Stray Kids Comeback Review: Lalalala, Megaverse MV's and Rock Star mini album

Hello everyone! It is time for another Stray Kids comeback!

Boy, has November been extremely busy with all the comebacks? I am so backed up with reviewing these because there seems to be a new comeback every week this month. At least with the bands I follow, and I know there’s been even more comebacks with other bands I don’t follow. But saying I was excited about the Stray Kids Rock Star album was an understatement. I was really looking forward to this Stay Kids comeback because this group has easily made its way to becoming one of my ULT groups. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with Rock Star, as their last full album, 5-Star, really blew me away. I constantly listen to 5-Star from top to bottom with no skips. So, I was extremely excited for Rock Star, their follow-up mini album to 5-Star, because I knew we would be getting ROCK. We got ROCK indeed!

Lalalala song and MV review

Lalalala really took the world by storm, but for those who have been Stay for a while understand that this song and music video is quintessential Stray Kids. But what’s different about this song is that it has a little bit of a rock influence to it. Rock is a genre that Stray Kids hasn’t really dabbled a lot with in the past. They have some songs that have a bit of rock to them, but I don’t think they’ve ever gone into that genre full-force. We’re so used to their hard-hitting rap and unique beats in the background that this album and song sounded very different, but at the same time, fully Stray Kids. They love playing with words and making things nonsensical, and this song definitely has those elements. It has a catchy beat and is a song that can get the party going, with a fun dance to match. But it’s also a song that would be incredibly fun to witness live, as the vocals and choreography are superb. They even added a rock version when I didn’t think it could get more rock with their original version. But the rock version has more of a grunge rock vibe to it, which I love because I grew up listening to that genre and still love it to this day.

As far as the music video goes, this was a can’t-miss Stray Kids music video. We usually start with Changbin spittin’ bars like no other, but this time we had a bit of a storyline to the music video. The music video follows young kids who are putting on a band performance and are feeling a bit anxious. There are eight of them, so you could argue it is Stray Kids as children. As they are performing, they see Stray Kids create a fun world of chaotic pirates trying to find treasure, which could be the end of the kids' performance. Sometimes Stray Kids dabbles into a storyline but this one was meant to showcase their "Megaverse,” which is a great lead into their other music video, “Megaverse.” There were a lot of fun elements to this music video, from the comedy to the amazing danceRacha (Hyunjin, Felix, and Lee Know) sequences and stunning visuals throughout the entire video. If I am correct, I believe Stray Kids had a lot more input in directing this music video, which is so cool to see. Not only are they writing their own songs, but they’re also coming up with amazing conceptual videos.

Megaverse song and MV review 

When the teaser for “Megaverse” came out, it really blew my mind. First of all, we start with Felix’s killing voice, rapping with a sick rock beat in the background and looking flawless as he always does. Then we move over to Bang Chan, almost mirroring Felix, so from the fact that they started with two of my biases, I knew this song was going to be something special.

This song might not sound as rock as “Lalalala” did, but you could argue that the lyrics are influenced by rock elements. If you look at the lyrics carefully, they are basically saying that Stray Kids are gods, and this is their megaverse. You could argue and interpret the lyrics in a number of ways, but I think what they are trying to say is that Stray Kids are at the top of their game and are ones to watch. All of these lyrics capture that rock star quality and also mirror what 5-Star was trying to say. Stray Kids has been known to put somewhat cocky lyrics in their songs. But to me, it isn’t bragging or cockiness; it’s really just telling people that they have always been putting out music like this in the past, and they are only going to get better from here. The “Stray Kids Hot Megaverse” could be their catalog of music, which is always top-notch, and they are only telling newcomers who they really are. The song itself is a little dark but still catchy, and it's another song I think would be fun to see live.

To me, the music video for "Megaverse" is very simple and not as elaborate as “Lalalala.” It shows Stray Kids infiltrating and robbing a system that a famous K-Actor is keeping watch of. This is a storyline we’ve seen before from them and could be a continuation of the “Freeze” music video. There’s not a lot of dance in this video, and it's more about showing off their visuals and lyrics. But one fun thing about this video was at the end when Tablo shows up and picks up a newspaper with Stray Kids on the headline. On the back of the newspaper is a crossword puzzle with Stray Kids already filled in. Tablo then puts his name on the crossword puzzle. It is quite possible that this alludes to a Tablo and Stray Kids collab, which would be really fun if that’s what they were trying to hint at. Other than that, this video was definitely more simple, but I think that was the point, as the real star of the show for this song was the lyrics.

Rock Star Album Review

Stray Kids are making headlines with the Rock Star album ranking number 1 in the Billboard Top 200 and being the number 2 artist in the Billboard Top 100 artists. They’re making a lot of headway over in the States with more appearances at the Billboard Music Awards and the VMAs. While Stray Kids has been reaching milestones these past couple of comebacks, this album truly is a statement. As I mentioned before with the other two songs and music video. I think this album is trying to show that Stray Kids is truly here to stay and that you should’ve been paying attention to them a long time ago.

 Here are some of their live performances on those shows:

I’ve already discussed my review for Megaverse and Lalalala, so we’ll be going straight into the third track of Rock Star, which is:

Blind Spot

I really enjoyed Blind Spot when I first heard it. It was a song that sounded very different from Stray Kids but at the same time felt very Stray Kids. One of the things I love about Stray Kids is that they know their sound, but they also know how to elevate it, so not one song sounds the same. Blind Spot itself feels more like the emo grunge-pop that I grew up listening to in the early 2000s. It has a very All-American Rejects quality to it, which is a group I was obsessed with.

From what I can tell from the English parts, I think the lyrics are trying to say that while they may have success right now, there are still a lot of haters out there. They are continuously making progress and see that progress while others might not, which is essentially the blind spot they are referring to. They are working hard with endless nights to live for greatness, which in itself is a very rock complex to live by. All in all, this song was a very uplifting song with a very interesting message in the lyrics. You can see that Stray Kids still feel like they have a lot to live up to and continue to work on that every single day.

Comflex 

“Comflex” was another catchy song with an up-tempo beat. Again,  I was surprised by the sound of this song when I first heard it. Initially, it sounded very Stray Kids but wasn’t as rock as I wanted it to be. I thought this album was going to be full-fledged rock, and this song leaned more into pop/house, but I still enjoyed the song. Again, you could argue that the rock quality is in the lyrics of the song. “Comflex” is saying that Stray Kids is complex, but they are also flexing, so it’s “Comflex,” showing off that confident side to them. Much like "Megaverse,” the song “Comflex” defines who Stray Kids are; they are not flashy but unique. I think this entire album is trying to show off who they are as artists, with so many new viewers and haters that come along with their growth.

Cover Me  

“Cover Me” is the start of their more ballad-sounding songs on the album. It is a very sad song when looking at the English lyrics, as it talks about feeling very lonely and trying to hide away pain. There is still a little bit of hope in the song when they see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There are some rock elements to this song, with the electric guitar in the background and how emotional the lyrics are. It is a very short song, but it has a lot of meaning when looking at the lyrics.

Leave 

“Leave” is the other ballad song on this album, which I feel is something Stray Kids doesn’t do too often. They are known for their up-tempo, heavy rap, and unique beats. This song is very pretty, and when looking at the lyrics, this could be another love song. However, one throughline this song has with “Cover Me” is that it sounds very lonely. Sometimes being a rock star could be very lonely, despite all the success a rock star could have. Now, looking at the second half of this album, it could be showing that while they have a lot of success right now, there is still a sense of loneliness. The first half of Rock Star shows off their cockiness and success, while the second half of the album has a more emotional quality to it.

Social Path (feat. Lisa) (Korean vers.)

The reason I felt that the second half of the album felt more like the Emo side of rock was because of the song “Social Path.” They initially came out with a Japanese version of this song earlier in the season, and this is just the Korean version of that song. There were a lot of complexities to the music video and the lyrics of this song. It definitely showcases the loneliness of being a rock star or idol and has that 2000s grunge-rock quality to it. Even the visuals of the music video itself felt very early 2000s and almost videogame-like. The song is really trying to say that they gave up a lot of their youth to have the success that they have now. There are a lot of hard times being an idol or a rock star of their caliber, and they have to give up a lot to get there. Again, while the lyrics are very deep, the actual song is very upbeat and catchy, with fun dance moves. This is another song I would love to see live someday.

Above is a video where Stray Kids discuss the meaning of Rock Star and go in depth about each song.

For those who know nothing about Stray kids, here is some basic information about them:

Group Info: 8 member group, under JYP Entertainment, 3Racha is the rap line that writes most, if not all, of their songs.

Fandom name: Stay

Slogan: Stray Kids everywhere, all around the world, you make Stray Kids stay. 

Debut Date: March 25, 2018

Members: 

Bang Chan “Christopher” (Leader, main Rapper of 3Racha, singer, songwriter) 

Lee Know (Lead dancer of danceRacha, vocalist of vocalRacha)

Changbin (Rapper of 3Racha, songwriter) 

Hyunjin (Dancer in danceRacha, main visuals, rapper and singer) 

Han (Can do everything-- Rapper of 3Racha, vocalist, dancer, songwriter) 

Felix (Visual, known for deep killing voice, can rap and sing, part of danceRacha)

Seungmin (Main vocalist of vocalRacha) 

I.N. (Maknae -- youngest, vocalist of vocalRacha)

My bias line: Han, Hyunjin, BangChan, Felix, and I.N.

^I honestly think I’m OT8 because I can’t tell my biases from my biaswreckers in this group. 

Thank you all for reading this review. I hope you all enjoyed it! I know it’s a long one, but there is a lot to talk about with Stray Kids. Since they write their own lyrics, I tried to dig deeper into the meaning behind the lyrics rather than just reviewing the sound. I believe Stray Kids is truly at its peak and is only going to grow from here. I hope they announce another tour soon because I would love to see them again as an official Stay. I was more of a casual listener after seeing them at KCon 2022, but now I am definitely Stay. I saw them in LA earlier in March for their Maniac tour, but I didn’t know a lot about them at the time, and I would love to see these two albums in live settings. 

Look forward to more comeback reviews coming soon! Up next are &team and Enhypen!