Stray kids is a South Korean group that consists of attractive and talented musicians. The team has not existed for so long, but has gained a sufficient number of fans. SKZ is the short name of a South Korean group. They perform songs in the popular K-pop genre. Stray Kids was created as part of a reality show. It started in 2017. The group officially debuted in 2018. An interesting fact, but three of the members belong to a part of the rap community called 3RACHA. Stray Kids’ first album is “I Am”.
Even though SKZ debuted less than 5 years ago, they have already been on two world tours. They also organized a big concert. Their performance in music is also amazing. They released 7 small albums in Korea and 1 in Japan.
History of creation
Initially, the line-up of the group was much larger than it is now. Currently consists of 9 active members. It should be mentioned a little about the composition and their history:
- Bang Chan was born in Australia. His family is large: 2 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. The boy from childhood was quite active. He was fond of swimming and starred in commercials more than once. The participant was seriously interested in music from an early age. He liked to play the guitar and piano. Many children from a very young age already understand what they want to be when they grow up. However, the boy did not know the exact answer. His dream was to entertain people. Thanks to this desire, the guy was able to audition, which took place in 2010. Bang Chan liked the representative of the company, so his career began. During his entire stay in South Korea, the guy managed to star in a large number of videos. He made friends with whom he communicates to this day. Bang Chan came to the popularity and formation of the group after participating in a TV show, where the girls were against the guys. The guys won, so training and joint creativity began.
- Kim Woojin has lived in South Korea all his life. The guy from early childhood began to get involved in music. He has come a long way before being in Stray Kids. Initially, he was supposed to debit with another group, but everything turned out differently.
- Lee Know was born in South Korea and his real name is Lee Min Ho. Initially, the parents wanted to see their son as a successful aikido fighter, but later the guy went into music. However, all the techniques he learned he still remembers. In one of the interviews, the guy admitted that he does not really like sports. The young man was always interested in music and dancing. In high school, Lee Know became a backup dancer. The guy tried several times to audition, but was rejected many times. One day, he finally succeeded in fulfilling his dream. Before his debut, the guy was on the production of one of the popular group BTS. He also starred in their video. Then the guy was already debating in Stray kids.
- Chang Bin was born in South Korea. He loved sports all his life. The beginning of his career for him was a school performance, where he read rap. The guy could no longer be without public attention. The young man made rap reading and writing texts his specialty. Chang Bin then achieved great success, getting into a major project, which later helped him a lot in his career as a musician. The guy is very talented, so he was able to become one of the main groups.
- Hwang Hyunjin from South Korea. The guy lived in Las Vegas for several years and studied English. The young man loved sports. He went in for swimming, even managed to attend competitions. During his school years, he was actively involved in football and played with classmates. His acquaintances gave him the nickname: “Messi”. They claimed that their classmate played very well. Then the guy had to return to his last school, which is located in Las Vegas. The guy went to the music agency purely by chance – he was noticed at the mall and invited to audition. The guy is very talented, so he received other offers. After the internship, he got into the Stray Kids group.
- Han is simply short for his full name, which is Han Ji Sung. The guy was born in Korea, but then moved with relatives to Malaysia. Unfortunately, the guy did not manage to join the local school, so he switched to home schooling, then he already thought about a career as a musician. Since childhood, the guy wanted to become a singer and he succeeded. After several auditions, he managed to get into a large organization, and then debut in a group.
- Felix grew up in Australia. The guy began his musical career after his success in sports. In 2016, the guy went to an audition and was accepted into a major music company. Felix began to actively study Korean in 2016, because before that he did not know it. He was expelled after a short participation in the group, then re-added to the lineup.
- Seungmin went to study in Los Angeles. The guy was fond of sports, but then he had to leave basketball because of difficulties with money. After the guy sang in the choir and began to get involved in music. In 2017, the young man went to an audition, after which he began his musical career.
- Yang Jongin was born in South Korea. The guy from early childhood was fond of music. His dream was to sing for the elderly. The boy had a cute appearance, so from the age of 7 he was in a modeling agency. Initially, he passed the casting and then got into the group. Became the vocalist of Stray Kids.
Each member has his own story, but they are united by one thing – the love of music. The guys in the company have come a long way. They have created many albums, but one of the most memorable is “NOEASY”. It includes the track: “Stray Kids “소리꾼(Thunderous)”. One of the main positions of the group is to put meaning into their lines.
The meaning of the song
The meaning of the song is to fight. Guys sing about straightness. The members of the group emphasize that they cannot be broken. Their team is not afraid of any difficulties and obstacles. They are “thunder”. There are many references in the song to famous people or those who have a high status. Guys sing about the fact that it is not important to them. More successful people – they are the same as everyone else and should not forget about human qualities. For example, do not suffer from vanity. The group hints that they will be even more popular and famous. It can be said that they will catch up with competitors who “turned up their noses”.
The Korean name for “Thunderous” – “sorikkun” – is a term that usually refers to singers, as a rule, from traditional Korean musical forms. Ban Chan explained, “The message of the song is that Stray Kids are like ‘sorikkun’ – they will face the chansorikkun (grunts) and release our sound with confidence.”
Hyunjin shared, “Through ‘Thunderous’, we wanted to share our unique style of music.”
IN said: “I think Thunderous is a continuation of the mala genre (which was in God’s Menu and Back Door). These are my personal thoughts, and I hope that people will feel it directly by watching our performances.”
Felix said about the “Thunderous” concept: “You can say that our concept this time is tokkebs (goblins) and “black and red”. We express the unique sound and color of Stray Kids in a way that has not been used before.” Li Nou shared: “The key moment of our choreography is a hand gesture expressing how we confidently spit out everything we want to say. Moreover, the choreography shows strength and energy as well as some unique dance parts and funny moments.
The album “NOEASY” can also be read as “NOISY.” Ban Chan explained: “It means that we want to leave the noisy influence of the world with our music.” Hyunjin added, “This album will show what kind of music and performances our group makes. We wanted to share our variety of music with many people.” Seungmin: “The meaning of this type is: ‘Life is not easy because of naysayers who tell us to do this and that, but we are Stray Kids and we will not back down.’ If you listen to the b-side tracks of the album, you will be able to hear our wide musical spectrum and various expressions.”
Interpretation of the lyrics of the song (parsing the meaning of the lines)
It is worth dwelling in more detail on the interpretation of the song, because there is a lot of meaning there.
“I am cruel, like a locomotive running on rails” – here it is sung about the determination of one of the participants. He doesn’t give up and moves on. Chang Bin is not afraid of difficulties and is ready to do everything for the development of his group. Undoubtedly, the guy is talented and will achieve a lot.
“Here they go. Hot blood circulates and spills over my body” – it says about the competitors who kindle the desire to act and win. However, it is worth interpreting on the basis of a secondary meaning. For example, the struggle for love.
“I don’t care how they look at me.” This line is about accepting someone else’s opinion and letting go easily. A person is not afraid to seem ridiculous or funny.
“They pretend to be cool – it’s disgusting” – it’s talking about something fake. It turns out that a person does not have talents, but is proud of himself.
“Jealousy (Look at me). Put it aside and forget it” – in the lyrics of the song there is a hint of a relationship and a struggle for love.
The song is reminiscent of parts from different stories that are told through sound. The excerpts belong to different contributors.
“No more whining, haha, good day” – guys never lose their positive attitude, even if yesterday was a hurricane.
Conclusion
As a final note, Stray Kids is quite an ambitious group. The guys have a pretty appearance and great performance. Over the short years of the project’s existence, they were able to win the hearts of many listeners. The song “Stray Kids – Thunderous” conveys a powerful energy. The guys sing about social topics that are worth touching.
