Album Review: ‘5-STAR’ by Stray Kids
By Dulce Naranjo
K-pop sensational self produced group and 4th generation leaders Stray Kids just released their 3rd full length album 5-STAR on June 2nd and broke the record for the most pre-ordered album ever in South Korean history.
On Monday May 29th Stray Kids broke the record with 4.9 million pre-ordered copies. Two days later on June 1st, just one day before the album dropped the kpop stars broke their own record and became the first group to achieve 5 million pre orders with a total of 5.13 million. On release date they debuted #1 on South Korea’s famous Bug chart, top 20 on Genie, top 30 on Flo & Melon. #1 album on iTunes in over 30 regions and top 10 in 60, their title track S-Class debuted #1 song on iTunes in over 35 regions. Finally Stray Kids album 5-STAR debuted with 2.3million first day sales on the Hanteo Chart, setting a new record for the Kpop 4th generation.
These are all new milestones in the kpop industry and huge achievements for the South Korean group Stray Kids. The self produced group debuted in 2018 and has grown slowly and organically over the years with every comeback. Their fanbase STAY on twitter talk about how happy and proud they are of the 5-STAR group, which is actually made up of 8 stars. Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung, Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin and Yang Jeongin.
As a STAY myself and someone who has followed the group’s music career since late 2018. It is truly mesmerizing and exciting to watch one of your absolute favorite artists rise from the bottom to the top. You get to experience all the hardships the artist faces and watch them keep on going, working hard everyday doing what connects both the fan and the artist, music. By supporting their art, their achievements eventually become your achievements as well.
Stray Kids and STAY are one and today we celebrate this new album release. 5-STAR is an album that brings us many bops and zero skips.
“Shaking up the industry, quaking reality,
making it iconic”
Stray Kids truly never miss because both their music genre and language range is wide. 5-STAR has not one but two English b-sides. Their title track S-Class itself has multiple genres and beat switch ups and mix ups of old school hip hop, rap, EDM, the list goes on. My personal favorites from the album are Collision which is an R&B ballad song with a jazzy intro that talks about a breakup. My second favorite is their b-side Youtiful which is a love ballad dedicated to STAY. The lyrics are heartwarming. Last but not least Mixtape: Time Out a pop rock song with happy summer vibes that transmits both nostalgia and happiness.
“We don’t play by the rules”
“Cause we don’t give a fuck.”
Although Stray Kids has received some online hate for their “loud” and “noisy” music. Which really is a mix of Kpop, K-Rap, hip-hop, EDM, rap, R&B, pop rock, rock, ballads and so much more. Stray Kids have stayed faithful to their roots. Not changing their authentic sound and love for exploring different genres. Not limiting themselves as artists and challenging the industry by stepping out of the norm and the expectations. Instead they continue to make loud hype music to dance to for their fans and in return have gained popularity and millions of new STAYS who genuinely enjoy their music.
Stray Kids are an extremely talented group in all aspects and will only continue to shake up the industry. The group has already sold out stadium tours in the US, South Korea and Japan. With the release of 5-STAR and its milestone record breaking achievements the next tour will be a war zone for tickets. Good luck to STAY. But that’s a problem for the future, today let us enjoy this 5 stars ground shaking album 5-STAR.