After concluding their electrifying performances at I-Days Milano and BST Hyde Park Festival, Stray Kids is back with their 9th mini album ‘ATE’ on July 19. Same as their previous album, ‘ATE’ is produced by Stray Kids’s in-house producer team 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin, Han). The octet’s fandom STAY is thrilled about this comeback because this is the group’s first album in 8 months since they released their previous mini album ‘ROCK-STAR’. What bolstered the excitement is that Stray Kids announced that all the members would extend their contract with JYP Entertainment a day before the album release, making this comeback particularly meaningful to both Stray Kids and STAY.
The album title ‘ATE’ consists of two meanings. The first is declaring Stray Kids’s ambition to devour the music industry this summer by referencing the slang “ate and left no crumbs” commonly used in the K-pop fandom community in recent years. “Ate” is also a homophone of “eight”, which corresponds to the number of members in Stray Kids. Just as the album name suggests, ‘ATE’ has taken the K-pop world by storm by garnering a total of 12.58 million streams in the Spotify Global charts within a day of its release, making the album the biggest debut by a K-pop group this year. Let’s check out all 8 tracks from the album and see how Stray Kids is ready to dominate the K-pop world this summer!
“Mountains”
The album starts with a powerful dance pop “Mountain”. This song expresses Stray Kids’s determination to grow stronger in the face of challenges, and finally reach the top of the mountain and dominate the world. The punchy and rhythmic beat together with the intense rap lines fill the song with strong energy, bringing out the signature powerful image of Stray Kids and their will to strive for the best.
“Chk Chk Boom”
As the title track of this album, “Chk Chk Boom” is a Latin-inspired hip-hop track. Different from Stray Kids’s previous title tracks with intense beat and explosive energy, “Chk Chk Boom” gives a more laid-back vibe. However, the lyrics retain the core color of Stray Kids as the members sing that they will shoot down their goals individually and make waves in the music scene.
In line with the Latin music style, the lyrics incorporate a few Spanish words such as “vamos” (let’s go), “lobos” (wolves), “amigo” (friend), and “la vida loca” (crazy life). Many Spanish-speaking STAY expressed their excitement when the music video teaser was out, commenting that they were surprised to hear Stray Kids singing in Spanish. Some also said they love how Lee Know pronounces “catastrophic” in a Latino way!
The music video is also noteworthy as Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the music video. Leader Bang Chan revealed at the press conference that they took time out from their busy schedules to film the music video together with Stray Kids in New York. The members also added that they felt surreal to be in the same frame with the two great actors.
“JJAM”
“JJAM” is a classic Stray Kids EDM track that invites the listeners to groove along with the music and have fun together. The lyrics cleverly bring out two meanings of “JJAM”, the jam that we spread on bread, and the acronym of 재미, which refers to “fun” in Korean. The lyrics also included another witty wordplay in Lee Know’s line “I know, you know, Lee Know”, accentuating the playful vibe of the song.
I Like It
“I Like It” is an easy-listening love song, where the members tell their crush that they like the feeling of falling in love with her, while they don’t want to make the relationship official. Seungmin’s soulful voice in the intro and the dynamic rap lines are a pleasure to listen to, which nicely illustrate the complicated feeling of being in a “situationship”-being more than friends but hesitating to commit to the relationship.
Runners
“Runners” is an English song that is about the members breaking away from the old system and running towards their dreams without caring about anything, declaring that they will not stop because they know they will become “G.O.A.T” (Greatest Of All Time) and are determined to show the world their true colors. What’s special about this track is that the lyrics incorporate many Gen Z slangs such as “G.O.A.T”, “L” (Lit) and “W” (Win). Moreover, Felix participated in composing and writing this song’s lyrics alongside Bang Chan, showcasing his potential in music production.
Twilight
Different from the rest of the upbeat tracks in the album, “Twilight” is a mid-tempo ballad that portrays the sorrow and emptiness after breaking up, as the members sing that all the sweet moments in the past have now become sad memories that they can hardly erase. This song showcases the diverse vocal tones of all members, and according to 3RACHA, it is a perfect song to listen to in the evening and a soothing track that gives the listeners a break and refreshes their ears in an album packed with powerful songs.
Stray Kids
This self-titled track is Stray Kids’s anthem of empowerment and unity, as the members proudly sing that they have endured all the hardships and challenges to head to the top. They also show their desire to stay together as one and promise that they will not stop achieving higher. The lyrics refer to different things related to Stray Kids, such as “Hellevator” (the digital single Stray Kids released before their official debut) and “STEP OUT” (the greeting slogan of Stray Kids). This song encompasses Stray Kids’s 7-year journey to stardom, and the fact that Stray Kids announced that they have extended their contract makes this song even more meaningful and touching to listen to!
Chk Chk Boom (Festival Version)
Stray Kids wrap up the album with a festival version of the title track “Chk Chk Boom”. They sped up the track and added exciting dance breaks after the choruses, turning the song into an addictive disco track full of festive atmosphere. This is a perfect song to dance along with at a summer party!
DominATE World Tour
After promoting this album, Stray Kids will kick off their third world tour DominATE with four opening shows on August 24, 25, 31, and September 1 at KSPO Dome in Seoul. The group will then perform in Australia and various Asian countries in the following months. Stray Kids is also set to tour in Latin America, North America, and Europe next year, and the schedule will be announced later.
What is your favorite track from ‘ATE’, and which country would you wish Stray Kids to perform in? Let us know on Instagram and Twitter, and let’s wish Stray Kids a successful album promotion and world tour!
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