Han cannot describe what he is feeling. It is an uncommon sensation for Stray Youngsters‘ agile rapper, who’s identified for his witty turns of phrase and incisive wordplay. He isn’t one to let silence linger, at all times fast with a risible response. For as soon as, the prolific lyricist is all out of phrases. To be truthful, if there was ever a scene to render one speechless, it might be this: tens of 1000’s of followers illuminated by the glow of their lightsticks and the moon above them, whose screams grasp within the crisp spring air inside BMO Stadium.
The awe strikes towards the tip of Stray Youngsters’ three-hour encore live performance on Sunday evening — the ultimate cease of their Maniac world tour, which kicked off final April in Seoul. Followers have simply shocked the Korean group with a selfmade video, projecting their heartfelt sentiments to members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N throughout the venue’s massive out of doors screens. “Stray Youngsters added shade to my life,” one fan says over clips of live performance footage and music movies. “Stray Youngsters are my ceaselessly house,” says one other. It is such an earnest show of affection, the type of sentimental confessions that fandom tends to encourage.
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Kneeling with their backs to the gang, a montage of reminiscences magnified in entrance of them, Stray Youngsters take all of it in.
5 years in the past, a scene like this solely existed of their desires. (In 2019, dancer Hyunjin instructed MTV Information his objective was to “carry out in a giant stadium.”) The trail they laid was sluggish and regular, forging their very own sound alongside the best way. Uncooked and unflinching, their early tracks look at the tumultuous expertise of rising up. Produced and written primarily by Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han, Stray Youngsters’ discography is a time capsule of their very own coming of age. From children operating blindly towards an unsure future to taking their first confident steps into maturity, as they’ve matured, so have their music and efficiency. They’ve at all times been assured on stage, hungry to show themselves, however now they possess a seething grit and depth, the results of getting what you need solely to comprehend you need much more.
[Photo via JYP Entertainment]
Spanning 42 exhibits throughout Asia and North America, together with two sold-out stadium concert events in Los Angeles — the group’s first headlining stadium performances within the U.S. — the Maniac tour has solidified Stray Youngsters as probably the most profitable Korean pop acts of their era, and their world affect solely continues to develop. Their 2022 albums Oddinary and Maxident each debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200, with Maxident changing into the fourth highest-selling album globally final 12 months, proper behind Taylor Swift’s Midnights. (It appears kismet that Swift’s Eras Tour would overlap with theirs — each are maximalist storytellers with doctorates in fanfare.)
By the tip of the evening, Bang Chan is already manifesting their subsequent stadium-sized romp across the globe. “We’re not happy as a result of we’ve a lot extra to offer you guys,” the dimpled chief tells the gang, including with a cheeky smile, “In even larger venues.”
In truth, not even a stadium can include the power Stray Youngsters convey to the stage. It is the key to their efficiency. The setlist is a barrage of bangers, from bass-rumbling tour opener “Maniac” to hypnotic lure standout “Venom” (that includes a potent dance break and large inflatable spider legs that deploy from the stage flooring). Later songs like “Freeze” and “Tremendous Board” — each new additions to the encore lineup — ignite the stadium with large EDM drops and deliriously catchy hooks. “Crimson Lights,” a unit tune made by Bang Chan and Hyunjin, is remodeled right into a sensual stage that includes your complete group. (Hyunjin contributed to its course, which finds the members tied up in a spider’s silk). Following the group’s customary introductions, led Aussies Bang Chan and Felix, they torpedo their means by means of fan favorites just like the braggadocious “Simple” and their angsty debut monitor “District 9.”
[Photo via JYP Entertainment]
After they reemerge in additional loose-fitting apparel, trying casually cool and relaxed, it is like this the place they’re meant to be. That charisma is finest displayed throughout the one-two punch of “Charmer” and “Lonely St.” — performances that showcase their pure capacity to command an viewers. Throughout the anthemic “Lonely St.” they seize their mic stands and turn out to be rock stars, staring out right into a galaxy of swaying lights as your complete stadium screams the lyrics with them. It is an emotional excessive level for each the followers and the artists. It would not take lengthy to seek out on-line edits of Bang Chan’s smile whereas elevating his mic within the air for followers to sing alongside.
Stray Youngsters love a deep, reverberant bass. They seek advice from themselves because the “thunderous ones” on their 2021 album Noeasy, which takes goal at critics who name their music too noisy. This specific period for Stray Youngsters fused their modern sound with conventional Korean instrumentation, and it is delivered to life spectacularly on the stage with the assistance of a reside band who joins the group for the second half of the present, beginning with “Thunderous” — a surprising show of Stray Youngsters’ energy and cultural id. Following a mesmerizing dance sequence from Hyunjin, Lee Know, and Felix, rapper Changbin emerges to ship a number of fiery bars a cappella. The complete stadium watches with rapt consideration. As an electrical guitar wails, photos of Korean folks artwork and conventional structure flood the screens, and Stray Youngsters, donning trendy hanboks in gold foil prints, strut to the middle stage. They stand brimming with angle.
The presence of reside devices makes hype songs like “Thunderous” and “Domino” really feel much more impactful. Those that waited three years to see “God’s Menu” reside had been rewarded with a heart-pounding stage and one ultimate “네 손님” growl from Hyunjin, who thrashes his head forwards and backwards erratically, too misplaced within the second to regulate.
[Photo via JYP Entertainment]
The evening’s solely ballad arrives within the type of a unit tune from Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seungmin, and I.N. At this level, a reprieve is not simply earned — it’s a necessity. “Ready For Us” was written for the followers, and it is a showcase for the members’ vocal charms: Lee Know’s heat decrease register; Bang Chan’s vocal agility; Seungmin’s energy; and I.N’s crystalline sweetness. Equally, the hip-hop unit’s jazzy “Muddy Water” performs to the rap line’s strengths. Han is the spark of electrical energy to Changbin’s booming thunderclaps; the 2 play off one another in good symbiosis. In the meantime, Felix’s cavernous movement compliments Hyunjin’s extra elastic aptitude.
Their particular person skills are additional featured in a quick intermission the place every member will get a couple of minutes to carry out a tune of their selecting. It is commonplace to see Bang Chan or Seungmin to dictate keys to the band, a testomony to their music concept chops. It is thrilling to observe artists make music in entrance of your eyes. For his or her ultimate freestyles, Changbin and Hyunjin exhibit their authentic works, with Hyunjin delivering a breathless efficiency of his tune “Love Untold” and Changbin setting your complete stadium ablaze with “Cypher.” I.N reminisced about his trainee days with a canopy of Eric Benét’s “Nonetheless With You,” and Bang Chan boosted the power with a crowd-pleasing rendition of “All I Do Is Win.”
[Photo via JYP Entertainment]
Stray Youngsters ended the evening with their most up-to-date single “Case 143” and their first-ever launch “Hellevator.” Rumbling crowd-pleaser “Victory Track” is the nearer, that includes a fiery interlude from Changbin. This facet of Stray Youngsters is all exhausting edges and vigor. And whereas that is one element to their enchantment, it isn’t what retains followers coming again. As a substitute, it is the picture of eight males reappearing onstage for an encore carrying custom-made Charles Jeffrey Loverboy hats — every knit cap representing their government-assigned animal counterpart (do not ask) — and hyping each other up by means of tune. Hyunjin blasts Changbin with a confetti cannon; Felix does a TikTok dance; Bang Chan carries Han on his shoulders; Lee Know hyperlinks elbows with I.N earlier than flapping the tail of the youthful’s fox hat; and Seungmin lays on the bottom and proclaims his love for In-N-Out. The ambiance is so vibrant it is ineffable, simply colours swirling on canvas.
“The extra that one thing means to you, the much less phrases it’s important to describe it.” A fan within the video had mentioned these phrases so tenderly. It put Han’s predicament into perspective. These anonymous emotions develop like deep invisible roots, connecting us to at least one one other by means of small gestures. It is the best way Stray Youngsters put down their mics to shout “we love you!” on the high of their lungs, solely to obtain it again tenfold; how they signal “thanks” to the on-site signal language interpreters; and it seeps into the tons of of fan-made bracelets, photocards, and banners exchanged earlier than the present.
Stray Youngsters typically seek advice from the protected area they’ve created with their followers as their “haven,” a spot the place everyone seems to be free to be themselves. Their music is a celebration of these idiosyncrasies. Right here, on this haven stuffed with 1000’s, no phrases are essential.
