STAYs’ lives never stay quiet, and with the latest Stray Kids 5 STAR album having dropped 12 hot tracks on June 2, 2023, the JYP Entertainment boy group’s fans are having a blast again. Leading the tracklist of the band’s third Korean studio album, the S Class MV was also released today at 1pm KST and has made way for a jaw-dropping response from netizens who can’t stop grooving along to the experimental sound of the new song.
Officially having broken a major record, the new album became the most pre-ordered release in K-pop history, a feat previously recorded by SEVENTEEN’s 10th mini album FML. As the fans evidently poured in their support for their favourite musical act by contributing to their grand physical album sales, they equally turned up to elevate the band’s digital streams on the first day of the album’s premiere.
With 12 songs featured on the record – Hall of Fame, S-Class, Item, Super Bowl, Topline (feat Tiger JK), DLC, Get Lit, Collision, FNF, The Sound: Korean Version and Mixtape: Time Out – 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) aka the group’s hip-hop sub-unit made paramount contributions during their preparations with other members joining in for some tracks as well. The title track has left STAYs shook with how much effort went into making it. Now, the fans can’t stop praising how the members seamlessly interweaved their signature experimental sound with new risky plot twists that have offered a new musicality to their discography.
The members’ – Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and IN – work was further lauded as their fans took note of how the 4th Generation K-pop representatives are possibly the only unit of player in the biz who are upfront about taking risks in their self-produced EPs. Their latest album goes on to reflect their former music style, thus proving that they’ve embraced their identity, but are also ready to redefine themselves when needed.
A Twitter user even extended their warm wishes to the group by claiming that “(I) haven’t had this much fun with a bg album in awhile”, while another tweeted that “they reintroduced and redefined themselves as 5stars”. Therefore, the album’s title is even more meaningful and reflective of their evolution as a K-pop music act in the cut-throat industry.
Many fans even ranked their favourites from the album, and it’s safe to say that STAYs reached a consensus in declaring Topline, a collaborative effort made by the group with renowned Korean-American rapper Tiger JK, as one of their favourite b-sides. Another song that rose high to share the same spotlight was Youtiful. One of the group’s fans decoded how its lyrics were so “chan coded, it’s him speaking his heart and story out to us”.
Additionally, the title track, S-Class has by default caught momentum in this race. Kim Seungmin’s antics in its video have particularly caught Twitterati’s eye as they drew parallels between his hilarious dance break and Baby Groot’s dance routine in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Many memes also took the lead as fans resorted to spill their 5 STAR album reviews through their means.
Check Out How the Fans Reacted to the Stray Kids 5 STAR Album
Have you heard the K-pop octet’s latest comeback hit yet? What are your thoughts on the album? Let us know your favourite b-sides in the comments section below.
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