other level of awesome. Thank you for taking the time to react to this.
OMGGG same
The alt/rock/metal to straykids pipeline is real
The member you said could 'really sing' is actually the MAIN RAPPER of the group! His name is HAN and hes known for being an all-rounder!
this is the greatest example of how just having an open mind goes a long way. glad you gave them a chance! they have a lot of songs that sound different than everyone else's, not just different from kpop, but different from everyone. and they enjoy making their own music and enjoy exploring all genres. i think someone said they have explored 50+ genres throughout their discography
Thank you 😊
"Auto-tune" is called "EDM"effect, which is popular in S.Korea. They can all sing without autotune.
They use autotune as yet another way to add different sounds and effects rather than to simply adjust vocals.
Edit to my OG comment
1. Mountains is about how they clawed their way to the top, and then stayed there
2. Chk Chk Boom is the 'title track' main song of the album. The MV features Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (Deadpool and Wolverine, there is a whole backstory as to 'why') I love to see SKZ playing around with Latin vibes.
3. JJAM is legit a music jam showchasing vocal, dance and rap/production. (they have RACHA units/ Racha means 'wind gusts' in Spanish. Koreans love wordplay and word themes, no matter the language). There is 3RACHA (a play on Sriracha sauce, spicy and windy, they were a production unit/team before Stray Kids debuted as a team), DanceRacha and VocalRacha... it's just a way for them to showcase their main talents (because they can seriously do it all). It's a play on the Korean word for 'fun/having fun', 'jam session' and like.. Jam, the food. It's sticky and gets all over you, but you love it.
4. I Like It - honestly, a track I didn't think I'd like, but I love that they did. It's just laying out a 'romance/situationship' in like...yo... I like you, but not enough to be serious. It's probably the most 'pop' I've heard them sound, but they're so smooth with it. Probably one of their more 'pop' sounding songs.
5. Runners - I don't know if you noticed in your first listen, but this song is entirely in English. They've 2 Aussies, so... English speakers, and the rest Korean speakers (as a first language, all of them are multilingual). This is a song about their journey, also running/going hard, always afraid to fall, still running. One of my favorites from the album. It somehow feels darker than the track, but it could just be because I know so much about how long these 'kids' have been running.
6. I LOVE that you enjoyed Twilight. It was written by HAN (the youngest member of 3RACHA), and he is often teased by the others how its their least favorite song on the album. He had a direction he wanted to go, and they went there with him. That's just HAN though. HANPop is a whole other thing. He and Bang Chan, and Changbin are credited with a solid 99.999999% of SKZ tracks, with Bang Chan (the leader) having the most song tracks of any person within his generation of KPOP (generations are hard to define, but SKZ are known to be '4th Gen')
7. The song Stray Kids by Stray Kids isn't something that folks would really understand, unless they knew Stray Kids. It's essentially a "STAY" (the fandom name) song. It is SKZ (Stray Kids) singing about how it doesn't matter how hard it is, or where it takes them, they're never going to give up on their dreams, so we (the fans) should never give up on them as well. "Hellevator" - their pre-debut song (the first ever song, even before their first album) plays heavily into it. Please watch the MV.
8. They actually have multiple versions of this title track. The festival version is so fun, purely because they, as a group, are having fun. They recently did Lollapalooza in Chicago, and seriously... so much fun!!
As far as 'albums' as a whole goes - this one is pretty good. 5-Star and Rockstar, and Oddinary are perhaps my favorites. I would say that the ATE album is almost abnormal. As great as it is, it is perhaps the most 'mainstream' friendly of any of their albums. I don't hate it. I def have some tracks I love (JJAM is my current fav, but I also love choreography), but there are other albums I love more. 5-STAR is amazing. It's so diverse! I came to know of SKZ during their ODDINARY era back in 2022... and legit, have never fell out. One of the great things about KPop, for the most part is that They.Never.Stop. Stray Kids, since their first 'debut/coming out' in 2018, have put out 32-ish albums. in some form or another. Some short, some in Japanese, some in English, some not even physical, but they seriously, never stop. KPOP, as a whole, is Koreas biggest export.
But from Rockstar to ATE - there was about 9 months, the longest they ever took to drop something new. Since my time (ODDINARY) in2022, they've dropped .. idk. I own ODDINARY, Maxident, 5 Star, Rockstar and ATE and have gone backwards to own many, many, many more.
Sorry this is so long! I really, really hope you've dive into them more. I did, and haven't looked back.
Thanks for this!
I loved your Ted talk. 🖖🏽
okay but i don't get why people dislike twilight so often just in general, even within the fandom. Hannie is an amazing songwriter imo
I would also like to add about the track 'stray kids', that it's meant as a message for their fans that they aren't going anywhere. In kpop they have contracts that only last a certain amount of years. and it's not often that groups will continue after the contract expires. So typically when the time comes that the contract expires fans start to get worried. ATE the album came out very shortly after stray kids resigned, so i think this self titled track was a message to their fans not to worry, that they will continue to make music for the forseeable future. But the track itself has a lot of easter eggs in it, which is really cool for fans that know those.
EDIT: also another note because you mentions not liking the crowd effect of 'stray kids' in the song. In Korea there's a thing called 'fan chant', during a concert when they perform a song, the audience have their own lines (chants) that they sing during the song, this is for engagement from the fans without fans singing over the artist, i think it's really cool. So that part of the song is where the audiance during the concert would shout 'stray kids' as a form of engagement. It's really cool how they do it tbh, once you see it in action. The 'stray kids' song is a song that is designed for concerts I think.
@@TheNightxSky and it was a contract for another 6/7 YEARS‼️🔥
The entire song of “Straykids” is a reference. So when you hear “there ain’t no last Step Out” that’s a reference to their greeting, “Step Out”. Or “Hellavator” was their first song so that’s a reference to their debut. That’s why “Straykids” is such an important song to longtime fans. Just wanted to explain that since you probably didn’t understand the references:)) amazing video and welcome to STAYVILLE
Also “we still astray, we always stay on the Lonely Street” is a reference)
@@hruneya yes thank you I forgot that one!💙
And the mv has sooooo many references (miroh, blueprint, and tons more)
The song "Stray kids" holds enormous meaning to all the Stray Kids members as well as to their fandom, STAY. It references their journey as band as well as musicians. It is softer in its mood, bringing tears into eyes of all, who followed their not always easy way as self producing, self writing, unapologetic non-K-pop style, tight knit band of brothers and their close relationship to their fans. The song is intentionally written as an anthem to be sung at the end of a concert , ready made to let the fans joint in the call for "Stray Kids", to celebrate their and STAYs existence.
Yes that song is more than just a song
It's our story yeah
This person can really sing😭😭han is the ace of aces
As a metalhead I wouldn't have listened to kpop some years ago. I somehow found Skz and totally fell in love with them. I really admire their hard work especially 3racha (Bang chan is a genius!) for all the writing, producing and everything else they put up together for every album.
I just love Skz. They're so unique!
Sameeee
Same. Stray Kids the first kpop group I listened to and loved.
There is literally every genre in Kpop. Kpop is more of a term for the music industry of idols in South Korea. I loved all your insight! As a fan of Stray Kids (Stay), it's fascinating to hear the opinions of someone who isn't familiar with their style.
Thanks Ilycea for not hating on my first experience. I clearly have a lot to learn about Kpop. 😃
26:07 @@tonystocco
True, I think there is a kpop group out there for almost everyone. I have friends that are into kpop too but they like completely different groups from me bc their taste is different. But its still all considered kpop
@@Kassabonnyeah I agree. because kpop is more of an industry and not really a genre, there's a lot of variation in styles of music. of course kpop as a name is kind of misleading lol, you go in expecting pop (and you will find it) but you'll also find skz hard hitting anthems, baekhyuns completely rnb solos, whatever crazy stuff NCT is cooking up at the moment, etc lol.
Love the "Twilight" appreciation. I really wish Han could hear you say that it was a stand out song.
This is honestly one of my favorite skz reactions, so honest and noticing all the little details made me appreciate this album even more. Chan def would appreciate this!!! Happy you enjoyed this album!
Glad you enjoyed!
He really would, I'm almost tempted to send this reaction to Chan. I think he'd appreciate the attention to detail, noting the little extras thrown in that don't always get noticed but add to the track nonetheless
Stray Kids are a Kpop group but I think what sets them apart from other Kpop groups is that they produce their own music themselves (with the help of maybe one or two people for a song sometimes.). If you look at the credits for their songs the name "3racha" is basically everywhere. It's a sub-unit group with 3 members of Stray Kids. This allows them to experiment a lot and try out different genres. They have songs in Korean, English, and Japanese. They have a lot of very heavy songs but there's also a lot of fun ones, many ballads, etc... The members also have several solo and unit songs most of which are on the album "SKZ-REPLAY". They have more on RUclips only (fans are hoping that they'll officially release them on streaming platforms sometime soon so we can listen to them more easily!). ATE was their 11th EP. Those are shorter usually and will contain only up to 9 songs max. However, they have 3 studio albums that contain about 12 to 14 songs each. Their first studio album was repackaged with 7 extra tracks added. They debuted in 2018 as a group, but blew up in 2020 with the song "God's Menu" off their 1st studio album "GO LIVE". They've been growing quite consistantly ever since are now starting a 40+ city stadium world tour starting off in Asia and Australia. I highly recommend checking out their music videos even off camera as they take those seriously and take a lot of pride in them (also they're VERY fun to watch).
Thanks for checking them out and sorry in advance about the long comment and any english mistakes as it's not my first language! :')
Hi yaasmiine! Thanks for the details and I understand your comment perfectly. The first time I hear a song I like to focus only on the audio. Then later on I'll read the lyrics and watch the music videos.
@tonystocco If you want to do that we will see every bit of it, a reaction with the song then lyrics then mv, awesome!!
@@tonystocco STAY (fans) LOVE watching long reactions to stray kids. If you were to do deep dives with audio, lyrics, mv, and dance practice for a song, we would all die happy😅❤️
@@tonystocco I guess there is another fact that I still haven't seen other Stay mentions here. Stray Kids is also famous for their unique choreography to match the beat and meaning of their songs. On top of that, they are an excellent performers. They have just finished as top liner in 3 big world festivals. One in Milan, one in London and the most recent one is in Chicago USA.
You will NEVER see me dance 😂
These boys can really sing. When you here autotune it's like adding another instrument not to disguise a bad voice.
I'm a huge TOOL fan and love rock and metal in all its forms. I tried K-Pop when BTS was blowing up everywhere and couldn't vibe with it. Then Stray Kidz showed up on my TikTok and RUclips algorithm and i am hooked! There is something this group has that just pulls me in.
🤘🏻
Me pasó lo mismo. Me gusta BTS y les tengo cariño pero no tengo esa conexión a nivel musical como la tengo con Straykids ❤ Y también soy fan de Tool btw😅
@@grisbellamy Gracias por el comentario
@@tonystocco gracias por tus reacciones, me identifico mucho ✌🏻
@@grisbellamy It's my pleasure. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Twightligh is what the fans call HAN pop, because is a staple of how one of the members rights and produces the songs! Collison, Chill on the albums and then some as individual songs like Alien and HaPpY
There is definitely a negative air around the use of autotune--I was right there too. I think so many groups/people use it as a crutch, Stray Kids is amazing at using it as an effect. Trust me, they do not need it. They are kind of known for using sounds that should not work (ie. Alarms, car horns, etc) or should be so off-putting, but they are SO good at making them work SO well.
Han would love the appreciation for twilight. He wrote that song and it doesn’t get talked about enough!
Thank you for an honest reaction! You clearly went into this with a preconceived idea of what kpop is...but...because you kept an open mind, you quickly realized it was not what you thought! Like you...I started watching this reaction with a preconceived notion. "Ugh...he's not watching the music video." But it didn't take long to realize that I really like your style! So many reactors get overwhelmed when watching the music video...the camera work, the transitions, the dance moves, etc...and miss so much of the actual music. Some even try watching the video, reading the English translation, and listening to the music all at the same time. Obviously, they get so overwhelmed that they only absorb bits and pieces of everything. It was refreshing to have you just listening to the music without any distractions.
I saw in one of your comments that you like to listen to the music and read the lyrics before watching the music video. Keep in mind, Stray Kids love to play with their lyrics. They like to use word play, they sometimes refer to Korean phrases that we won't understand, and they frequently write lyrics that can have more than one meaning. One example is a song that just two of them did together, "Red Lights". On the surface, it can look like the lyrics are about an obsessive relationship. If you watch the music video, you might think it's about a sexually obsessive relationship. However, they have said that when they wrote it, they were writing about obsession in general. The two that did this song can be obsessive to a fault. They both have been known to work all night trying to get something perfect. Both have been known to "forget" to eat because they are so focused on something they are working on.
Stray Kids have been together officially as a group for about 7 years. As others have pointed out, the song "Stray Kids" is more of a look back on where they've been, and letting the fans know that they aren't going anywhere and plan to still be around for a long time. These guys have been exploding in international popularity over the last few years. They've been setting records, winning awards, and breaking new ground. They've topped global Billboard charts, won a VMA last year, and most recently performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Some are official ambassadors for top fashion houses, and all are insanely talented. But with all this, they remain humble. They never are satisfied with what they've done or how far they have come, and you will find them frequently saying that they have so much more work to do and they are always striving to "do better".
Stray Kids have over 20 albums that have been released (some short like this one, some longer, some Japanese exclusive) and about 300 songs...some released, some not. Some you can only find on social media or on the Stray Kids RUclips channel. (Some members will occasionally release a single on the Stray Kids RUclips channel, but it's not been released on any album or on Spotify or Apple Music.) Some have only been performed at concerts or fan meets, and some predate the formation of the group. Pre-debut, three of them got together to start writing their own songs and called themselves "3Racha". 3Racha is now known as the writers and producers of the group. A lot of 3Racha's older songs are out there, but are harder to find.
Fans of Stray Kids are called "Stays". If you watch their official music videos, you'll see at the end of every video the phrase, "STRAY KIDS EVERYWHERE ALL AROUND THE WORLD, YOU MAKE STRAY KIDS STAY." Stray Kids are intensely dedicated to their fans, and their fans will throw hands to defend Stray Kids! Welcome down the rabbit hole that leads to what we call "Stayville"!
You're correct that I always go for just audio only on the first listen. That way I can consume all of the audio without any distractions. In fact, the first listen for me I rarely identify any words (even when in English) - I hear the voices as their own instruments and how well they play with the other sounds. Thanks for this comment!
Ngl the rock/metal genre to kpop and most of stray kids is so real. Proud millennial metal head now immersed in skz here lol
Same same…. The way they took me by surprise…… crazy
as a former industrial/metal dj who loves stray kids, keep going! Also, check out Xdinary Heroes-Instead. I think you might like them. The song "Stray Kids" is more a message to the fans that they aren't going anywhere and has a lot of reference to past songs, so it's understandable it was your least favorite. Auto Tune as a tool isn't a sin, reliance on it to make bad singers sound good is not. Stray Kids use it as a tool.
YES! You nailed my view on auto tune perfectly. And thanks for the additional music suggestions.
Yes! I love Stray Kids and Xdinary Heroes!
Seconding the shout out to Xdinary Heroes, would love to see a reaction/analysis of them
HEAVY ON THE XDINARY HEROES
I really hope the leader of the group, Bang Chan, finds your reaction. He is the one making the beats (often with other in house producers from their company) and he would be delighted to hear your comments!
i loved it when you called them not ordinary because they literally have an album called ODDINARY which is obviously consisting of two words, which is odd and ordinary and stray kids are really the odd one out in K-pop too, they have their unique sound and unique vibe. Everyone was hating on their sound before, but then people started to like it an now they became so popular that it blows my mind. As i said in the beginning they were even called the failure of their company. Even other idols and celebrities etc were looking down on them and disrespecting them. Nobody believed in them except themselves and their little fanbase. But when they slowly getting bigger other companies were literally spent thousands just to block their way at some point and this is crazy because it shows how big their potential is. But now they have the success that no one ever expected in kpop. They are even in the guinness world records with the first boy group ever to debut at number one with 5 albums in a row at billboard200 charts. Im so proud to be with them since the beginning, they made it.
and i would like to recommend their NOEASY album
I believe there is no other group like Stray Kids in kpop because what you’re hearing is their signature sound that only they do because they produce their own songs. Stray Kids are great artists. You’ll never get bored with any of their albums/songs because they have so much to offer.
I'm 57, I love Tool and I love Stray Kids too - so much so that I went to see them at a festival in London in July, they drew a crowd of 65,000.
ATE is a mini-album, they do releases like this several times a year (although this year might be an exception as they have started a world tour). This group is very experimental, they write/compose/produce all of their own music, unlike a lot of Kpop groups. They were also chosen by the leader of the group, who is one of the main producers in the group. They are one of the only (maybe the only), groups in Kpop that wasn't put together by their company. Kpop is an industry, not a genre. Stray Kids experiment with a lot of different genres.
The song Jjam is just pronounced Jam with an emphasis on the J sound. In the Korean language, double letters are meant to indicate a harder pronunciation of that letter.
I recommend checking out some of their MVs, they have REALLY good directors. Some of my favourites are Side Effects, Venom, Easy, Lalalala, God's Menu, Thunderous, Double Knot, Voices, and Victory Song. Check out their very first song - Hellevator, which was written by them when they were ages 17-22 and put out before they debuted. Their debut song is District 9 which is also worth a watch. If you want to see them with just regular vocals, they've done the Japanese show 'The First Take' several times, which is just them singing in front of a microphone, with only 1 take.
And, yes, they can sing. They do use autotune, but usually as more of an effect than to fix their voices. They are all very dedicated to their craft and take vocal lessons. There are 8 members in the group btw, they can all sing and rap, but some members excel at rapping while others excel at singing. The leader, Bang Chan, was born in Korea but moved to Australia very young as such, he can speak English fluently. He moved back to Korea *by himself* to train when he was 15. He was a trainee for 7 years and during that time he indicated an interest in learning production, and it's become clear that he's a genius. His first 'kid' was Han, who is also one of the main producers and known within the Kpop industry as an 'Ace' - he is one of the main rappers of the group and one of the fastest in the industry as well - but he is also an amazing writer, composer and producer. The soft song on the album 'Twilight' was written by Han. The third member of the production team is Changbin, who is the one with the lower raspy rapping voice, he is also one of the fastest rappers in the industry. These three as the production team are known as '3Racha'. The lowest voiced is member Felix (aka Yongbok), who is a Korean Australian - he was born in Australia. He moved to Korea to train as an idol when he was 17, he did not speak Korean at all and had to learn it very quickly. Member Hyunjin is an *amazing* dancer and has some self-choreographed videos, but you can also see him front and center a lot in their music videos because he is really such a good dancer. Lee Know (Lee Minho) is also an amazing dancer, but much more of a technical dancer (danced from a young age and has competed in worldwide competitions) whereas Hyunjin is more of an emotionally influenced dancer. These two along with Felix are known as 'Danceracha'. The last two members are Seungmin and I.N. they are the two youngest of the group and known as the main vocalists or Vocalracha. The whole racha thing is based off Sriracha - because the group is hot :)
The song Stray Kids is about their 7 years in the industry and has a lot of lyrics that throwback to many of their other songs. It's a song mostly for the fandom (called Stays).
Hi Valerie! I didn't expect to find other Tool fans who like this. Thanks for dropping your k-pop knowledge.
@@tonystocco I only have knowledge of Stray Kids because they found me last year (it's said Stray Kids find you when you need them most). I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and was in a really dark time. I started listening to Stray Kids and went WAYYYYY down the rabbit hole with them (hyperfixated), to the point that as I mentioned in my comment, I went to see them in London a couple months ago. I edited the comment quite a bit btw, because I was watching the video while writing it so I updated things based on things you said in the video. I do listen to some other groups, but I haven't gone deep into any others because Stray Kids take up enough of my time lol. I mostly listen to other stuff when a Spotify playlist of SKZ has run out and starts playing other similar groups.
@@ValerieWallace I see your edits and thank you for taking the time to enlighten me! (And everybody else who watches the video)
@ValerieWallace Hi, loved your intro to them.
I would just like say those ages you quoted were their Korean ages. In international ages Chan was 13 when he moved to Korea by himself in April 2011. Hellavator was written when they were 15 to 20. Just a few months before Innie's 16th birthday in February.
Korea changed to the international age system at the beginning 23 or 24.
I just feel your info was impressive but when you use international age it's even more impressive. Either way, love your work.
@@phylisbrown1181 Yeah I know it's Korean age - probably should have mentioned that but a lot of people don't understand the difference and if you watch the Eric Nam interview Chan says he was 15 when he moved to Korea.
Love this reaction. I was not sure what i was getting into with your background, but was pleasantly surprised with how you listen and your comments. Thanks for checking them out and glad you enjoyed
Hi Fred - Thanks or that comment and giving me a chance. I wasn't sure what I was getting into either. I'm glad it worked out for both of us.
Hello there, I really enjoyed your reaction to the whole album. Always love to see people who is genuine & appreciating their sound production in details since they wrote, compose & produce their own music. Every single track here is produced by them and the leader of Stray Kids is one of the digital engineers as well & he’s what I call an audio nerd 😅 Stray Kids is not as popular in Korea cause their songs don’t fit in the typical pop music genre but I love how they are passionate about their music & own sounds & not afraid of showing it. Funny the vocal you love so much in the song Twilight, he’s the writer & composer for the song and he is the Main Rapper of the group …yes they All sing & rap really well in this group. And the song “Stray Kids” is a song they wrote for their fans, summarising their journey & hardship over the years. I know the sound of it is not for everyone & probably least fav for most people, but the lyrics & the MV is very emotional & heartfelt for us 🥹
Once again, thank you for this lovely reaction & looking forwards to more. 🙏🏼❤
(Highly recommend “5 Star” the whole album, or songs like : Side Effect, Thunderous, Maniac, Venom, Freeze just to name a few )
0:40 “Ate” has eight (ate) songs, the group has eight (ate) members, American slang “ate” means being really good at something, and the number eight in Southeast Asia means really good luck, so it all around means they’re just amazing (which they are)
1:48 "surprisingly aggresive" hehe thats my skz alright 🤭
Literally like I think they should adopt “obviously well produced and surprisingly aggressive” as a new unofficial slogan
They debuted in 2018
They are ages 23 - 26
Fandom name is Stay
#2 Best Selling Artist in U.S 2023
#3 Globally Best Selling 2023
They are unique for several reasons...
First, the leader Bang Chan was allowed by JYP (owner of the company theyre under) to hand pick all of the members himself. They were not placed together in a traditional way, by the company.
Second all of them are all arounders. They can all sing, rap, dance, produce and write.
Third, they have written and produced about 99% of their music.
Numbers of songs each member has copyrighted according to Korean Music Association (KOMCA) so far...
Bang Chan 193 (#3 in KPop)
Changbin 163
Han 161
Hyunjin 27
Felix 23
I.N 21
Seungmin 20
Lee Know 17
While they can all do everything they do have 3 different subunits...
3Racha... Bang Chan, Chang Bin and Han which are the main producers and lyricists. They are always credited as 3Racha.
3Racha Achievements
- Producers of Consecutive Five Time Billboard 200 #1 album debuts - only group in history
- Hot 100 Hitmakers
- 3rd, 11th, 12th Most Credited Idols on KOMCA
- Produced Albums Sold Over 20 Million Copies
- Japan Hot 100 Hitmakers
- 100+ Weeks on Hot 100 Lyricists
- 100+ Weeks On Hot 100 Composers
- 2023 Asia Artist Awards Best Creator
- Makers of Time Magazines 2020 #8 Best Song (their song Backdoor)
Danceracha... Lee Know (in charge of leading dance practices), Felix and Hyunjin. They also contribute to the choreography.
Vocalracha... Seungmin and I.N
While the songs are hype they always have significant meaning to them. Their lyricism is always insane.
Since they are so experimental their sound has its own genre called mala taste and they have a very diverse discography with 40+ genres.
Example... Gods Menu, Back Door and Case 143 all completely different sounds.
So in KPop they have mini albums and full albums 😊
ATE is a mini album
Full albums..
Go Live
NOEASY
5 Star
Mini albums... too many to list 😅
They have 200+ songs and put out 2 - 3 albums (mini albums) a year.
We never know what we're going to get with Stray Kids which is one of the reasons we love them so much.
They use autotune as a stylistic choice
A few of their heavier hitting songs..
Gods Menu
Battleground
The Sound
MegaVerse
WHY
District 9 (debut song)
They have behind the scenes of them recording you can watch. It's a lot of fun since Bang Chan, Changbin and Han (the 3 members who are the main producers and writers) are usually the ones directing the others.
Thanks for adding this detail!
Came back again, after that stellar "7 misconceptions about k-pop" production! I was grinning as the merch kept piling up in it, but Ollie in the Felix shirt gave me a good laugh!
I loved hearing your compliment to "whoever" produced the album... well it is Stray Kids themselves. They write and produce their own music! It's one thing that sets them apart from most groups is they are not only performers but actually do the work to make the album.
With each album release, they also put out a BTS for each song and show the creative process. They really are a fantastic group!
Maybe check out God's Menu - it's kinda their claim to fame song! Thanks for the reaction! Really enjoyed it ❤
11:48 first two songs started pretty dark and now we are moving of like a poppier lighthearted sound
12:06 OR NOT
I like so much that part of the video, I love JJAM, for me is the most stray kids song of the album ♥
Thank you for reacting to them. You are so sincere, and your appreciation of the album was so complete and honest.
Hi there. I listened to this video last night, and you made me smile so many times. I am myself a former(?) metal head, that accidentally discovered Stray Kids. A snippet of "Maniac" came on my Instagram, and I was very surprised by the combination of Felix's face and his voice. So I turned to RUclips to see/listen to the whole song and went "huh. I wonder if they have any other good songs?". And that was it. I just love that intensity that they brought to the table. This wasn't the "polished and silky" pop I expected from "k-pop". This was actually good. Now the K-pop industry is strange to me as a westerner. That they train so many people and put them together in groups and tell them how to move and dance and smile and sing. So I was very pleased to find out that Stray Kids mostly wrote and produced their own music. 3RACHA (Chan, Changbin and Han) has an impressive list of tracks to their name. Through Stray Kids and the competition "Kingdom" I learned about Ateez - they also have a "darker" and intense vibe to them. (You might want to give them a listen too, later on.) Now what I really, really enjoyed about your video was that you were genuinely interested in their music. There are so many "reaction" videos on RUclips where people overact their surprise and shock (doesn't really matter what they are so-called reacting to). You were so calm, and you focused on how they sounded. Not how they look or how they dance - the _music_ was the main character. Also, the way you stopped the track to point out different details and putting words to the things that I can't phrase any other way than "It just scratches my brain right", was a real treat. Since you're new to k-pop you also made me giggle a few times, like when you said you didn't know how many singers they had. Well, by now I'm sure you have been told that all 8 of them sing. They have also expanded on who writes and produces. The leader, Bang Chan, really wants everyone to shine and not get stagnant in one "role". Most k-pop groups have strictly defined "roles" and one of them is actually to be a "visual". A rather crazy concept when you come from a different musical direction than k-pop. Even though metal-heads can be quite obsessed with their visuals ;) I'm really happy I found your account and will be checking out the rest of your content - AND rediscover Tool as a side benefit. Thank you for being so respectful to the boys and a music genera that is highly frown upon as being only for "kids". Cause here I am, 44 year old, and finally enjoying new music and not just the tracks and artists I discovered between 1990 and 2005.
Thank you for this comment. "not just the tracks and artists I discovered between 1990 and 2005" is why I started doing this RUclips thing - I was listening to the same stuff over and over - and the Apple Music / Spotify "Recommendations" just reinforced the same old sounds. Took a chance on Stray Kids and the suggestions of new bands came flooding in via these comments. These human suggestions are so much better for new music discovery than any algorithm.
As a producer, I recommend you listen to the songs The Tortoise and Hare and the song Maze of memories (2021 version) the production of these songs are great and it's a lot of fun to analyze their instrumentals, both songs are by Stray Kids and I recommend you listen, if you can react with the colored letters so you will know the names of the members
Seconded!
thirded! I would DIE. if he hates either I'm done. (jk, I'm a fan of the reactions, but those songs have my soul in a grip)
Stray Kids write, arrange and produce all their own music. When they debuted in 2018, the leader Bang Chan was 20 yrs old and the others were 19, 18, 17, 16 years old. They have been touring for 6 years. I don't feel like k pop is a description of what they do. I am a 62 year old life long head banger rocker chick. My 32 year old daughter introduced me to Stray Kids over a year ago, I am a fan. I love their diversity and they are genre bending literally with so many influences. They also have a live band behind them, that is a group of very talented, seasoned musicians. This group have been world touring for quite some time now. You really cannot appreciate what they do as performers unless you watch their videos or live performances. I liken it more to music performance art, they are fantastic to watch. React to one of their intro videos that introduces the members and you will be surprised. The group is 8 young men who do it all. Sing, dance, perform visually, write, arrange produce and are wildly successful globally, yet are still very humble and appreciate their fans. You will enjoy diving into better acquainting yourself with them.
I come from a rock background, and the rock to Stray Kids pipeline is real, lol. They tend to be a lot heavier than a lot of "Kpop", at least with the title tracks. The joy of Stray Kids is that they can do whatever they want, so they hit a lot of genres. Their festival set list is banger after banger. They do some of the slower songs in concert though. Saw them in 2023 in Ft. Worth and it is definitely in my top 5 concerts (for reference my #1 is Elton and Billy Joel, and #2 is Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer. It's right there at #3.) I will echo the previous commenter that the videos are worth a watch. Lalalala, Megaverse (both are off the mini album Rockstar from Dec 2023), Thunderous (off the full album Noeasy), and Topline (a fan favorite in concert, off the 2023 full album 5-Star). And of course, God's Menu (off the full album Go Live from 2020). Hellevator as well, its their pre-debut song from 2018.
As for the song "Stray Kids", its a retrospective song, about their journey. There are many many references to past songs both in the song and the MV. It's an anthem for fans basically. They had just renewed their contracts for another 5 years, and it is reassuring their fans that they are not going to stop. Hellevator was their very first song, pre-debut.
Fandom is called Stay. Welcome to Stayville! You'd be what we call a Baby Stay, lol.
If they are heavier and have range in genres, then I definitely want to hear more!
if you want to hear vocals, Cover Me off Rock Star. Also one of the Main Vocalists, Seungmin started a little series called Song By. He covered a Radiohead song in the second episode ruclips.net/video/5kzosf3zko4/видео.htmlsi=QtPYI4BMrGy0ta4p. And something I don't think I or the other comments have mentioned is that they put out a LOT of behind the scenes content, from the Making of the videos to Album Intros describing their process to recording sessions.
@@ladyshar42 I agree, @tonystocco should definitely check out Seungmin's cover of High and Dry by Radiohead. I actually like it more than the original!
Loved the reaction! Not many people focus on the actual music (too distracted by the fancy music videos and everything else great about them) but 3Racha would love to hear this take, the good and the bad. You've probably seen in other comments that 3Racha are the members that produce all their music, but I will warn you that Bang Chan, the leader and the one who makes a grand majority of the beats/production choices, DOES watch reaction channels. He's Australian and has eyes all over the internet to get a read on how his group is doing and has openly admitted he likes watching people react to their stuff--that this take is 100% about his music specifically I feel will really strike a chord too if he does see it.
I also think 'Stray Kids' the song is probably the weakest musically of the album but only because it's designed specifically to emotionally destroy people who were already fans. It's a call back to their past 7 years as a group, particularly amongst rumors this year that they'd need to disband (which thankfully ended up not being true as they've just signed on with their company another 8 years!). It is definitely more a gift to people who have been fans a long time and completely meant for everyone to be able to sing along at concerts, etc.
I'd LOVE to see you react to more if you're interested in them. They're a unique choice to start with as they're unlike any other kpop group so they're not the best 'example' of what the industry is like exactly but if you like contrast then the next song you listen to I guarantee will be completely different from the last! They're always switching it up and doing wild stuff--and by that I mean whatever tf they want to do next lol. You can't really miss with them!
I was just trying to find 'good' music (which means music that *I* like) not necessarily Kpop. Discovering new music is the reason I started doing reactions. The stars aligned and for whatever reason I randomly picked this album from all the others in Apple Music labeled "Kpop". I can't explain how that happened, but so glad it did. Now I'm getting blown up by all the Stays and it's surreal. Thanks for this comment.
@@tonystocco, I'm SO excited to follow your journey into STRAY KIDS!! I'm here for it,! I think you will enjoy their discography! STRAY KIDS are like Hotel California, you can check in anytime you want, but you can never leave!!! Besides being incredibly talented, they are just such special people! The song STRAY KIDS, is kinda their anthem, the more you get to know them, the more you'll understand it! There's no one like them in the industry!
@@shaylatorch I love Hotel California! What a perfect reference.
@@tonystocco , Thank you so much 😁
I love your objectivity and honesty. A lot of reactors would just say that they love it no metter what, but you gave honest compliments while also saying things like "yeah, I would not add it on my playlist probably", and I really appreciate that. Straykids are definitely unique and their musicality is experimental and beyond what k pop usually is, they are not scared of having fun. They take inspiration by different genres and create their own at the same time. There is something in their music that I cannot find anywhere else.
Every time you complimented the vocals, it was Han. I’m gonna say you like his voice the most out of all of them. Thanks for checking out stray kids! I love your opinions. Pls listen to more of them! If you wanted to listen to another full album of theirs I’d recommend either “NOEASY” or “Five Star”. These albums are longer compared to ATE. Like 40 mins each
Thank you Felix for pointing out the singer - I'm surprised I was consistently calling out the same person. Had no idea how many people are in the group before I recorded the video.
@@tonystocco And Han is one of the rappers in Stray kids. He is really good.
To piggyback off of felixfriedchicken-- not only did Han's voice stand out to you, but the song Twilight was written by him as well!
I fell down the rabbit hole of STRAY KIDS 2 years ago. I have now found myself in the sinkhole of Asian Pop.
South Korea is brimming with talented artists. I'm familiar with over 150 idol groups, soloists and rappers now and discovering new ones every week.
Through STRAYKIDS I have also come across amazing artists from Thailand, Japan and China.
I have a spotify liked list of 2000 songs, only 200, maybe, is not from Asia. The West needs to learn from these talented people.
BTW I'm a 56yo female who was brought back to music after a long hiatus by STRAY KIDS. They did indeed find me when i needed them the most.
Oh and the Stray Kids self titled track is definitely one for their fans, it as released to celebrate their resigning of their contract with JYP and to tell the fans they aren't disbanding. It references their journey and has Easter eggs in the MV and within the lyrics referencing 15 other songs from their career. It is a walk down memory lane for us Stays
I love seeing honest reactions to k-pop because I relate. A few years ago you'd have never seen me listening to k-pop but Stray Kids changed me. I truly believe they have something for everyone no matter what you're into. Their discography is so vast and the fact they do it all themselves means so much to them as well as their fandom. Since they have full control, produce, compose and song write they can control the album with performances in mind, as well as for casual listening. I do think Stray Kids are very different from the rest of k-pop though, you found the hidden gems.
Thanks for being so open-minded! They do love their stylistic autotune haha, but they don't use it all the time, and they do have songs that showcase their lovely natural voices as well. There are 3 members who write most of their music (Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han), but sometimes they write solo as well. Twilight sounds so different because it's Han's song - he has a different vibe when it's just him writing a song instead of all 3 producer members. My favourite on this album is Runners, which was written by the 2 Australian members (Bang Chan and Felix) and is actually all in English. The two of them also sang the last 2 lines in Runners (Felix has the deep voice).
Also, song length has been a popular topic of discourse in kpop spaces recently...they just keep getting shorter and shorter. I don't totally mind it in isolation as long as each song still feels complete, but it's an annoying trend when you look at the industry overall, and it does make some songs feel unfinished (although I rarely feel that way with these guys). One of my favourite songs from Stray Kids is "3rd Eye" (from their debut album) which is just over 4 minutes long. Gives the song some more time to breathe so they can develop it in interesting ways.
@@SJStarzI agree
As I mentioned, I'm a huge Tool fan and their songs are ridiculously long - many over 10 minutes. I agree with you 100% on short songs (and the long Tool songs) that the song should be over when it's over, not based on the clock.
Stray kids are successful but you're right they're not everyone's cup of tea, especially kpop fans used to mainstream/poppy songs. Stray kids get called "noisy" "pots and pans sounds" but they took that and made it their group identity with songs like Jjam, that as fun as they are they are "too much" for some ears.
I would love to see you react to more of their albums, the group is almost 7 years in and they have around 200 songs. The members produce and write themselves, if you want to read lyrics you can search them up online or watch "color coded" videos, that have the lyrics and who sings.
Also, Stray kids have "Intro" videos in which they talk about the process of making/recording the album, that might interest you.
(They do use a lot of autotune as a stylistic choice haha)
"they get called noisy pots and pans sounds" - Ha! Sounds like reactions to Tool music :) I like both and give me more pots and pans plz!
@tonystocco You might like the song Thunderous then. That's their response to people who used to talk a lot of crap about their sound, leaning into the label of noise music.
I’m so glad you liked Twilight, it’s my favorite song on the album! Loved your reaction 😊
I'm still watching your listen so I'll edit as I go but as the others have said kpop covers pretty much all music coming out of S. Korea. Stray Kids really have developed their own sound unlike anything else because they are self produced. OG kpop fans consider them noise music or construction music because they play so much with sounds. They have embraced that label with songs like Thunderous where the lyrics talk about the Thunderous ones arrival and an album called No Easy which is a play on noisy. They tend to be loud and aggressive with their songs though they do have some really beautiful ballad songs. I'm 49 years old and have loved rock and metal all my life. Stray Kids found me in 2022. I haven't looked back since. They are the only kpop I love (I do occasionally listen to Ateez as well but not as much). Stray Kids have so much to offer. Their work ethic is unmatched, they literally don't stop working. When they aren't recording or filming the members do vlogs and talkers they post to their youtube that show everything frok their recording process to them just having fun backstage. They are a hardworking and really fun group of guys. They tackle a lot of common issues like depression, anxiety, the fight against conformity and the struggle to be yourself. The singer in Twilight you said could really sing is our Ace (naturally good at singing, rap and dancing etc) Han. He writes some really emotionally beautiful songs. He is one of the producing team and while all are incredibly talented, he takes it to another level. thank you for reacting to them. You will find their fan base adores watching new listeners give them a chance. I hope you listen to more.
Thanks for adding this context. It's clear now why I liked the music because it's similar to Tool in experimentation with sounds - and the darker tones.
Coming over from a APC reaction, and am only about 5 minutes into this one, but I would absolutely say "Side Effects" is the song you need to hear. It's just so different, especially when it was made, and for a Korean audience, but sheez... it's deep. And yet just one of many examples of Stray Kids don't do genres, genres ask that Stray Kids come and play haha. Seriously, they're such a unique bunch!
I would add, color coded lyric videos, or the music videos themselves are great, just for context of what they're singing about. They often have English subtitles and do not get copywrited into oblivion.
Thanks for watching 2 of my videos Tristana! I'm so happy to hear there are more folks that like Tool/APC and Stray Kids.
How come I can see a 'rock/metal' genre calling up 3Racha & saying: 'SOo wWhaT R yuou gonna 2 do to me now bRuh !!??! 🖖🏽
@@Resistance_Is_Futile1of3 I mean SKY-HI and 3RACHA, or SKZ and LiSA, famous Japanese artist haha... there are SO many artists that HAN has covered, that are now obsessed with him!
I can't wait to hear SKZ on the Arcane S02 (LoL) soundtrack, with Young Miko and Tom Morello! SKZ seriously have a 'sound' for everyone. Some call it 'Noisy'. I call it Genius lol
@@Tristana.Keauna Can you blame them.. Stay are obsessed with him lol...I love side effects - genius choice.. I am about to fall off my chair about these upcoming Arcane OST.. the new TOG tracks also.. and I am wearing out the slash out of SLASH [my newest obsession right now] 🖖🏽
When you started talking about how short the songs/album is, all I could think was, "We all said the same thing, but they can do so much with it!" So I loved your comment about that very thing later 😂
Their discography is extremely diverse. I highly suggest checking out more of their stuff! Since you really zero-in on the audio and appreciate the random sounds, I highly suggest: God's Menu, Thunderous, Backdoor...
For their softer stuff (and all if them are actually incredible singers, just some do it more than others): Cover Me, The View, Levanter, Gone Away
'Stray Kids' is a reminiscent track. Its nostalgic. Because some people didn't and still don't like their music, they weren't expected to make it big. But, they stuck 5heirvmiddle fingers up to their haters and continued to blow everyone away! They did some diss tracks to the haters, like Thunderous, and Cheese. Imo, I think they have every right to blow their own trumpets 😍😋
I've come to realize a lot of people who are into rock-adjacent genres end up liking Stray Kids. I was a Linkin Park fan as a teenager and now I'm a Stay lol
I loved it when they released Battle Ground because it gave me LP vibes. I'd recommend you check out that song. You probably would also like Guerrilla by ATEEZ. I'm not an ATEEZ fan but I love that song and it reminds me of LP as well.
Thank you for the reaction, first time here (I see Stray Kids, I click, hah) but I really enjoyed your input and comments!
As several people has said before, Stray Kids is an 8-member South Korean group. There's probably no bigger compliment than your constant comments on how great the production is, as they are self-produced - they write over 90% of their music and lyrics and put it all together.
They can all sing, rap and dance too, the autotune is more of stylistic choice than a means to fix anything. Someone already mentioned 'Cover me' as a great example of their vocal abilities and I second that, I would recommend checking color-coded lyric videos though (ofc only if you are interested in actually getting to read the translated lyrics, in my opinion it adds tot he experience as they are really skilled lyricists, plus you can see who sings which part and get to know them a bit :))
Other than that, you might enjoy the whole previous album (Rock Star) as well. For some of their older tracks I would recommend Thunderous, God's Menu, Cheese, Circus, Case 143 and probably many, many more ;)
correction: they write 100% of their music
@@8nana8 they do have some other names in the credits, so I just left this margin to be safe
36:45 👋 😊 hello , stray kids the song is actually meant to be a fan anthem for concerts so the chants in it and on how easy listening poppy feel it is for everyone to sing along to in a full stadium. Also their lyrics in this song and mv reference a core part of their entire discography tying back to their previous songs it's a song for fans. (Coming from a fan who actually cried when I first heard it). 😅 On the other songs some stylistic choices I think are on purpose because beyond ❤vocals and the❤ music, they are performance masters and it's a challenge when performing live to both sing and dance an entire choreography on stage 😮 you should watch the mtvs for ATE 😊
Please react to their 5-star album next!! These boys produce every song they make, im glad you’ve become a fan. 🙏
Yees 5 star album
When you said the music you liked 1st, i knew you would enjoy this. My husband likes the same type of music and he really likes Stray Kids. Like you, he doesn't care if he can understand the words because it's the overall song he listens to. In fact, non of my family complains about me listening to them when im cleaning without headphones. I think they secretly prefer me to not wear them, especially when the boys release new music so they can hear it too. All three of them got me my 1st album for Christmas since we had the funds for it. They're going to slowly get me the albums, 1 for Christmas and 1 for my birthday until i have them all so im excited for my birthday for the 1st time ever.
26:58 That is our rapper🥰, and yes he REALLY can sing(he is the one that wrote and composed this song twilight actually), he is an allrounder (han jisung one of the 3 producers)
every single one of stray kids (they are 8) is talented,they produce their oun music which is not really common in kpop the producers are chan the leader, changbin and han, the rest of the members also help sometimes (lee know, hyunjin, felix, seungmin, i.n) they are all amazing you will never regret discovering them
the lyrics for stray kids(the song) are really meaningful and it is kinda for the fans and them it makes us both emotional (they said that they almost cried while writing it) so yeah it has a meaning for it (that just stays understand, there is a lot of hidden meanings in it)
"Who knew?" I feel that. 😂
I fell in love with this group from the start. From their album trailers (that are like movies) to their interviews and music, they are a breed apart.
You'll be surprised at which member has the deepest voice. Guarantee it.
SKZ sometimes will do unit songs, which are songs that do not involve all 8 members, and solo tracks. For a group that has cameras shoved in their face every move they make, they put out an inordinate amount of music.
As a fellow metal head to kpop fan the jump from like 7 min songs to 2 min or even 1 is so insane
Ty for listening with an open mind!!! Stray kids are special and very unique. They self-write and self-produce and literally never sound the same. They have an amazing backstory and are truly beautiful human beings. I really hope you look into them more❤. The song you liked least (stray kids) is actually a song for fans with places for us to sing with them at concerts/festivals. The mv made the entire fandom cry with callbacks to their past works and struggles. The cord progression and lyrics mirror the first song they created together (Hellevator), and with it, they made a promise to us to keep going ("there ain't no last step out"). Stray kids have over 100 songs and have dabbled with over 40 musical styles. They have a rapper who has outclocked Eminem, vocalists that can truly sing, and dancing/choreo that is pure art. Beyond the production skills you noticed, they also use a great deal of wordplay in multiple languages. JJam for example, used 4 different English meanings for "jam" as well as the korean meaning ("fun"), and tied it all to a korean nursery rhyme (dori dori jam jam) used to get kids moving. I guess the thing about Stray Kids that I find most amazing is their ability to get so many different people stimulated and thinking in unique ways (just look at all of the paragraphs people write about them in the comments😂). Don't expect all kpop groups to be the same, though. Stray kids are actually more popular outside of korea than inside it, and they actually have a lot of haters (hence they have a lot of hype songs). Tyty again. Subbing in hopes you will go down their rabbit hole. I recommend checking out some of their mvs like maniac, megaverse, the sound, circus, jjam, top line, etc❤.
Hello Erica - Yes, look at all these comments! The amount of likes and positivity and lengthy, respectful comments is a shock. Thanks for adding your comment... and OMG 100 songs???
@@tonystocco well over 100, Bang Chan has 193 credits to his name with the Korean music copyright association (KOMCA). Han and Changbin aren't far behind.
@tonystocco if you're interested, search "stray kids mv's in order" on RUclips...then go to their official RUclips channel and look under the Playlist tab...the amount of content they have will blow your mind. They are 8 artists who are absolutely driven. And they share almost everything with fans❤️.
@@ValerieWallaceYeah it's over 200 at this point!
@@tonystocco actually over 250
What can 23 minute long album do? Just change a life 😊
This was awesome! I am also a Tool fan and Gen Xeer and I absolutely love Kpop! I didn't think I would ever love pop again, but Kpop is something special and SKZ are pioneers in the world of Kpop. You're about to have a lot of subscribers, sir. Hoping to see more and hopefully hear what you think of other Kpop artists. Enjoy the journey!
thank you!
Completely the same! Metal head and gen xer now obsessed with Kpop due to these guys!
@@amandaericksen7090 LOooooove it! I feel like there's such a mass appeal that I don't think we've seen in such a long time! I'm so happy to be making friends who love music!
This was a great and refreshing look at Stray Kids. By the end I was happily smiling at your positive comments. It was fun to listen to the album again without the visual interference (although frequently the best part for total enjoyment of the musical concept) of the music videos for some of the songs. I appreciated your observations of the music. I hope you will continue with this journey, I want to hear your take on the rest of their albums. Everyone has given great feedback. I will add, as others have said, we love to listen to anyone getting into Stray Kids for the first time. No video is ever too long for us Stays. ❤
Thank you!
i usually watch stray kids reactions to get more insight on the songs (production wise and all) or find things i didn't hear before so this reaction video is right up my alley. thank you so much for taking the time and giving this album a chance :D
Stray Kids is definitely in a whole class of their own. I'm a huge kpop fan, but Stray Kids stands out in that they write and produce all their own music. Thank you for your reaction video. I like someone else said, enjoy seeing non kpop fans discovering Stray Kids 💗 it fills my heart with joy as I have also been a fan of Tool for a long time.
🤘🏻welcome fellow Tool fan 🤘🏻
19:20 lmao when you said it sounds like ghost i suddenly had a thought about the song.
Cuz that song is about a guy who loves situationship but doesn't want to get into a relationship. So, the ghost sound linda make sense if they're going to start ghosting the other person of things got too serious lol
That's an interesting take. I wonder if it was intentional - if yes, then they get even more credit for using that sound to express that idea. Wow.
@@tonystocco honestly, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that it was intentional. They really love putting small details that just make enjoying their songs better (as a whole performance, even the dance for this song really elevates the message of the song because the choreography is very playful and unserious like how the song is towards relationships hahahaha)
I loved this. Your thoughtful, honest, inquisitive comments won me over instantly. I’ve been a fan of them since last May. They have given me such a new and exciting view of music. I hope you continue to explore their albums. I’ll go with you on your journey!
Thank you for the kind words.
I was so happy every time you complimented the production! 3Racha deserves all the praise in the world for the music they create!
I definitely enjoyed that reaction, it's always nice to come across new people reacting to Skz for the first time. They're such a unique group, with a sound all their own, so it's nice to see people being introduced to that. And welcome to the family, we're always happy to have new Stays join us on the trip down the rabbit hole. And what a trip it will be...
Despite only debuting 6 years ago, these guys have been prolific with a discography of almost 200 songs. This album was actually a mini-album rather than a full album, which is part of why it's so short.
They're are a fully self-produced group, so every song you're hearing is written and composed by the members of the group (mostly 3racha: Bangchan, Changbin, and Han) in collaboration with team producers like Versachoi.
In addition to this album, they also have a song on the Deadpool and Wolverine soundtrack called Slash. Definitely worth a listen, I think they outdid themselves with that one. They also had a collab with Charlie Puth, but you could definitely feel his influence because it's very pop.
For this album specifically, Twilight was written by one of the members who really likes actively exploring numerous other genres, so that's a bit of why it's such a departure from the others. My mom will really appreciate your love for Twilight, though. It's her favorite on the album. The song Stray Kids, that you didn't like as much, I think doesn't carry as much meaning to new fans who don't really know the group. But the lyrics of the song itself, as well as the music video, has numerous callbacks to previous songs. For instance, "Stray Kids still gonna rock on the Hellevator"? That is a callback to their first song, Hellevator, written pre-debut, then Bangchan was only 20, Changbin was 18, and Han was 17. So it's really meant as a tribute to their fans and to their journey, a really meaningful song for their live performances to connect with fans. It's more about the emotion than the music.
I do appreciate the genuine reaction, though. The one thing you'll find with Stays is that we appreciate genuine reactions and opinions. Some reactions fall into just praising and acting like everything is amazing and overdoing their reactions. Stay will very quickly read the room and move on. The reactors that tend to have staying power are ones with a genuine love for our boys, who are honest if they're not feeling something. So I would definitely love to see a lot more genuine reactions, Stray Kids definitely has A LOT of unique music to offer. And if you're ever in the mood, their live performances are even better.
Thank you!
your reaction was so refreshing, i don’t think i’ve ever watched a full reaction without lyrics AND mvs
when i first discovered skz i was surprised as well cause i was never that interested in pop so why would i enjoy korean pop? but yeah like people have already mentioned if you check kpop with a open mind you’ll 100% find something to enjoy and i’m so glad you stumbled upon stray kids
also one thing that will help you understand how their releases work: each album is made with performances, concerts and festivals in mind so like you said mountains is the perfect anthem, jjam is the perfect track to introduce and highlight the different subunits (vocalracha, danceracha and 3racha), stray kids was an homage to their career and the fans (emotional speech and crying on stage lol), and twilight for a chill vocal moment, you’ll probably notice that in each of their albums the pattern is kinda repeated even if the songs sound nothing alike
i hope you’ll get more into their music, rock-star and 5-star are the most recent projects after ate and totally worth a reaction imo
Hi Elena - I've seen lots of reactions with videos and/or lyrics, but I'd rather focus on all the details in the audio. I can't do that while using my eyes to read lyrics or watch the videos. I always start new music with audio only.
@@tonystoccoThat's so great. I really appreciate that you gave it a chance and listen even if so bits you didn't take to. I like you album reaction format. STAY would love it if you reacted to the 5 albums that got them in the guiness book of records for being #1 on the billboard 200 charts in a row. "Ate" was one of them. The others are "Rock Star", "5 Star", "Maxident" and "Oddinary". Plus their album "No Easy" put them on the map. Hope you'll consider reacting to them!! 🙏
Stray Kids embrace the musical freedom, blending genres & experimenting with new sounds their passion for music is evident and they take pride in their diverse and creative approach. For them mixing genres is like playing in their own musical playground. I've always enjoyed their interviews because you can clearly see and feel their authentic & genuine passion for music.
Love the wording of this comment. Perfect description. ❤
Well written.. Stay.🖖🏽
15:15 yeah, stray kids always uses unconventional sounds in their songs that many haters call "noisy" but stray kids are proud of noise music lmao they even have an album called "noeasy" a word play for noisy.
About auto tune, i don't think there's many musicians that uses auto tune as well as stray kids does. I mean stray kids never use autotune as a crutch, they use it as a tool and more for artistic choice.
picked hell of a group to start with! Stray Kids often gets hate from kpop fans because their music is "agressive" for the genre their in. I feel like you'll like their older music, like the album "I am who" its alot more rock based, like their debut, "District 9".
OMG, i commented without finishing your reaction but after, LEMME TELL YOU, you'll definitely fuck with 'Side Effects" Its psytrance !
Not me turning into practically a rolling in the bed, kicking feet in the air, giddy watching another TOOL fan turn into a Baby STAY.
I've been a die-hard TOOL fan since they came out, and Maynard is my favorite singer. Stray Kids blew me away and hasn't stopped doing so in much the same way...but more so.
Tbh I saved this video to my watch later first to prepare myself for the worst while hoping you'd see what so many of us see/hear, and you did. It's obvious that you're actually LISTENING and watching your eyes light up and the quiet realization that these Kids are really something was so, idk, weirdly validating from another TOOL fan.
There's so much that STAYs are going to want to (and will) share. I just want to say this, their whole discography has an underlying story through the albums. You get their journey through it as well. The STRAY KIDS song is an anthem to all these past albums and their past. This is why there was this 'Stray Kids' crowd type chant, because its representing STAY's cheers. 'Stray Kids still gonna rock from the Hellavator' being a direct reference to their debut album.
That said, Welcome to STAYville! I hope you get to know and love these guys as much as we do. They are amazing and hugely unique as individuals as they are with their music. Happy to have you on this journey with us man.
Shocking how many Tool fans are also into Stray Kids. Ahhh Maynard, he's the best. 🤘🏻🌀
Those who produce Stray Kids' songs are the members themselves, they all compose, write songs and also produce, they even post the process of producing and recording the songs on their channel.
FYI they have top (1st) the Billboard 200 list five times in row, they have a huge international fandom base.
And when you give your kudos to the producers and composers it’s to STRAY KIDS (3racha, producing, writers team) themselves you give it too
And yes they do use autotune sometimes, but it’s rare….There are 8 members and they are all multitalented artists (dancers, rappers, vocalists, writers, producers and composers)
And every and each song on their albums have a different color.
Make a deep dive into StrayKids and you will be amazed why Stray Kids music hits hard.
“Stray Kids” ( the song) is a tribute to themselves… if you listen to the lyrics it’s their history. It’s abt their struggles and how they have overcome the obstacles and come as far as they have… the song was also released right before we got to know that they have renewed their contracts with their company.
Anyway welcome to STAYVILLE. You won’t regret it. 😊
I’m glad you actually liked the production! There is a dedicated group within the members of stray kids who self-compose and write, which can be pretty rare for K-pop groups
Oh also I know the song stray kids BY stray kids sounds like it’s just supposed to be a ‘we’re cool’ song, but it’s in celebration of them renewing their contract with their record label after 6 years, which is a feat as most K-pop groups disband after 5 years together or so. They really love what they do and I recommend some of their older albums, like Mixtape, I am NOT, Clé: Levanter and I am YOU.
I'm sooooo happy you were open minded enough to give Stray Kids a listen and liked what you heard. Kpop is different to regular western pop. I really hope you'll delve further and discover more kpop groups. There is so much more. I look forward to more reactions. Thank you!
Funnily this is the most "Pop" album they have in their discography. They love to experiment with generes and every comeback they want to show something different and and with this one they wanted to try something "new" (referring to their usual more hard sound). Still they try to play with different genres and make it their own in a way.
Probably some already commented on it, but it's actually three of them who are the producers of their own music (3Racha), really talented people!
If you ever deep into StrayKids the only thing I can say to you is to expect the unexpected, they have tried soooo many music genres, you may love some stuff you may hate other stuff, but if you liked this one im confident you may LOVE some of their past music but, even more than the albums, if you re a Tool fan I think you could love the remixes they do for their Lives that's a different experience as they keep remixing their own songs with a mix of more rock and electronics with even a live band T_T (which is unusual for kpop groups)
Anyway, amazing reaction, Is the first time I actually sit down for so long just to listen to someone opinions, and all legit ones.
Also, n defense of the song "StrayKids", that song is meant for the fans, it portrays their journey from the beginning (with a couple references in the lyrics that only fans can understand) and is a song meant to show continuity without an end (they also have vocally expressed they care more about longevity than about reach top charts or stuff like that), I think that message is well portrayed in the repetitive sound where there are not impressive twists like other songs may have as it finishes abruptly as it should keep going and you would expect more, but indeed more is about to come :) In the future, with more releases, more songs, new music.
Also, it a super easy song to sing along so it's meant to be sing together with the fans. Completely legit that you don't like it, sound wise is neither my favourite, message wise, I love it.
Anyway... . .. . Would be aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing to see you reacting to other SKZ albums or songs as well.
My Album suggestions: Oddinary, NoEasy, 5stars, Rockstar
My Songs suggestions: God's Menu, Megaverse, Lalalala, Side Effects, Double Knot
Thanks Aniquila!! If this album is really their most pop-like, then I absolutely have to listen their noisier albums. That is really helpful. Thanks so much for giving me this context!
I have seen this video very early when it came up, and coming back to it after 3 months, and Tony being a Stay (probably favourite) reactor, buying concert tickets and albums is so funny 🤣
4 of those songs have music videos, Chk Chk Boom, Mountains, Jjam, and "Stray Kids". Jjam has a bit of a horror element. Han is the one that started out Twilight that you liked and he's also one of 3Racha and a main rapper. Their discography is huge and they just resigned for another 7 years. There is also an untold number of songs waiting to be released on Bang Chan's laptop. They have been very busy boys since their Debut in 2018. The Hellevator they refer to in their song "Stray Kids" is their pre-debut song from the survival show they competed on to win the chance to debut. They had to Compose, Write and choreograph a song and that song was Hellevator.
Because they are self-produced, they have full control over their music and write song about whatever they feel like including the more taboo topics in k-pop of mental health, struggle, and loneliness.
If you are curious, here is a guide. ruclips.net/video/SsaaldZ-bCA/видео.html&ab_channel=Chandora%27sWorld
if you want to see how they perform
ruclips.net/video/UMAXjS73-WE/видео.html&ab_channel=KPOPJAMM
ruclips.net/video/A8ablrsnnyI/видео.html&ab_channel=%E5%A8%81%E7%9A%84%E8%BF%BD%E6%98%9Flife
This is their KOMCA credits (before Han released a song called Human a few days ago on his birthday)
Bang Chan: with 194 song credits he is the most credited 4th generation idol and 4th idol overall
Changbin: with 166 songs registered under his name, he is the 2nd most credited 4th gen artist and the 10th most credited overall
Han: with 162 song credits he is 3rd most credited 4th Gen & 12th most Credited Artist
Hyunjin: 28
Felix: 24
Seungmin: 22
I.N: 22
Lee Know: 17
*Updated after their concert solos and ATE album release
The song Stray Kids can sound like “yeah we are cool” for folks who are new to them, but this song is a thank you to their fans, their team, and themselves. Lots of references to their early days tracks before they got so popular. This song makes me cry 🖤🥹
The "Whooaa" voice at 21:14 is Han Jisung. The ace singer/rapper and one of the 3RACHA producers
41:25 they do make the charts... all 5 of their full length, official albums have been Billboard 200. And ATE actually pulled up to the Billboard 100 with CCB. ❤️🔥
It was really refreshing to watch your reaction, to hear your honest opinions and get your insights. I'm a die-hard Deftones fan who never thought I'd listen to k-pop, but I've totally fallen for Stray Kids. I especially love that they write and produce all their own music, I think it gives them an edge that you don't find with other bands.
Oh shiiiiit Deftones! Another band I should listen to. Completely forgot about them... And I agree with you on appreciation for artists who can do it all.
@@tonystocco If you ever react to Deftones, I'll be there immediately. I guess you know that Maynard appears on one of their tracks, Passenger.
@@MichaelJFletcher I didn't know Maynard was on their song. Now I feel obligated to check that out. Thanks for the tip!
I really appreciated your reaction. Initially I was disappointed you weren’t watching the MVs but I was pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyed watching your reaction. Like others have said, it’s rare to see someone simply listen to Stray Kids’ music. You enjoyed them for their music alone, not the fancy visuals and music videos. Your analysis was very thoughtful.
The voice you kept complimenting was Han, one of the producers. He also wrote and produced Twilight. Han has written and produced many songs that are similar to Twilight that I think you would enjoy like Collision, 12345, Maybe, Alien, Human, and many more.
Thanks for taking a chance on these guys. There’s a lot of content to explore beyond their music too. If you ever get the chance maybe check out SKZ Code. They’re really funny guys and you get to see their personalities shine here. SKZ Code is them doing fun things like going on vacation, having a sleepover, going to a haunted house, stuff like that.
More Stray Kids, please ❤
While autotune is a stylistic choice for Stray Kids, you can watch their videos on The First Take and get their natural voices. They were the first Korean group to be invited to perform on that channel. Personally, my favorites on The First Take are Slump and Case 143. Their Lose My Breath Stray Kids Ver performance video where they sit in chairs and just sing also gives you more of their natural voices.
Thanks so much for listening to Stray Kids and enjoying their music! Us Stay (fan name) are usually very welcoming and informative. You've already had quite a few paragraphs for information so I won't repeat that. I will say that you should absolutely check out the albums Go Live, No Easy, Maxident, Rockstar, and Oddinary. Stray Kids are unique within the K-pop world and I absolutely adore them.
I didn't grow up listening to rock music but I did develop a love for bands like Tool, Slipknot, Evanescence, etc. The elder Millennial emo/punk/rock fan to Stray Kids fan pipeline is real. I loved your comments and hope you react to more Stray Kids!!
I assumed there was no connection from rock to this, which is why I picked Kpop originally. People in the comments saying they love Stray Kids and Tool/rock/metal is still bizarre to me. It was a happy accident.
@@tonystocco Believe it or not, Stray Kids even have some really cool rock based songs. District 9, Beware, YAYAYA, Battleground, LALALALA (Rock version) are a few examples. Their concerts/performances usually have a live band, too. You definitely picked the right group to start your journey into K-pop. I've started branching out to other groups only recently but Stray Kids is still unique and hold a special place in my heart.
I love seeing someone appreciate JJAM so much. It’s one of the least popular on the album since the sound is more out there but I absolutely love how unique it is and appreciated hearing from someone who knows more about music than me what technically is behind that. Thanks for this reaction!!
Thank you Cara!
What I love about Stray Kids is they are self made, they write and produce their own songs(3Racha the writers and producers Chan, Changbin and HAN), they make their own misic. Their choreography and stage presence is unmatched. There is no other K-Pop band like them. Truly one of a kind. All 8 members can sing, rap and dance and they do it all live. No lip singing. I'd love to see you watch some of those Music videos or live performance. I went to their Maniac tour last year in Atlanta and they are amazing, they go hard for almost 4 hours and they sound exactly the same live as they do on the albums. Thank you for all your kind works about SKZ. 💕Even with the language difference their music is fun and beautiful.
This has been my fave reaction that I have seen in a long time. Loved how you gave genuine responses to each song and really appreciated the little details. I' was also a tool fan, a metal fan for life and stray kids is the first ever kpop group I have ever been into (now in my 30s), I was just as surprised as you to be honest never saw it coming for me either. Stray Kids are just different, they are just so insanely talented especially around composing, writing and producing all their own stuff, also as a metal fan you will find so many songs in their discography that will scratch that heavier darker feel just right. Try as i might no other group even comes close to them for me, they really are their own genre and you will not regret listening if you are anything like me. Looking forward to seeing more of your reactions!
I agree with all of this... Tool 🤘🏻
stray kids have such a unique sound that why we’re all love them. many of stay (stray kids fandom name) weren't even k-pop fans before finding out skz