The Met Gala can always be relied upon to bring myriad musical favorites together on the red carpet (or, in this year’s case, the pre-Raphaelite-inspired green carpet), but K-pop fans got an extra special treat this year with the debut attendance of popular South Korean boy band Stray Kids. Below, find everything you need to know about the group that scored a place on Time's 2023 Next Generation Leaders list.
Who are the members of Stray Kids?
Stray Kids is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. (There was originally a ninth member of the group, Woojin, but he left Stray Kids in 2019 for undisclosed personal reasons.)
How did Stray Kids get their start?
Stray Kids has a very specific origin story: The group’s eight members were originally brought together through a South Korean reality survival show, also called Stray Kids, that aired in 2017. It followed the band’s members as they attempted to rise through the ranks of the now-saturated K-pop industry. They have come a long way since then; in 2023, they won the Best K-Pop Award at the MTV Music Video Awards, propelled in part by their avid fanbase, that goes by the name “Stay.”
What is Stray Kids’ best-known song?
The now-internationally famous boy band’s most-streamed song (in the U.S., at least) is “God’s Menu,” which member Bang Chan described thusly to Billboard: “It wasn’t originally ‘God’s Menu’ that was supposed to come out [as a single], but we made the demo, and I remember Hyunjin’s reaction to it was like, ‘We should go with this one! Everyone listen to this!’ So we went with it, and then, bang! It exploded.”
How many albums does Stray Kids have out?
Stray Kids has released four studio albums (three Korean and one Japanese), four compilation albums, one reissue, 13 extended plays (10 Korean and three Japanese), two single albums, and thirty singles…all since officially forming a mere seven years ago. Generally, they are regarded as having a grungier, more rock-influenced sound than some of their K-Pop contemporaries.
Is this the first time a K-pop group has attended the Met Gala?
Far from it! While Stray Kids were first-timers in custom Tommy Hilfiger at the 2024 Met Gala, there’s plenty of K-pop precedent around their attendance; members of Blackpink attended the legendary fashion fete in 2021 and 2023, and NCT star Johnny wore Peter Do to 2022’s Met Gala. It is, however, the first time that all members of a K-Pop group have showed up together wearing the same designer—in this case Tommy Hilfiger.
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