Stray Kids (photo courtesy of JYP Entertainment)
Just a few days ago, Stray Kids made history in America when Billboard announced that their new EP Oddinary had performed well enough to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In fact, the seven-song project scored the largest proper sales week of 2022, as 103,000 fans in the U.S. alone purchased a copy.
Oddinary marked not only the first No. 1 album for the K-pop boy band, but their debut appearance on the Billboard 200. It’s extremely rare for any act to go right to the top on their first try, but Stray Kids have been picking up steam all around the world for the past few years, and now with the backing of Republic Records, it seems there’s nothing they can’t do.
Stray Kids are now the third South Korean group to chart a No. 1 album in U.S., following both BTS and SuperM. I had the pleasure of speaking with the full band (band member Bang Chan answered most questions and also translated for many of his group mates) just hours after the good news had been shared, and we discussed their historic moment, reaching American fans, and how they can’t wait to sweat and sing with their followers once more.
Hugh McIntyre: I am very excited to be speaking to the group that has the No. 1 album in America right now.
Bang Chan: Aww! That feels weird!
McIntyre: What does it feel like to hit No. 1 In America?
Bang Chan: Wow. It is unbelievable. We heard the news not too long ago and we were awestruck. We didn’t know what to say. We were all to each other like, “Did this really actually happen?” We were looking at the article and we were kinda shaking and everything. It was just unreal. One thing is for sure—the reason why we could get these results was definitely because of how beautiful and lovely Stays. So a really big thank you to everyone out there who showed their love and support for our latest album.
McIntyre: You are the third Korean act to have a No. 1 album in America, following BTS and SuperM. How does it feel to be in that company?
Bang Chan: Being able to reach that level itself, we’re really honored. We think that it is a very good experience for us. We feel like it could be another big lesson…something that we can really learn from and something that can motivate us to try harder and reach for higher levels. Like I said before, it’s because of Stays that we can get this far. They gave us such a big and lovely gift. It makes us wanna make more for them. It’s like a really big engine that keeps us moving forward.
McIntyre: Absolutely. I speak to a lot of artists who are successful on the Billboard charts and I’m always curious… Things like sales numbers or chart positions, do you watch those? Do they really matter to you?
Bang Chan: Honestly we try not to think about it too much because we wanna focus on what we’re doing right now, because if we really go for what we’re supposed to do right now, it’s bound to give us good stuff in the near future. We do look at what we’ve done, the records and history, we do look through them because that is really good feedback, right? Looking back really helps us improve. So I think we do give it attention, while focusing on what we’re supposed to do right now.
McIntyre: I was watching the Gaon charts. Your sales numbers in Korea are incredible…and then here in America too. I mean, the numbers don’t lie. You have millions of people around the world buying your album in an era when people don’t do that anymore. How do you grasp that sort of love?
Seungmin: For the Oddinary album, we had a little bit of change. We were kinda worried about changing something. I think a lot of Stays loved it. So hopefully we’re really thankful about the relationships between us and Stays. We’re really thankful for the support.
Bang Chan: Just to continue on what Seungmin said, we did really emphasize trying to show something new from Stray Kids. The fact that fans really, really appreciated it…that itself was really, really good to know. Turned out all good.
McIntyre: I am personally impressed that you are so involved in the writing and the curating and the performing. That’s not how all groups operate. Why is it so important to you to work on every aspect of your music?
Bang Chan: [Translating for Changbin] We are the ones who are performing, we’re the ones who are singing on stage. We are the ones who are expressing the lyrics. We feel like it’s really important that we are the ones who are writing that message in order for us to truthfully, genuinely express our true feelings. We’ve been writing our own music ever since [we were] trainees. Since then, we’ve been into writing about what we want to say, the message that we really want to express to everyone. I think that’s the reason why Stays out there really like to listen to our music.
McIntyre: When I first heard the name of the EP, I thought it was really cool. I like the title a lot. It’s very clever. How did you come up with it? And, to someone who might not know you or have heard it, what does it mean?
Felix: Like what Seungmin said about bringing this new concept…through that we really wanted to express not only what our thoughts were, but also to give something different and also something relatable to Stays all around the world. So with the word ordinary and odd, we wanted to mix up and make it into the word Oddinary. What we mean by that is to tell people all around the world that it’s okay to be odd. Being odd is another way of expressing how to be ordinary in your own way. I feel like it really does give a good message and it’s very positive in every single way.
McIntyre: Good explanation. That was a good answer. How does Oddinary differ from your past material? What makes it stand out?
Bang Chan: [Translating for I.N.] The album itself has its own very special, unique concept and matching that concept are all the [B-sides] put into the album. And also, something completely different to the other EPs is that we have the two-unit songs. There are completely different units that we’ve never shown before. That is a really, really big difference to the other EPs.
McIntyre: I very much enjoy “Maniac.” I know that’s the focus, but I do really like it. Tell me a bit about what it means to you and what you want fans to take away from it.
Bang Chan: [Translating for Lee Know] Most of our songs, they have different styles of energy. Especially with “Maniac.” It has a special energy too, but we wanted to show a very controlled energy, something that was a bit different vibe-wise. We wanted to express message-wise, like I said, [that] it’s completely fine to be odd and odd is ordinary. So just really go be free and be a maniac. Show that maniac side of you. Be whatever you want and just do what you wanna do, is what you wanted to say.
McIntyre: I watch charts all around the world. I mentioned your album did so well in Korea. It charted and “Maniac” charted in the U.K. And now in other countries too. So with one album you have gone from one of the biggest acts in Korea to breakout stars all around the world. Is that intimidating at all? To make that jump so quickly?
Bang Chan: It’s something that we still don’t… It’s hard to take in, for us as well. We wanna think of it as something that we can learn from. Sure. Also, it’s not like we’ve become superstars straight away. It feels like it was a really long journey that we started with Stays. Together. I feel like we just keep moving forward, bringing more followers into this journey that we’ve started. That’s what we’re gonna keep on trying to do. Just keep going on that road. Just keep trying to move forward.
McIntyre: You are planning on touring the EP, and it’s going to be your biggest tour ever, I assume. How do you feel about the tour? Are you excited? Are you nervous?
Bang Chan: So excited!
[Translating for Han] It’s been so long since we’ve seen Stays. Our last world tour was like two years ago. We really, really miss our Stays. And we know that there Stays all around the world waiting for us. Every day we’re preparing the concert and preparing for the tour. We’re thinking about our Stays and that really motivates us to, you know, really get prepared for the world tour. So we really can’t wait.
McIntyre: Great.
Bang Chan: [Translating for Hyunjin] It’s summer world tour and it’s been a while since we’ve been on tour during the hot weather and he can’t wait to feel the hotness of our Stays from all around the world. He can’t wait to be drenched in sweat while singing.
McIntyre: I do not miss that, so good for you! For any of your younger fans who look up to what you do who think they might want to get into this scene, what advice would you give them?
Bang Chan: First I’d like to emphasize the message that Oddinary has—to look out for what you wanna do. There’s no right or wrong, but what I can say is if you are comfortable with what you’re doing and if there’s anything out there that you wanna try, just go for it. Have the experience and enjoy. I think enjoying what you do is most important for whatever you wanna try out. If there’s anyone out there who wants to try music, I think it’s really important, especially for music, to not control, to not contain yourself. Just really just let it out. Because whatever you wanna say, music is a really good opportunity for you to express that. And also, if you ever happen to become an artist, maybe we could meet up!
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2022/04/04/stray-kids-talk-making-billboard-history-really-honored-to-chart-their-first-no-1-album-in-the-us/