The Formation of Stray Kids

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"We had to make a team that is actually tightly knit and like one body. We came to the conclusion that in order to do that, the company shouldn't organize the members. [...] Little by little, the way these eight kids care for, trust, and rely on each other, and how hard they try to grow, was conveyed to the fans."

Stray Kids (SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment (JYPE) in 2017. The original nine-idol group was formed through the 'Stray Kids' reality show created by JYP Entertainment and Mnet. Unlike other reality shows where individuals would survive and become a team, the team for the reality show was pre-selected.The group of trainees performed self-composed songs that would be judged based on individual abilities and teamwork through unexpected missions. The ultimate goal of the show was to win the "trainees versus JYP" survival. Members Felix and Lee Know were originally eliminated off of the show but were given another chance and eventually won.

The name “Stray Kids” was created by the group members themselves. It is said that the group name was a way to describe a lost child who wanted to chase their dreams, but later evolved to represent the idea of the group“finding a way together out of the ordinary.” The name also expresses the group's determination to” break the existing mold, ‘stray’ing from expectations and go one step forward to be out of the ordinary and find their own place.”The group also hopes that their music can resonate with and provide help to as many 'stray kids' around the world as possible. This is also how the Stray Kids fan base got their name of “Stay’s”. The group's slogan is “Stray Kids Everywhere All Around The World, You Make Stray Kids Stay”. This slogan hints at the fact that Stray Kids all around the world make up “Stay Kids Stay”. (Their fanbase) There is also a one-letter difference between ‘Stay’ and ‘Stray’, that letter being ‘R’. The letter ‘R’ stands for reason, implying that ‘Stay’ is the only reason that the group “Stray Kids” exists.

The Stray Kids logo was drawn by leader Chan himself and changes with each “era”, particularly the color of the letter "K". The most recent EPs and albums have recently stayed white with the background colors changing.

I am Who Logo

I am You Logo

Miroh Logo

Go Live Logo

5-Star Logo

Rock Star Logo

Stray Kids originally consisted of a ninth member named Woojin. Woojin was previously the main vocalist of the group prior to Seungmin.

JYPE announced that Woojin left the group due to personal circumstances on October 28, 2019.

Stray Kids also currently has a project called SKZOO (Stray Kids Zoo) where the members are assigned a cartoon character or representative animal. The name comes from the contraction of SKZ and zoo, a pun referring to the animal shape of the characters.