Music Rewind 2024: Stray Kids dominATE The Year Like A GIANT

December 25, 2024

Every year, we say the same thing, but yes, this year has been Stray Kids‘ biggest year yet. We knew 2024 was going to be huge when, not even two months into the year, Stray Kids won three awards at the Asia Star Entertainment Awards, including a daesang, and they won another daesang at the Hanteo Music Awards for Best Performance. 2023 was huge for Stray Kids with the release of 5-STAR and ROCK-STAR, and their success set the ground for the massive, giant year that 2024 was going to be. And as the year comes to an end, let’s look back at the storm Stray Kids had in store for us in 2024.

The Fanmeetings: SKZ’s Magic School & SKZ TOY WORLD

The beginning of the year was a slower one for Stray Kids – to their standards, of course. They still attended award shows and even performed at the charity event in France, Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes. But after a well-deserved break, Stray Kids came back with a lot of content: including their 4th fanmeeting in South Korea, SKZ’s Magic School, and their fanmeeting in Japan, SKZ TOY WORLD. The fanmeeting in Seoul was held at the end of March, filling for three days straight KSPO Dome. Once again, they revealed incredible stages and sang live songs they usually never (or rarely) perform, like ‘Hello Stranger,’ ‘Mixtape: On Track‘ or ‘Airplane.’ There are so many highlights of these three days, but the biggest surprises were Stray Kids covering SHINee’s ‘Sherlock,’ performing ‘Booster’ for the first time ever and performing ‘School Life’ after years. Just like we got an OT8 version of ‘Red Lights’ for the Maniac Tour, Stray Kids gave us a wholesome and incredible OT8 version of Vocalracha’s Unit song in MAXIDENT, ‘Can’t Stop.’

On top of that, we had fun games and dance covers. We got Felix, Seungmin and I.N’s iconic ‘Catalena,’ Lee Know doing the ‘Loveable’ Challenge about a hundred times (and with good reason), their dance cover of LE SSERAFIM‘s ‘Smart’ (with tails… for some reason… we don’t judge here). But one of the most memorable moments was when Han and Seungmin revealed a song they had previously mentioned but never released, ‘Respirator.’ The beautiful song was written as a form of support for each other and was later released as a SKZ-Record. And for the encore, they even brought human-sized SKZOOs on stage, which led to a lot of fun, goofy, and adorable moments (special shout out to PuppyM for making the shows even more iconic.)

SKZ TOY WORLD took place in Japan on two different weekends in April, in Osaka and Saitama. The setlist for this fanmeeting was different, and they included different elements, such as games with the human-sized SKZOOs. Our MVP medal for those fanmeetings for sure has to go to HAN QUOKKA. Stray Kids performed many of their Japanese b-sides such as ‘Fairytale,’ ‘Lost Me,’ and ‘Novel.’ They also brought their ‘Booster’ performance to Japan, performed for the first time their b-side ‘Butterflies‘ and revealed their new Japanese song ‘WHY?’ These fanmeetings were an amazing way to reconnect and to refuel for everything the year would bring – because it was a lot.

Stray Kids Dominating The World of Fashion

Stray Kids take over the world with their music, but there is more to it. While Stray Kids were in the US to promote their single ‘Lose My Breath’ and appeared in shows such as The Kelly Clarkson Show and Good Morning America, they also made history by being the first ever K-Pop group to attempt the MET Gala – dressed by Tommy Hilfiger. And as massive as this is, it wasn’t the only way Stray Kids were all over the fashion world.

When it comes to fashion, it was almost impossible to keep up with all their appearances and ambassadorships. The year started on a massive high, with Felix walking the runway for Louis Vuitton’s Women’s Fall-Winter 2024 collection show. On top of continuing his ambassadorship with Versace and attending their events, Hyunjin became a brand ambassador for Cartier. Stray Kids were everywhere for the fashion weeks: Bang Chan went to Milan for Fendi, Lee Know assisted the Gucci Cruise event for London’s Fashion Week, and New York’s Fashion Week with Felix for Tommy Hilfiger. Felix, of course, traveled for Louis Vuitton more than once; Seungmin went to several events, such as the LOEWE event in Paris, and I.N also went to Milan for Bottega Veneta. Stray Kids were also everywhere with magazines, whether Dazed, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, or W Korea, there was no escaping Stray Kids – and we loved it.

Stray Kids Taking Over Summer Festivals: I-Days in Milano, BST Hyde Park & Lollapalooza Chicago

While we love seeing Stray Kids take over every aspect of the industry, what will always be the best part of Stray Kids is the music and the performances. And this year was another high for the group. After being the first 4th group to headline Lollapalooza in Paris last year, they made history again by headlining not one, not two, but three summer festivals this year: I-Days Milano, BST Hyde Park, and Lollapalooza in Chicago. They were the first K-Pop group ever to headline I-Days Milano, and there was such demand that they had to upgrade to the biggest venue possible, with a capacity of 70k people (which they sold out.) They were the second K-Pop group after BLACKPINK to headline BST Hyde Park and gathered over 50k people. It only made sense that it would lead them to being the first ever K-Pop group on the cover of Rolling Stones UK. Both of those dates were packed with fans, and they gave some of their most explosive performances. (If you want to see the origin of Stray Kids sending water to the public, it all comes back to BST Hyde Park.) A few weeks later, Stray Kids headlined Lollapalooza in Chicago where they performed for a crowd of 110k people. All these performances were huge, and it was all in the middle of the biggest event for Stray Kids in 2024: ATE.

The 9th Mini-Album: ATE

2024 was already huge for Stray Kids, but they’re all about creating music and making our lives better with it – and breaking a billion records as they do it, too, Consequence named them the 2024 Record-Breakers for a reason. Stray Kids had their comeback on July 19th with ATE, one day after it was announced that they had renewed their contract with JYP Entertainment as 8 members, making this comeback even more special. ATE had as its title track ‘Chk Chk Boom,’ but Stray Kids also promoted ‘JJAM’ – an explosive song that explored their different units and showed their unique colors. It featured anthems like ‘MOUNTAINS,’ and new sounds like ‘twilight’ or the fun and trendy ‘I Like It.’ Stray Kids’ take on the cyberpunk atmosphere felt vulnerable and empowering with ‘RUNNERS.’ But one of the most memorable tracks is the self-titled ‘Stray Kids‘ that retraced their path, struggles, wins, and bond together, making it one of Stray Kids’ most important releases yet.

ATE was named one of the best K-Pop albums of 2024 by Billboard, and with good reason. Every song was a universe and an insane addition to Stray Kids’ flawless discography. It isn’t a coincidence that the album took the world by storm. The album went number one in several countries, such as South Korea, France, Poland, and Portugal, and sold over 3M cumulative copies by August. Stray Kids made history by topping the Billboard 200 for the fifth consecutive time, making them the first group to top the chart with their first five entries. ATE also went gold in both the US and France. It earned them many nominations, including one of their two nominations for Best Album at the Billboard Music Awards (alongside their November 2023 mini-album ROCK-STAR). With just one mini-album, Stray Kids owned everything.

‘Chk Chk Boom’

As much as ATE had massive success for all the incredible songs it carried, the main star of the show was ‘Chk Chk Boom.’ For the first time, Stray Kids took inspiration from reggaeton and Latin music, and it added something fresh and new to their discography. Within ATE, they released an EDM version of the song titled ‘Chk Chk Boom (Festival Ver.)’, followed by the release of several remixes a few days later. The song was incredibly Stray Kids-like, but it was also innovative, and it changed the game for them, for us, and for the entire industry. The music video was filmed in New York and was the result of a long back and forth between Stray Kids and Ryan Reynolds (and Hugh Jackman). After years of jokes and teasing, both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman made a cameo in the music video just ahead of the release of the Deadpool&Wolverine movie. It all led Stray Kids becoming the second K-Pop group to perform at the AMAs with their *NSYNC tribute, where they covered the song and remixed ‘Chk Chk Chk Boom,’ giving it a perfect 2000s boyband flare. They also had their second performance at the Billboard Music Awards with ‘Chk Chk Boom’ and ‘JJAM’ where they won the price of Top Global K-Pop artist.

‘Chk Chk Boom’ earned Stray Kids six music shows, joining ‘Thunderous,’ ‘S-Class,’ and ‘Case 143‘ as their most-awarded songs. However, ‘Chk Chk Boom’ also earned Stray Kids their first-ever triple crown, winning first place three weeks in a row in Show Champion. The song did exceptionally well internationally, too, as ‘Chk Chk Boom’ was Stray Kids’ first song to enter the top 50 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at 49, after ‘LALALALA’ and ‘Lose My Breath’ had both charted at the number 90, marking Stray Kids’ evergrowing success and ever-changing sound.

The Beginning of the Third World Tour: dominATE Tour

After a new release, it was only a matter of time before Stray Kids embarked on a new tour, and this time, it was their third world tour: the dominATE Tour. Kicking off in Seoul in August, Stray Kids started their biggest tour yet, a stadium tour, focused around ATE but also including some of their classics like ‘DOMINO,’ ‘God’s Menu,’ ‘Back Door,’ and so many other songs with a setlist of over 30 songs. Just like for their 5-STAR Dome Tour, Stray Kids included solo stages to their setlist, showcasing each member’s uniqueness. In 2024, Stray Kids completed most of their Australian leg and Asian tour leg, going to Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia. The dominATE World Tour is already set to continue in North America next year. Stray Kids will also be touring in Europe for the first time in 5 years, and they already sold out stadiums with a capacity of up to 80k people (sometimes twice). Even better, Stray Kids will be touring for the first time in Latin America with Chile, Brazil, Peru and Mexico. It’s not even 2025, and Stray Kids are already booked and busy with what is sure to be an historic tour.

OSTs… So Many OSTs

Even though Stray Kids‘ first full release this year was in July with ATE, they were all over our playlists way before that. There was the release of ‘Lose My Breath’ in May, but that is far from being Stray Kids’ only release outside of ATE. In April, Stray Kids released their digital single, ‘WHY?,’ an OST written for a Japanese drama. At the beginning of the year, we were also blessed with not one but two OSTs by Seungmin: ‘Phobia’ with a more rock sound, and ‘Destiny’ which would lead him to win an award for Best OST of Autumn Season at the 2024 KM Charts. Stray Kids added two incredible milestones to the list by releasing ‘SLASH’ for the Deadpool&Wolverine Soundtrack and by being the first and only K-Pop group included in Arcane’s Soundtrack with the released ‘Come Play,’ featuring Young Miko and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello.

With a second season of Tower of God debuting this year, it also meant Stray Kids would give us two new songs like they did for the first season. So, they released ‘NIGHT’ and ‘Falling Up’ in October in three different versions: Japanese, English, and Korean. On top of that, Felix is set to release an OST for the Solo Leveling movie in collaboration with LiSA. Even outside of their own albums, Stray Kids have been taking over the industry with their incredible music and given us some of their best songs this year. And the release of the Tower of God OSTs were just the first step to their next big release.

The Second Japanese Full-Length Album: GIANT

Stray Kids may have released their first Japanese full-length album last year with THE SOUND, but they didn’t waste a second because the second one was released in November of 2024: GIANT. This album included previous OST releases, ‘WHY?’ and both Tower of God OSTs in Japanese and English. It included a Japanese version of their iconic title track ‘Chk Chk Boom’ as well as four new songs: ‘GIANT,’ ‘Saiyan,’ ‘愛をくれたのに、なぜ,’ and ‘Christmas Love.’ Building up from their last Japanese release, ‘Social Path,’ the GIANT album was all about resilience and building up from the ground, being open about their past struggles, and building confidence. It felt vulnerable yet powerful and established Stray Kids’ unstoppable force. It isn’t surprising to know the album debuted at number one on multiple Japanese charts like Oricon and Billboard Japan, and it already went platinum in Japan.

The Special Album: 合 (HOP)

The thing with Stray Kids is that the year is not over until it’s over. Only a few days after the release of GIANT, they announced the release of their special album SKZHOP HIPTAPE, HOP, on December 13th. With this album, Stray Kids pushed their experimentation even further, fully embracing their hip-hop influence and harmony as a group. ‘Walkin On Water’ was full old school hip-hop, while ‘Bounce Back’ is an impactful and unapolegetic diss track. We also finally got the collab with Epik High‘s Tablo with the gloomy, laid-back ‘U,’ one year after teasing it in the ‘MEGAVERSE’ music video. HOP also included all the solo songs from their dominATE Tour setlist: Bang Chan’s luring ‘Railway,’ Lee Know’s bright ‘Youth,’ Changbin‘s electrifying ‘ULTRA,’ Hyunjin‘s addictive ‘So Good,’ Han‘s pop-rock song ‘Hold My Hand,’ Felix’s devastating ‘UNFAIR,’ Seungmin’s beautiful ‘As We Are,’ and Jeongin’s sensual ‘Hallucination.’

HOP was only a special album but it still broke records. Most notably, on December 22nd, it earned Stray Kids‘ sixth consecutive number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. They closed the year by making history and breaking a record as the first act ever in Billboard history to have their first sixth entry top the chart. It also made Stray Kids the second act with the most number 1 on the chart this decade, and both their albums marked the two biggest week sales among K-Pop acts. If HOP wasn’t special enough and if this year wasn’t big enough, they ended in the highest note and only the beginning for what’s to come.

In 2025, Stray Kids will reach their seven-year mark, but they’re not even close to slowing down. With a tour on the horizon, a brand new album out, and many more music to come, Stray Kids continues to grow both in their success and also in their art. We know the deal by now: as big as 2024 was for Stray Kids, 2025 will be bigger, and Stray Kids are still gonna rock.

What was your favorite moment of 2024? What are you most excited to see from Stray Kids in 2025? Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.

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