Stray Kids

Stray Kids
Stray Kids in May 2024 From left to right: Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seungmin, I.N, and Felix
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop hip hop electronica
Years active	2017 (2017)–present
Labels	JYP Epic Japan Republic
Spinoffs	3Racha
Members	Bang Chan Lee Know Changbin Hyunjin Han Felix Seungmin I.N
Past members	Woojin
Website	straykids.jype.com

Stray Kids (Korean: 스트레이 키즈; RR: Seuteurei Kijeu; often abbreviated to SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For undisclosed personal reasons, Woojin left the band in October 2019. Stray Kids primarily self-produce its recordings; the main production team is named 3Racha and consists of Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han, and the other members frequently participate in songwriting.

Bang Chan handpicked each member to be a part of the group before the filming of the eponymous 2017 reality television show, which is uncommon in K-Pop where that power typically lies with executives and creative directors.^[1] The band released their unofficial debut extended play (EP) Mixtape in January 2018 and officially debuted on March 25 with the EP I Am Not, which was followed by the EPs I Am Who and I Am You, completing the I Am EP series. The Clé trilogy, consisting of Clé 1: Miroh, Clé 2: Yellow Wood, and Clé: Levanter, was released in 2019.

The group's first studio album Go Live (2020) become the band's first platinum-certified album by Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). That year, Stray Kids made their Japanese debut with the compilation album SKZ2020, which was released through Epic Records Japan. Their debut Japanese single "Top" debuted atop the Oricon Singles Chart, the fourth foreign male artists to do so with the first single.

In 2021, Stray Kids' second studio album Noeasy became its first million-selling album. After signing with Republic Records for promotions in the United States in 2022, the band released their EPs Oddinary, Maxident (both 2022), Rock-Star (2023), and Ate (2024); their third studio album 5-Star (2023); and their first mixtape Hop (2024). These six releases peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and entered the UK Albums Chart, making them the first act to debut at the top of Billboard 200 with their first-sixth-charted albums. The KMCA certified 5-Star five-million in album sales, making Stray Kids the third group to achieve this in Korea. In 2023, the band appeared on Time's list of Next Generation Leaders. As of December 2024, Stray Kids has sold over 31 million albums, both Korean and Japanese releases.