Many elements go into making every Stray Kids album so special. Their unique production and bold style have always stood out. It shows in their care for creating new worlds and breaking boundaries with every release. It is no wonder they end up defining entire eras. And it all starts with something Stray Kids are quite known for: opening tracks. With every release, it takes seconds to know the album is going to change your notion of what music can be. It’s been like this since their debut, and with the release of the opening of their upcoming mini-album, THIS & THAT, we can’t help but look back at the absolute masterpieces that were the starting point of some of the most iconic releases in K-Pop. When we say no one kicks off an album quite like Stray Kids, we mean it.
From Teasers To Full Tracks: I am Trilogy, Clé Trilogy, & GO LIVE/IN LIFE
For the first three years of their career, Stray Kids created something really special and fun with their opening tracks by giving us teasers of what would later become full songs. It was the perfect way to showcase the thought that came into creating their musical world and the genius of their production. Each of the openings for the I am trilogy gave us new units, including one member of 3RACHA, Danceracha, and Vocalracha, and they set the tone sonically and thematically for the story they wanted to tell. The genius of it all, though, came with the release of I am YOU and their B-side ‘0325,’ which combined all three intro songs into one song.
Clé 1: MIROH is a bit of an outlier with ‘Entrance’ as an opening track because the song that it led to was none other than ‘MIROH‘ itself, along with every other song in the mini-album. Yet again, in this track, Stray Kids combined snippets of songs to tease what is still one of their best releases to date. With Clé 2: YELLOW WOOD and Clé: LEVANTER, they went back to an approach similar to the I am trilogy. They introduced ‘Road Not Taken’ first in the special album, a one-minute-and-30-second snippet that set the EDM tone for ‘Side Effects‘ and shone a light on each member’s voice. There was no way to make ‘Road Not Taken’ better, except in its full-length form: ‘STOP.’ The layering in the vocals, the production, the drop, and everything in between were top-notch, and the song managed to embody every intricate part of a release as important and unique as Clé: LEVANTER.
This form of intro in Stray Kids’ music reached its peak with ‘GO LIVE,’ the song that led to ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ in IN LIFE. Stray Kids were having a kick at producing some of their most intricate tracks as an introduction to the full body of work, and it reached its full form with this last one. Nothing will beat the experience of listening to ‘The Tortoise and the Hare‘ after weeks of listening to ‘GO LIVE’ and discovering a whole new side to the song. ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ remains a song that is so representative of Stray Kids‘ storytelling and passion for creating something unique and irreplaceable and having fun with it.
The Songs That Say It All: NOEASY, ODDINARY, MAXIDENT, 5-STAR, & KARMA
Even though these intro tracks were extremely special and showcased Stray Kids’ production skills in a unique way, Stray Kids have since switched it up. They took the concept of embodying an entire release in one song and pushed it beyond the limit, first with ‘CHEESE‘ from NOEASY. No song in this album represents this entire era more than ‘CHEESE’—it’s witty, unapologetically loud, filled with humor, and such a symbol of one of Stray Kids’ most iconic eras. ‘BLEEP‘ out of KARMA can easily be considered its sibling song with its boldness and unapologetic energy, exuding Stray Kids’ confidence and celebrating their identity while shutting down any negativity.
ODDINARY gave us Stray Kids exploring a darker concept and creating an intricate world full of experimentation, pushing their sound to boundaries they hadn’t touched before, and ‘VENOM‘ was the introduction to this new world. It was eerie, dark, and gloomy, and it set the tone so incredibly well for a release like ‘MANIAC’ and ODDINARY as a whole. ‘CASE 143‘ is the only title track to have ever opened a Korean release that wasn’t a special release (no, we haven’t forgotten about Mixtape, Christmas EveL, HOP, or DO IT), and there’s a good reason for it. In 2022, Stray Kids put love at the forefront of their comeback for the first time, and they did not hold back. It was surprising to have the title track as the opener, but there is truly no other way to enter the MAXIDENT universe than through ‘CASE 143.’
The one song that serves as a bridge between this category of opening songs and the third one is ‘Hall of Fame’ out of 5-STAR—the song that is most-often considered their best opening track of all time. There is no introduction to such a career magnum opus like 5-STAR, quite like ‘Hall of Fame’ and its opening line: “I’m writing my name in the stars.” It celebrates Stray Kids with an insane production that remains mind-blowing three years later with a quote by Neil Armstrong, and some of their wittiest, most legendary lyrics. ‘Hall of Fame‘ really touched on something special with Stray Kids‘ sound, and what it evolved into is none other than their stadium-worthy, iconic anthems.
The Anthems: ROCK-STAR, ATE, & THIS & THAT
Stray Kids love an anthem. Since the very beginning, even before they had massive record-breaking world tours, they were opening their showcases with an anthem. That anthem changed a few times over the years, and eventually, we got Stray Kids songs that were anthems in their own right. The first opening track to feel that way was in ROCK-STAR: ‘MEGAVERSE.’ And you know that if there’s any song other than ‘LALALALA’ that is the opener, it has to be the most grand of them all. Stray Kids premiered the song by performing it at a concert, and yes, there’s no better way to experience the magnitude of ‘MEGAVERSE’s power than live. From the heavy EDM to the chant of their slogan in the back at the end, ‘MEGAVERSE‘ is unstoppable and an easy highlight anytime Stray Kids perform it. And yet, ‘MEGAVERSE’ wasn’t the opening track for Stray Kids‘ biggest tour yet: it was ‘MOUNTAINS.’ The ATE opening track captures Stray Kids’ aura and the undeniable power they have live like no other song. This song is when Stray Kids truly mastered the art of stadium-worthy anthems.
But now, we’ve gotten the Stray Kids anthem: ‘RUN IT.’ Even with Stray Kids’ entire discography in mind, there are a few songs that feel as grand and explosive as ‘RUN IT’—and the competition is tough out there. The song isn’t just about Stray Kids‘ journey—their struggles, their resilience, their achievements, or every challenge and success in the middle—’RUN IT’ is all about the safe place they’ve created with their music and shows. ‘RUN IT’ is the mere proof of what makes every Stray Kids‘ album and every single one of their concerts so special: from the emotion it evokes and the delivery in vocals and raps to the striking lyricism. It also does a great job of highlighting what makes each member so special, yet it also shows why they’re such a great team. It is truly no wonder why Stray Kids‘ upcoming tour was named after the song, as they prepare to go into yet another record-breaking tour and release THIS & THAT. And if this is just the beginning, based on their previous opening tracks, we know they’re about to make history. Again.
What’s your all-time favorite opening track in a Stray Kids album? What’s your favorite part in ‘RUN IT?’ Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.
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