3 Quick Facts About K-Pop Sensation Stray Kids

K-pop boy band Stray Kids are performing at the Billboard Music Awards tonight, December 12. For mega fans, this is a great opportunity to see your favorite group in the U.S. But for those of you who don’t know anything about K-pop, here are some quick facts about Stray Kids to get you up to speed.

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Meet the Eight Members of Stray Kids

Stray Kids were formed in 2017 by the South Korean record label JYP Entertainment. The label created the boy band through the eponymous reality television show Stray Kids, which grouped the band’s final iteration and launched their career. There are currently eight members of the band—Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyungjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. There was a ninth member, Woojin, but he left the group in 2019.

Their Second Album Noeasy Was Their First to Sell a Million Copies

In 2021, Stray Kids released Noeasy, their second studio album following their 2018 Mixtape debut and 2020 Go Live. They also released several EPs during that time, but Noeasy was their first million-selling album. Stray Kids’ albums are primarily self-produced by three members of the group, Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han. Noeasy peaked at No. 1 on the South Korean Circle Albums Chart and in the Top 20 on European and Asian charts. It sold over 1.3 million copies in 2021, and won Best Album at the Golden Disc Awards in 2022.

The Group Became Huge in the U.S. After Signing to Republic Records

In 2022, Stray Kids signed to Republic Records in the U.S. and released a series of EPs. Oddinary and Maxident released in 2022, with Rock-Star and their third LP 5-Star dropping in 2023. In 2024, they released Ate. All five of these releases peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, which made them the first band to debut on the U.S. chart with five No. 1 albums. 5-Star sold 5 million copies, and since their debut in 2017, they’ve sold a total of 10 million albums.

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