Stray Kids is a multi-award-winning K-pop group led by Christopher Bang Chan and consists of seven other members: Lee Minho, Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung, Lee Felix, Kim Suengmin, and Yang Jeongin. 

Rock-Star, is the 8th Stray Kids album released on November 10th. The album was composed by Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han, also known as 3RACHA, and produced by Bang Chan. The album has eight tracks and runs for approximately 26 minutes.

Track one: Megaverse

Megaverse starts with a dramatic drum beat followed by the sound of sirens, making this song a great hook. Felix starts the song with his deep vocals which is soon followed by Bang Chan and Changbin’s rapping. During Changbin’s rap verse, he enunciates along with the background beat making it crisp to the ears. 

After the rap verse, the pre-chorus is sung by Suengmin and Minho. They bring powerful vocals followed by a slight rap by Hyunjin. The chorus keeps the same phonk sound that the beginning of the song started.

On my ranking of this album, I put Megaverse at #3. The audio sounds better on the album than on the video performance version. This song suits the spot as an album opener and doesn’t let me down.

Track two: LALALALA

The second track on Rock Star is the most advertised song on the album. The music video was used for the album teaser, dance practice videos, and the “Tiktok” challenge for the album. 

The song starts with a strong synth piano sound followed by the inclusion of contrasting notes. Changbin starts off the verse with a strong rap verse as always. In Felix’s lines, I enjoy the way he says “okie dokie.” It is something about how unserious the term okie dokie is and how serious the backing tracks and vocals sound that makes it amazing. 

Another line that stuck out to me is spoken by Hyunjin which follows the “Okie Dokie” line. “여긴 벌집 벌투성이피할 수 없음 쏘이고 보자” which means “This a beehive, bees everywhere if you can’t hide from it, put up with being stung.” 

The backing track of the pre-chorus goes from a high-energy synth-sounding song to a smooth drumbeat progression. The chorus takes the rock sound and pushes it heavily in the chorus. The mixture of the drums and the melody of Han’s voice makes it one of the most powerful-sounding songs in Stay Kids’ discography. 

The last chorus is sung by Han and is extended by Suengmin, Bang Chan, and Minho then concludes the song with the same synth-pop sound that it started with making the song come full circle. 

This song placed #2 on my ranking. 

Track three: Blind Spot 

The song “Blind Spot” starts with an electric guitar-sounding noise. The song represents the struggles the members face and how most people don’t see them, which happens to be a blind spot, hence the name. This is shown in the lines “They look at the results and success blinded by our glowing process. What you see isn’t everything. It’s hidden in the blind spot.” 

The chorus, sung by Minho, Hyunjin, Suengmin, & Changbin, has a steady drumbeat as all the members sing their respective lines before drifting into an instrumental.  The chorus is followed by Felix singing the line “실패가 눈에 밟혀도 두려움을 다 감추고” which translates to “Even if failure catches my eye, I hide all my fears and I’m just gonna stomp and let it go” which is another one of my favorite lines. 

“Blindspot” places #7th of my favorite tracks on the album. As much as I love the meaning behind the song and the lyricism, It is not something that I would listen to on a day-to-day basis.

Track four: Comflex

“Comflex” starts with a smooth beat, the sound of bubbles popping, and the low sound of sirens. Changbin starts with a signature “Changbin rap verse.” The backing track then changes to a phonk-esque sound with Bang Chan’s vocals for the chorus. The way Bang Chan sings “Too bright, I’m so flashy. Different? No I’m unique” will forever and always remain my favorite part of the song.

This song is my favorite song on the album entirely. I love the eb and flow of the beat along with the change of sound from their previous songs.

In conclusion, the first four songs on Rock Star are some of the best songs in the album. Stay tuned for a review of the second half of the album which has changes from the phonk-sounding songs to a new smooth and lyric-focused sound.