"Do you want us to stay warm and caring, or do you want us to be toxic?" That's the question, Bang Chan, the leader of the Eight-based street children, asked bluntly, his bandmates were frustrated by his cheeks. (This issue will be described in detail later.)
Three hours before the wandering kids took the stage at Oracle Park in San Francisco on May 28, the Korean superstar sat down to accept the Rolling stones Zoom. They could have talked about all their achievements, including the first act of debuting on their first album Billboard 200 (their latest Jumpcame out last winter). Or how they release in 2024 eat Except Taylor Swift's The tortured poet's departmentaccording to Luminate. Then, as we all know, SKZ also has a difference, the first male K-Pop group to hold a sold-out concert at 42,300 easy-to-experience Oracle Park, as part of their ongoing world tour.
But, no. Give these young people a compliment, and they will downplay their extraordinary achievements. When I mentioned that they broke the record left and right, Bang Chan said shyly, “No.” He smiled and said, “But keep going!”
During this chat, the band sat in two rows of four rows, with Felix, Bang Chan, In and Seungmin, Lee New, Han, Changbin and Hyunjin in front behind them. Except for the Felix in a light blue hoodie, they all wear casually in black and gray ensembles.
Bang Chan and Felix, who grew up in Australia, conducted the interview in English, while other members spoke in Korean. They are professional and polite to introduce themselves so that transcriber can distinguish their voices later. But these eight friends also have a passionate, indestructible bond, even in video interviews. The front members take turns twisting their bodies so that they can see their teammates better.
Now, in the seven years of their career, stray children have reached the upper echelon of the pop music industry, selling stadiums around the world. However, playing a large crowd doesn’t change the way they act to their audience. They are one of the K-Pop groups of the community. The wandering kids always strongly attack any stage they participate in and never need to be told to show more energy - even the Beatles heard while playing at the Hamburg Club.
"Of course, we recognize the difference in the crowds we are playing right now, but our mindset about how the concerts are going hasn't changed our debut," Seungmin said. "We're grateful that we're still doing the show, people come to see us, and we're honored to go this far."
"We can see the crowds on stage, no matter the size of the crowd. We see the diversity of fans," Felix added.
Sometimes that crowd includes family members such as Bang Chan's sister, independent artist Hannah Bahng. Earlier this week, crowded audiences at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood were delighted, with Hannah and a friend, singer-singer-lyricist D4VD dancing with her brother's music on a huge video monitor. In a previous concert of sibling interactions, Bonshang yelled to his sister, "What are you doing, Hannah?!" The crowd ate. At this point, Bang Chan's lament has become a meme that fans expect whenever Hannah takes part in the Stray Kids Show.
The brothers and sisters are all around, and they get along well with each other famously. In an interview Rolling stones "I have always supported my brother with his career and I am proud of what he has achieved. So that means he is very encouraging about the path I have chosen."
Wandering children are known for their meticulous, hands-on approach to shaping versatile sounds. Bang Chan, Changbin and Han formed the in-house production team 3RACHA and created and produced most of the band’s songs, tailoring to the strength of each member. Their songs range from bass-heavy pop to hip-hop publicity to longing ballads that are saddened by just one verse.
“I think our music has its own genre,” Bang Chan said. "I don't know if it's suitable for a particular chart or any other chart. It's music that we make that meets our own standards. We're just doing what we like and thinking we think we're funny. But we think our music is actually defined by the audience. So, I don't think we have the right to really speak out our music.
Bang Chan added that despite its success early in his career, the wandering kids have not considered themselves at the top of the game. "We still need to improve nine more steps to reach 10," he said. "But that's the thing. Every one of our members, we share the same goal.... The fact that we are running towards everything is a goal that should be the standard in itself."
Changbin said in Korean: "I want to go to Grammys", which attracted Hoots and Hollers. Han stood up and pretended to scold him, because Changchun's statement could be explained as what he wanted to say win Grammys. Think about it, Bang Chan smiled and said, “This is a very big goal.”
It is at this point that I ask them to share each other’s stuff. Bang Chan answered the above question: “Do you want us to stay warm and caring, or do you want us to be toxic?”
"I'll start well," Felix said, and then went on to describe Bonning.
As Bang Chan covers his ears and pretends to be shocked, Felix continues: “Not only (he) not only (he) takes care of us all, but even sometimes we have a lot of work to do.
Just as Felix offers this free affirmation, Han jokingly gives Changbin joy. Han smiled and turned to his apology thumb as Bang Chan turned around to see why they were breaking.
His band members might describe his “(next)!” in the request.
“IN is my roommate, he is the youngest on the team,” Bang Chan said. "But sometimes he feels like he is the oldest. In many ways, he is the most responsible, and he takes care of his big brother."
Know this certainly Bang Chan will praise him. Next, when talking about Seungmin: "I personally think his voice has a romantic charm. When you hear his voice, you get what I mean. He takes great care of the members and I really respect him."
As Hyunjin and Han whisper cautiously, Seungmin looked at Hyunjin and said, "Hyunjin is very enthusiastic and responsible for his work, and I learned a lot from him. Even if we are the same age, I rely heavily on him."
When it was Hyunjin's turn to say something to Changbin, the latter flashed the peace sign with his hands to encourage a positive assessment. it works.
"I'll just say good things," Hyunjin promised. "Changbin is the center of gravity, the core of the wandering kid. He is older in the team and is a mediator in many ways. He is kind and does a good job. He always monitors the rest of us to make sure we are okay."
Looking at Han, Changbin said, "He is my junior and my friend. He is like a joker, and he is in a bright mood. He has so much charm."
Han smiled and thanked Changbin, and began to describe Lee as knowing. "He's very handsome. Even if he doesn't look like it, he's very sensitive and meticulous. He listens to me, just listens to me." Han continued to ignore Lee's laughter and continued, "I can leave home alone and he'll take good care of me. After the concert, we had a great time together. We're actually all doing it, we're sharing delicious food together."
Lee knows, Felix said, “Everyone knows Felix has a kind heart. He is also a masseur for street children. Whenever we are in pain, he will come and massage us.”
All members took this opportunity to cheer for Felix. (JYP Entertainment, the organization's management, recently issued a statement saying that since Felix doesn't want to skip the tour, he may be revising some hard dance moves to prevent back tension.)
"We've been performing all the time, and it takes a lot of energy," Felix said. "It takes a lot of effort to maintain our health and condition. Everyone here works hard and we take care of our bodies with our diet and how to exercise.... We have to be strong because our concerts are physically demanding. We don't want to let people down."
Their intense live performance was three hours of music, dance and laughter. "There are a lot of people counting on us," Bang Chan said. "We are running around, jumping up and down, and sometimes it's slippery, so we can fall. We can always get hurt. Everyone has their own pace, but, yes, it's certainly not easy. But luckily, we're still very healthy."
Being a stray child’s brain and emotional aspects means that members are also constantly pushing themselves to improve their craft. Working with other artists is one way they can amplify their voices, but the group picks who they invite to enter their voices. In 2024, they recorded a pair of outstanding tracks, including pop singers Charlie Puth and Epik High Rapper Tablo on “Lose My Breath” and “U” respectively.
When they worked with them with Tablo, the hip-hop star said it was effortless for him.
“The only rule I have when choosing who to work with – they have to really love their work and the people they do for.” Rolling stones By email. "It sounds obvious, it's actually rare, and more and more in a music industry than the arts. I like working with wandering kids because their attitude to music is so obvious, our attitude to music - we went through multiple other songs and then got on the "U" on their stage and in their personal interactions with me and landed on the stage."
In Korean, there is one called bell (정) No English. This feeling of intimacy does not necessarily stem from proximity, but from common values and emotional bonds. This is what the mother and her children experience. But this gentle connection can also be reflected when two random Koreans get along with each other in foreign countries. Or, for the situation of stray children and their accommodation, when eight Korean artists share three hours with numerous loyal fans.
As this interview ends, we talk about what they like to do in their spare time. The conversation returned to their music. "We were busy working on new things even before our debut," Bang Chan said. "Yesterday, we also did a project in the hotel room. Because we have been together for a long time, we know each other. We understand what messy children's music should be."
Lee Knows added: “We’ve been talking to each other and discussing our music, especially before the comeback…”
“…So it’s not just 3racha’s songwriting, that’s why it was released,” Bang Chan continued. "It's more like a democracy. People vote on it, actually rate it and give feedback. We're a group, and that's how we work together."
Street children dominate North American travel dates
June 6 – Arlington, Texas @ Globe Life Field
June 7 - Arlington, Texas @ Globe Life Field
June 10 – Atlanta, @truist Park
June 14 - Orlando, Florida @ Camping World Stadium
June 18 - New York, New York @ Citi Field
June 23 - Washington, DC @ National Park
June 26 - Chicago, Illinois
June 29 - Toronto, @ Rogers Stadium