Inna Christine Cabel is a digital editor at The Korea Times. Prior to moving to Korea, she worked as an editorial assistant and writer in the Philippines. She occasionally writes about trends, pop culture and music. Reach her at innacabel@koreatimes.co.kr.
REVIEW Stray Kids prove their might in 'Karma'
Stray Kids / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment
By Inna Christine Cabel
Stray Kids’ new album “Karma” starts with the feisty hip-hop track “BLEEP,” a truculent introduction that lays the foundation for the rest of what’s to come. It’s familiar fare for the boy group, which carved out its niche in the K-pop scene with noisy, boisterous performances (“God’s Menu” in 2020 and “Chk Chk Boom” in 2024), after debuting with an audacious — and at times cantankerous — sound in 2018 (“District 9”).
“Yada, yada, noise cancellation,” they repeat throughout “BLEEP,” making a show of muting all the hardships, rumors and boomers.
The members of Stray Kids — Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N — have probably heard it all when it comes to the music they make. The band is one of the biggest acts to emerge from K-pop, earning fame in the United States and Europe for its fiery stages and self-produced discography.
In their fourth full-length album “Karma,” Stray Kids make it clear who they owe their success to: themselves.
While K-pop has no shortage of bravado, only a few groups have the actual numbers to back it up. Stray Kids has a laundry list of achievements, making history with “Karma” as the first act to have seven Billboard 200 No. 1 albums — surpassing legends like BTS and Linkin Park.
The album’s title single, “Ceremony,” just reached No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking their fourth entry to the chart. The octet is fresh off a massive world tour with a total of 54 shows across 34 cities, selling out stadiums while also topping charts in major music markets such as Latin America, Europe and Japan.
Stray Kids / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment
The confidence laced throughout the 11 tracks in “Karma” can only stem from this experience — the kind Stray Kids has built for the past eight years.
While they prepare for battle in “BLEEP,” the triumphant “Ceremony” has all the confidence and poise of a winner. As grand as its name sounds, “Ceremony” is more at ease and nonchalant, lacking the usual bombast the band is known for. Its sonic charisma hinges solely on a ritualistic repetition set over a rhythmic bass beat.
“We got good karma,” the members chant, as if summoning the gods to continue their streak of success. The album finishes with Festival and English versions of “Ceremony,” demonstrating that it’s a title track clearly crafted for stadiums.
After all that braggadocio, the boys stick to their guns in the Travis Scott-reminiscent “Creed.”
“You know I bite the way I bark / Yeah, I’m doing what I say,” the members declare, with Changbin proving his lyrical might with the line: “Even if the wall of reality is high, my ambition has never kneeled once / Achievements I’ll endlessly write, with a pen tip that never runs out of ink.”
The album, like all of Stray Kids’ work, is anchored by 3RACHA, the band’s representative production unit of leader Bang Chan, Changbin and Han. All three members have always chosen to explore different genres, from nostalgic rock to brassy, blasting beats. The band gained fame in part because of this very authenticity, as the members stayed true to their musical interests instead of following the latest chart trends.
In “MESS,” composed by Han, the band takes you behind the curtain with an emotional hip-hop offering that is more of a production interlude than a thematic addition to the album. That’s followed by the vibrant pop-rock ruminations of “In My Head,” straight out of an early 2000s coming-of-age film.
The jangly, rhythmic “Half Time” is Stray Kids at their best, as they repeat a battle cry: “Now, I’m just getting started / At my prime time / I’m not gonna stop.” “Phoenix” is 2010s EDM, all thumping bass layered in crescendoing harmonies and melodies designed to lift your spirits, in theme with the album’s ethos. “Reborn with our music life / Rebirth, rebirth / We’ll run through the endless fire.”
Before ending on the two bonus versions of “Ceremony,” the album serves up the radio-ready “Ghost” and “0801,” which highlight the members’ vocals and Bang Chan’s ability to create a catchy hook, further playing into the band’s pop sensibilities.
In “Karma,” Stray Kids proves that they’re a force to be reckoned with — a fierce musical identity that sets them apart in the K-pop industry. They dare to dream further, choosing to curate a genre-spanning record with a fearlessness nourished by artistic growth and influenced by their travels across the world.
With the whole album designed for grand stadium runs, and major sections sung in English, Stray Kids lives up to their motto — Stray Kids, everywhere, all around the world — by choosing to communicate with an ever-growing global fan base through their music. While STAY, their fandom, has made it clear that they’re willing to stream and buy albums to place Stray Kids at the top of the charts, what “Karma” proves is the group’s motivation and their desire for the world to recognize their sheer talent.
Every track in “Karma” is rife with guts, grit and glory, and Stray Kids have all three in spades. It’s a record produced more for Stray Kids themselves, a reminder of how far they’ve come — and how far they’re willing to go.