The group Stray Kids will put the finishing touch on 2025 with a new release and double title tracks.
Stray Kids will release their new album SKZ IT TAPE 'DO IT' tomorrow (21st) at 2 p.m. (0 a.m. Eastern Time). It follows about three months after the full-length fourth album 'KARMA', which made new history on the U.S. Billboard main albums chart 'Billboard 200', and, as the members said, the "ultra-fast comeback faster than the KTX" will fill STAY's (fandom name: STAY) year-end with richness and warmth.
Ahead of this, Stray Kids posted 'Stray Kids [INTRO "DO IT"]' on their official SNS channels on the afternoon of the 19th and shared various details about the album. If the previous work 'KARMA' was an album celebrating numerous achievements and the shining present, the new work 'DO IT' contains a calm hustle spirit of "let's just do it like we've been doing" after the celebration.
For the first time since the holiday special single 'Christmas EveL' released in November 2021, they plan to showcase the essence of a "year-end Skz" with two title tracks presenting two coexisting charms. First, 'Do It' is a song full of confidence to "show what kind of team Stray Kids is." It was born in a songwriting camp that produced as many as six songs in three days, and it boasts a more mature and sexy atmosphere than 'Chk Chk Boom', another Latin-leaning genre.
The members introduced, "We think we bring out the reggae-tones in Latin-leaning songs well. It's more chill than 'Chk Chk Boom', and the performance mainly features smooth, rhythmic movements rather than the group's usual powerful choreography. It's a song that induces internal dancing." They added, "It's a song with a feeling 180 degrees different from 'CEREMONY', so the recording process was playful and fun. We think we can show a freer side, and choreography with a large number of dancers might be refreshing if performed on an outdoor stage later."
The other title track, 'Sinseonnoreum' (literally 'fresh play'), is a song full of newness that makes listeners naturally say, "Are they doing this?", marking a first-time attempt for Stray Kids. The group's producing team 3RACHA's Bang Chan, Changbin and Han intended to "show how we play with music." So the first melody is jazzy while evoking the nostalgia of '90s R&B, and elements of old-school hip-hop from the era of 2PAC and Snoop Dogg, as well as Korean elements like 'deong gideok kung deoreoreo', are blended in.
As the members said, "the feeling of eating yakgwa with warm coffee," the fusion of modern and traditional, Stray Kids' effort to pioneer something new as "NEW POP" is expected to lead listeners to repeat playback endlessly. Stray Kids predicted, "'Sinseonnoreum' is a song where you can imagine the stage. We are really looking forward to the year-end stages we will do with this song."
Added to this are track 3 'Holiday', "a song made because we wanted to rest when we couldn't, offering comfort born of empathy," track 4 'Photobook', "a fan song to precisely convey to dear and precious STAY right now," and the final track 'Do It (Festival Version)', which reinterprets the title track 'Do It' with an even more exciting and powerful sound. Stray Kids boasted a high-quality album that includes five songs they created themselves.
Saying, "We want to firmly engrave our name this year-end," Stray Kids vowed to continue their unceasing run with the comeback. "Because we've been busy touring, the eight of us haven't been able to show many things together. This album is a big gift to STAY, and since we haven't been able to see you much, we want to show more through year-end. We want to finish an absolutely huge 2025 well. We'll do it with the 'Do It' spirit," they said, revealing affectionate feelings and ambitions toward their fans.
At last, tomorrow Stray Kids' another masterpiece made while playing, SKZ IT TAPE 'DO IT', will be unveiled. Pushing forward with the group's spirit of "if we do it, we do it," they have risen to a place where they float above the clouds and, looking to higher heights, they will again 'Just do it.'
[Photo] Provided by JYP Entertainment.
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