Stray Kids, the eight-member boy group under the entertainment company JYP, recently made a comeback with their eighth extended play titled “ROCK-STAR.” Stray Kids is known for their upbeat melodies and instrumentals with deep lyrical meanings that have broken records upon records ever since their debut back in March of 2018.
Some of their biggest and most recent accomplishments consist of surpassing their own record of selling 2.1 million copies of their album “5-STAR” which was held by their previous release “Maxident,” breaking K-pop sales records in general with 5.1 million pre-orders of “5-STAR,” and placing No.1 on Billboard 200 for the fourth time with their new release.
In recent years, Stray Kids’ way of promoting their awaited music is releasing one or more of the songs on the album before the whole release. With this comeback, those songs were “LALALALA” which hit the highest ranking on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, along with “MEGAVERSE” and “Social Path,” which circulated TikTok.
The album opens with the two songs “MEGAVERSE” and “LALALALA,” which give off a very rock-esque vibe before making its way to “Blind Spot,” a personal favorite, that is more electro-pop.
“Blind Spot” gives a very motivational and upbeat notion, but showcases Stray Kids’ exquisite lyrical skills with some lines being “Show them what you’re made of, your endless nights deserve a loud ovation, shine bright and prove them wrong,” and “shining, we are the champions, dying to make a difference.”
The song is followed by more favorable songs “Cover Me” and “Leave.” Both express the feeling of sadness but from different perspectives. One focuses on sitting in the lingering feeling that engulfs the members while the other expresses the challenge of overcoming those emotions.
“Cover Me” was written with the lyrics “sitting on the edge of an unknowable loneliness” while “Leave” has “let the lingering emotions slowly fade away.”
“Social Path‘ ft. LISA, a Japanese singer, went viral for the touching lyrics “gave up my youth for my future” which the members chant at the beginning of the song. The gut-wrenching lyrics disguised in the many guitar riffs reflect the difficult times Stray Kids’ leader, Bang Chan, went through during his trainee days.
“ROCK-STAR” seems to only show off vulnerability and pain but the song “COMFLEX” is quite the contrary. Stray Kids turns their complexities into things they flex, hence the name. They say things like “showing off my weakness. I’m not gonna hide it. Look how shiny it is. This is my pride, got it?”
Although all of their songs have a place in my heart, not many have touched my soul like those in this album have. All of their efforts have been showcased in their music and performances since the very beginning. I hope Stray Kids continues to be recognized for their beautiful talents that have helped them achieve all that they have so far with the newly released album “ROCK-STAR.”
