Rookie K-Pop Group Stray Kids Reveals Their Goals & Plans In The Future

The K-pop group Stray Kids remains humble and focused amidst the success that they have been receiving in Korea and abroad. The idols shared their goals and some of their secrets following the success of their debut album.

Clad in colorful jogger pants and sweatshirts, the nine members of Stray Kids showed off their energetic side and hip-hop style in the photo shoot for the May issue of The Star Magazine. The group also had a sit-down interview where they talked about their music, goals, and their excellent teamwork. The boys also revealed what they want to become moving forward and the music they want to do next.

Changbin explained that they want to tell their stories through their music. He said they want to continue giving their fans the same kind of personal stories in their future albums. The "Grow Up" from the I am NOT album is all about the band members' search for identity and their desire to speak for the younger generation. 

"Music that is truthful and sincere, that's really 'our' story. We wanted to talk about the identity crisis that our peers face. For the debut album, we thought about when we don't know who we truly are and how it doesn't feel like ourselves, so we made 'I am NOT' as the topic," said Changbin who composes most of the Stray Kids' songs along with bandmates Bang Chan and Han.

When asked about what kind of a Korean boy band they would like to become, Hyunjin said he wants them to be known as hardworking individuals and group. Changbin, on the other hand, wants to impart good things to their fans.

"A group with talent and good music is great but I want to become an idol with good influence. I think it's important to become that way," Changbin added (via Soompi).

The band also credited their success to teamwork. Group leader Bang Chan revealed that they have similar tastes in music and style. As a leader, he also makes sure that he always asks for the opinions of his bandmates. I.N. added that they also talk about their issues - if there are any - before they end the day.

Stray Kids was formed by JYP Entertainment in 2017 through a reality show of the same name. Bang Chan, Woojin, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. released their pre-debut mini-album Mixtape earlier this year. It peaked at No.2 on the World Albums chart.

The new K-pop group has been named by Billboard as the K-pop act to look forward to this year after the group had a successful debut showcase. They were also compared to EXO and believe to be the group that will follow the success of BTS and EXO.

Stray Kids officially released their debut album I Am Not on March 26 and the music video for the song "District 9." The MV broke the record for the most-viewed K-pop debut music video in 24 hours. It garnered over 4.2 million views in just 24 hours, beating Wanna One's previous record by 200,000 views.