For the first six months of the year, we’ve been waiting patiently as Stray Kids cook up what is surely about to be one of the most impactful eras of their career. After wrapping up their biggest tour yet last year, releasing their fourth full-length album, KARMA, followed quickly by the release of Do It, earning their first MAMA daesang, Stray Kids had the world wrapped around their finger in 2025, and it’s about to get even wilder in 2026. The announcement of THIS & THAT came with a new song, a new world tour, and it’s only the start of this new era.
Just as Stray Kids takes over festivals and even create their own in Latin America with STRAYCITY, the first leg of the RUN IT World Tour will have Stray Kids going to different places in Asia such as Japan, Thailand, and, of course, South Korea, where they opened what is sure to be another record-breaking tour. With five dates in the KSPO Dome, Stray Kids had their opening weekend and unveiled one of their most breathtaking shows to date. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
An Ode To The Past And The Future
The RUN IT World Tour is first and foremost an ode to the eras and the music that got Stray Kids where they are, but it’s also a celebration of where they’re willing to go and the limitlessness of their art. The RUN IT World Tour does a great job of blending every single era of Stray Kids to create the full picture of all the genres they’ve tried and blended, and all the world they created with their art. What better song to open such a show than ‘Hall of Fame?’ It starts with a song that encapsulates the most energetic side of Stray Kids‘ music, with insane production and witty lyrics, and it goes straight into the beginning of it all with absolutely explosive stages: ‘Hellevator‘ and ‘District 9.’ One of the most surprising and meaningful moments of the show is the ‘MIROH,’ ‘Levanter‘ and ‘I am YOU‘ medley that leads to Stray Kids dancing to the outro of the last song, followed by absolute life-changing and career-defining songs that had been left out of the setlist for years: ‘Side Effects‘ and ‘Double Knot.’
The VCR showcases all of this, with one of them taking us right back to the lore of their music videos in 2018 and 2019, with easter eggs like the ‘Double Knot’ warehouse or images that feel taken right out of the I am Not Trailer. The VCR that follows is a walk down memory lane with Bang Chan walking past rooms representing every year since 2020 and the recreating of sets: Changbin in a kitchen setting represents ‘God’s Menu,’ Hyunjin is back in one of the ‘Thunderous’ settings, we have the image of the two colliding cities like in ‘MANIAC‘ for Lee Know, the weird creature of ‘S-Class’ makes a come back with Felix trying to control it, we find Han with the ship of the ‘LALALALA’ music video, there’s a bigger version of Changbin’s scene in ‘Chk Chk Boom’ with all the paintings but with Seungmin, and finally I.N with his tennis racket just like in ‘CEREMONY.’
The setlist is filled with songs that simply cannot be missed like ‘Back Door,’ ‘God’s Menu,’ ‘MANIAC‘, ‘S-Class‘ and ‘Chk Chk Boom,’ and no matter how many times we see them perform these songs, nothing quite matches the energy that is felt in the room when it comes to them. And on top of paying homage to their art, there’s always a part of the show where Stray Kids showcase Korean tradition through their music. This time around, it starts with ‘CREED,’ but it’s shown more than anything with ‘Thunderous‘ and ‘DIVINE’ back to back, and also the never-performed-before ‘Slash,’ with an entire performance and remix.
The RUN IT World Tour feels like the amalgamation of every side of Stray Kids‘ art and their hard work over the years. So much thought is put into every section of the show as they pay homage to the legacy they’ve created with their own hands. But it also represents how far Stray Kids are willing to go, their ambition and resilience, and there’s no section of the show where Stray Kids don’t give more than 100% of themselves.
RUN IT World Tour
The RUN IT World Tour is filled with little sections to show the different sides to Stray Kids‘ music, all tied together with a live band that does an incredible job of bringing these songs to life. ‘Blind Spot‘ was one of the best additions to the DominATE World Tour setlist when they revamped it for the second half of the tour, and it became even more meaningful. To have it back in the setlist just after ‘In My Head’ and their new song ‘I Do,’ not only feels right but tells a story of resilience in itself.
Performing at festivals has forever influenced the way Stray Kids perform; it was noticeable with the DominATE World Tour, but it is even more evident here with a whole section where they do the intense choreography of ‘BLEEP’ followed by festival versions for ‘Do It,’ ‘LALALALA,’ and ending with the full performance of the MAMA version of ‘CEREMONY.’ But the performance everyone was looking forward to the most was the song that gave its name to the tour: ‘RUN IT.’ The song is grand and legendary, and the performance makes it feel even better. Even with insane stages like ‘Hellevator’ and ‘Slash,’ ‘RUN IT’ is the one that takes the crown for the most spectacular and jaw-dropping stage of the night. And it’s the exact right place to wrap up the story of what makes Stray Kids who they are.
While it might be the last big stage, it’s not the last song of the show – of course, Stray Kids are going to give us some of their best songs in the encore. Would it be a Stray Kids show without ‘MIROH?’ ‘Stray Kids‘ and ‘Phoenix’ serve as the songs they sing while being in the cards, and then we were blessed with another new song: ‘After You’ with immaculate EDM and nostalgic vibes. And right before ‘MIROH,’ we got another fan favorite: ‘Social Path,’ and while the choreography might be gone, the circle is absolutely not. For their last tour, the last song was the only one that rotated: this time around, the two songs of the second encore are the surprise songs. It can range from staples like ‘TOPLINE,’ fan favorites like ‘Star Lost,’ to insane remixes like the one they did with ‘Side Effects.’ Truth is, we truly never know what Stray Kids have waiting for us, and that’s one of the best things about their shows. Even if you know about every detail that will go down, Stray Kids will always find a way to blow us away at every single performance.
Full Setlist
- ‘Hall of Fame’
- ‘Hellevator’
- ‘Disctrict 9’
- ‘MIROH’ + ‘Levanter’ + ‘I am YOU’
- ‘Side Effects’
- ‘Double Knot’
- ‘Back Door’
- ‘MANIAC’
- ‘God’s Menu’
- ‘CREED’
- ‘SLASH’
- ‘DIVINE’
- ‘Thunderous’
- ‘In My Head’
- ‘I DO’
- ‘BLIND SPOT’
- ‘BLEEP’
- ‘Do It’ (Festival Version)
- ‘LALALALA’ (Festival Version)
- ‘CEREMONY’ (Hip Hip Version / MAMA 2025 Version)
- ‘Chk Chk Boom’
- ‘S-Class’
- ‘RUN IT’
- ‘Stray Kids’
- ‘Phoenix’
- ‘After You’
- ‘Social Path’
- ‘MIROH’
Second Encore Songs:
- Day 1: ‘TOPLINE’ & ‘Star Lost’
- Day 2: ‘Chk Chk Boom’ (Festival Version) & ‘Side Effects’ (Remix)
- Day 3: ‘TA’ & ‘HAVEN’
- Day 4: ‘I Like It’ & ‘0801’
- Day 5: ‘Side Effects’ (Remix), ‘HAVEN,’ ‘RUN IT’ & ‘BOXER’
What’s the song you’re the most excited to see live? What surprised you the most about this setlist? Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.
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