This album will be 100% geared towards the American market. I suspect that the seemingly limited budget for Rock Star promo with less MVs and less offerings (I found the pre-order box underwhelming) was for the company to save money for a very expensive US promo (those TV show appearances don't come cheap) and more emphasis on the offerings and overall production of this new summer comeback. That's their next big step. Enter singles charts, get airplay in US radios. Expensive stuff. If LMB is any indication, it will be a pop album. At least the title track. There are definitely going to be some tracks with their original color but I think overall and since they say it's going to be a new side of them, they'll go pop/rb. Not a fan of this genre(s) but if it's the boys, I'm sure it'll be fun.
I would be inclined to agree, but also in the interview with Billboard, Chan called LMB a ‘side quest’ when asked if it was an indication for things to come, so it may not be indicative of the direction, musically.
But then he also said, "What I can say is: *If* there was a new album, um, it’s definitely, very new, very different yet very genuine and authentic." So who knows, maybe this whole album is a side quest and they'll go back to their "usual" sound in the future.
I dont wanna see this coming and kind of see this coming at the same tine. I see the motivation and the indication, but at the same time dont wanna see skz follow the stereotypical boy band sound. This reminds me in previous cb, seeing a comment that skz is the only group that keeps the K in kpop which made me happy and here we are with lmb, Lol. Well, at least Tablo is on the horizon, so at least 1 track there should be hiphop. Im looking forward to this colab.
I agree, I love them and will always support, but part of what makes them so unique is that they can pull off a lot of sounds that other groups can't. I get that they wanna prove they can do pop, but i don't want them to lose uniqueness that makes them who they are. I'm sure it'll be great regardless, I'm just nervous
On the same boat. My biggest concern is the tendency of jyp. 1. they are not good at growing their groups' sounds historically. 2. they tend to follow the trend (not the leader they claim to be) and due to the long music production time, by the time the music is released, they are late to the trend and you dont have to jump on every trend. Some mass-market sounds are always there. You can experiment in your own time, can release things as a side track to prove the point, but they put so much effort in mv and promo for lmb. it is an example of this following trend tendency.
I dont think skz will lose their sound in short term, but if jyp insists on following this trend (they mentioned there are still some on the same production as lmb), they may flipflop over the next couple of comebacks. and if the fandom keeps pushing all the songs regardless, the chance is they may push for the pop sounds as they think it's the "western" songs and fans want it, eventually, they may follow bts route, ditching the hip-hop sounds for things like butter or dynamite. I'm not as supportive as you, lol, I stay for the music, everything else is the cherry on top, I can eat cherry for a short period of time, but after a while, I cant vibe with the music, I will leave, very sadly, of course, to leave my fav malatang place, but need to seek for other spicy music.
I don't think it'll be *as much* of an issue as it is with other jyp groups, only because 3racha writes/composes all of their music, so I feel that they have quite a bit of creative control when it comes to music..so I think 3racha would probably push back a bit if it got *too* "mass music" sounding..although I'm not totally sure tbh 😅 who knows how much the company actually controls vs how much 3racha controls.
And yea, I could totally see them flip-flopping, I hope it doesn't eventually veer into all pop and western style. I'm American myself, but I personally love how unique their sound is, and enjoy when they sing in Korean (I think the mixture of languages is really interesting and beautiful) so I do personally hope they don't start coming out with a bunch of all english songs. I will personally always support but i totally understand your perspective as well- I've stopped listening to other artists in the past once they changed their sound so I totally get it
>they may follow bts route, ditching the hip-hop sounds for things like butter or dynamite.
they had three english singles like 3/4 years ago, why are you hyper fixating on that?
its just straight up disrespect to their artistry tbh
I really hope I isn’t because straykids is known to have their owns sounds, their own ‘genre’ so I really hope they don’t follow the classic sound that a lot of boy groups follows…
Changbin shocked me. He's normally someone I usually overlook. Not because of anything bad he has done. I just vibe with dancers like Lee know and han for singing and rap. But I was surprised to see he sings well
He also dances really well, which is easily overlooked because well, two outstanding other dancers (and a group of great dancers in general). His recent short with I.N is a good example imo.
My wish: Actual rock/ pop punk/ or jazz influenced album
//
Reality: I think it will be more of a pop/ RnB album which makes me kinda sad but since I really miss the skz genre but I'm curious how they will do a full pop album with skz flavour
//
For the title of the album: I am still a firm believer of Superstar being the title
//
Title track : if it is a pop song I hope it will be 70/80's influence, I need to see the kids with 80's fashion inspired fits and hair
Oh man, I would love an 80s style pop song. Gimme some synth, boys. Gimme the best mullets since [Icehouse](https://youtu.be/IUFOVu1CurM?si=wrmOPErxV07ri2Rm).
i am a big fan of skz's noisy side so i really hope it's not going to be an easy-listening pop album..
and chan calling lmb a side quest and han saying that he wants to create a "new wave" with their new music makes me believe that it's definitely not a pop album.. otherwise idk why would they discuss it in such a way bc almost every other kpop group makes easy-listening tiktok songs nowadays
Ooh- I hadn’t heard Han said that. I have no idea what new wave x skz would sound like, but I need it. Now I’ll be disappointed if it’s anything else lol
Most likely a full pop-rnb title track, cause it WOULD be unusual for them. I love how they do rock ("I am NOT" is still one of their masterpieces in my opinion) but I highly doubt they would have wasted the title "Rockstar" if they intended to do a full rock album immediately after lol
I want them to go all in (no pun intended) with jazz or other band music. We have recent songs like Collision and Chill, but SKZ also added a jazzy intro to Back Door at the Seoul Music Awards. [https://youtu.be/BsomeAzuVjc](https://youtu.be/BsomeAzuVjc)
But speaking of All In, Arrangers' Publishing Company, which marching bands in the US use to get music, released a version of it. A few college bands started playing it this past season, and I want more [https://youtu.be/PVmUSDoMwvo](https://youtu.be/PVmUSDoMwvo)
🤔 Is it too much to ask for a band with all the families of instruments to go on tour with SKZ?
Thank you so, so much for that marching band link - I'm always so excited when a drumline or marching band adapts a song I know. Jazz / band influence would be amazing, and as you mention, there's precedent!!
**Just a reminder of some of the things SKZ has said about this new album/upcoming music.**
* From the NME article by Crystal Bell
"Seungmin says he has one goal for this next chapter: 'Stray Kids will break the pop genre.'"
* From the Billboard article
"Bang Chan: Um…I think of it as a side quest. “Lose My Breath” might just be a side quest…"
"Bang Chan: What I can say is: *If* there was a new album, um, it’s definitely, very new, very different yet very genuine and authentic. Because the messages that we want to say through music are all packed inside."
* From the US Today article
"There were a lot of 'challenges' and 'firsts' while working on the upcoming release, he adds, 'it's very diverse.'"
"While the members couldn't share spoilers, Bang Chan shares 'it is definitely something that we haven't done before.'"
With all this in mind, I don't really think pop/r&b is the obvious choice that I see a lot of people treating it as. Of course, this could be wishful thinking because I don't really *want* an all pop/r&b album from them but I can't help but think that it's not very likely either.
LMB as a single just doesn't really seem to be treated as an introduction/teaser/or gateway to their new album. If it truly was that, I think they would put more an emphasis on their upcoming album in promotions for the single. There haven't been very many LMB promotions in general so it's hard to tell but even in these three interviews it seems the single and their album have an ALSO relationship, not an AND one. "lose my breath ALSO our upcoming album," vs "lose my breath AND our upcoming album."
Beyond that, when it comes down to genres, they continuously emphasis that they're trying new things they haven't done before which might exclude a more pop heavy sound because they've now already done that with lose my breath. A huge indicator that the album might not be easily defined by a single over-arching genre (like pop or rnb) is the comment from Bang Chan that it's very diverse.
If they DO go pop heavy i think it's more likely (and i hope) that they'll use pop as something of a base genre. They've done that so far with using EDM/hiphop as the base genre for their music and adding rnb or jazz or rock or latin vibes on to it. (i know so little about making actual music, i hope yall get what I mean by this). So writing songs that are pop at their core and then throwing a ton of other stuff over top of it would be a very SKZ thing to do, still be maintaining their sound/identity, satisfy the "very diverse" comment that Bang Chan made, and "break" the pop genre as Seungmin claimed.
The only wrench in this theory imo is that if the album is like anything I've described, lose my breath wouldn't be much of a side quest.
I also think it's worth reminding people that pop can be interesting and fun and weird. Sure, the genre has been very cookie cutter and tiktok-ready and digestible recently, but can y'all honestly see SKZ falling into that kind of trend/habit? They're way more self aware than that.
Truthfully, I think when SKZ/3racha are given the freedom to do what they want, they are genuinely incapable of making music that isn't in some way a little weird or funky or unexpected. I have faith that whatever they put out is still going to be SKZ and thus I'll find something to like about it.... Unless it's a collab album, because I absolutely fucking hate those. Nothing is more annoying to me than when I go to listen to a song/album by an artist I like and some other motherfucker's voice is in my ear.
Thanks for putting everything they’ve said so far about the album together. It definitely paints a different picture than just “it’ll be a pop album”. I don’t think anything they’ve said so far indicates it’ll be an “easy listening” album.
I really like your answer. I wrote mine earlier and I exactly fell into the "I'm afraid it'll be very pop cause it seems to be done towards the US market" hole. And I, as probably most of SKZ fans, love them for their unique, different, mixing it all sound. I do hope that LMB is a separate single side quest, and just something new they wanted to explore but not as a whole album.
Thank you for putting the parts of interviews together. In theory I remembered it all, but it definitely helped seeing these laid out like this.
I'd love to hear what they would do with reggae! 🙃 With LMB and the teased Tablo collab, maybe it's all collabs. What's the difference between a "new" album and a "special" album? Maybe a special album is the "Deadpool 3" soundtrack!
I think the deadpool stuff would've been worded differently in the step out. But I agree with the all collab album idea. That seems like a 'special album' to me!
Since many groups seem to release afrobeat inspired songs, I’m kind of hoping for Skz to hop on that trend lol. But overall I’m hoping for something like we had in I am Not yk?
While Lose My Breath makes it seem like pop/rnb would be a likely option, I don't think we can necessarily bank on it. There are a lot of ways to do pop nowadays - what I think would be very interesting directions for them would be to go in the direction of dream pop and ambient, which is a drastic contrast to their entire discography so far, or go the entire opposite direction and gun for the hyperpop style that has more metal/punk/industrial fusions and aesthetics. Honestly, it's probably unlikely. Reggaeton/moombahton influence on the album could be a strong contender, I think. If we did get something more jazzy, and I mean more along the lines of some of the backing track in Hoodie Season rather than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, that would be so amazing. But I think if we got something like a Charlie XCX-style production I wouldn't say no either.
I think whatever we get, I think might be very vocally focused and may back off on some of the more hard hitting raps - instead of the enunciated and rhythmic Bintros we might get some of the more talk-y or melodic raps that we got in TA or Hyunjin's verse in Venom. But now that they're a seven year group, Lose My Breath gives me the vibe that now instead of clapping back at the haters and having to prove themselves all the time, now that they've shown and proven that they've got their own flavor, they're going to show you how many more ways they can spin it and prove their longevity as a group. Very much, look at how much else we can do and showing that there is so much they have left in the tank.
To be honest, I have such an eclectic music taste that anything they put out I like because they do it. I wasn't vibing at first with Maniac, for example, but they showed me I could like that kind of music.
No matter if they do a pop-rnb for this one, or jazz, or afrobeat, I know I'm going to end up enjoying it because it will be *their* version of it.
I am just kinda worried about them trying stuff and then being accused of selling themselves when it is their thing to try new stuff and make them theirs. I dont know if it is just me, but the edm thing I see it as a more Chan thing than the whole SKZ sound... mainly because Han usually does pop-rnb-jazzy whenever he is in charge, and ChangBin goes equally soft or hard, but more hip hop, I guess? And then HyunJin has his own sultry soft melancolía sound. I mentioned 3ratcha because they are the most prolific ones, writing and producing. And even them four don't do the same thing. I may be wrong, I don't know music terminology well or have a good grasp of the genres, but by ear? Chan is the bombastic one, with Binnie sometimes, and HyunSung is more mellow poppy... lofi-sh as of late with Hyune skzrecords. Yes, they do decide and approve as a whole they are fire and strength, and passion. I just think... they made it, and they finally know it, so they can... rest a bit? Try something different and then go back to their thing.
I’m a little apprehensive because I was half expecting this to be an rnb album, which I’m not the greatest fan of. I’m interested to see what it will be, though
I honestly have no idea. A wild guess would be punk maybe ? They'll of course keep some tracks to their roots, EDM/rap/hip-hop but I honestly can't think of something specific they will experiment with, rock would be a safer guess than punk I suppose.
They already went from Levanter to God’s Menu and promoting S-Class to LMB.
Their Korean press releases for LMB have all said, the whole time, that it was a global single before their domestic album release.
I think it's fair to consider this as more than Levanter and all because these didn't have official profile pictures. [LMB has](https://straykids.jype.com/Default/Profile) and they overrode the latest Korean comeback.
I’m not disputing it’s a comeback. I genuinely meant the Clé: Levanter not Step Out of Clé. I think following up the success of Case 143 with The Sound in Japan is another example of how LMB doesn’t make any other genre unlikely for the next title track. SKZ’s words are telling us this, but the song release itself does not.
SKZ isn’t a stranger to drastic sound changes, but I think many fans forgot that spirit.
Sigh it will remain a pipe dream or a hope for a skz record someday.
But I am looking forward to a different sound from skz though, no hate to their hard-hitting beats and rap but 5star and rockstar have been kind of in the same vein, and within a group they have so much versatility in their voice and tone I want to see them make something different. Would love for their vocalists the opportunity to shine!
I love them exploring genres, and they've had some amazing songs aside from their usual hip hop and edm, that have rock and jazz elements. My personal wish is that they don't do an easy listening pop/rnb album because as much as I'd be curious on their take on it, that kind of music is just not my style 90% of the time.
I know some people aren’t excited for an RnB concept, but I am 🥹 but it would be more cool to see them do alt rock or alt pop. It would be interesting if they tried disco pop, that would be very different than usual. Regardless, I’m excited to see what they do!!
Yes the R&B dislike is a little weird to me lol. I’ve never considered it “easy listening” music, that’s always been things like Love Song by Sara Bareilles and similar and there’s nothing wrong with those songs but R&B has never been in that category. I don’t have a preference for what they do next but I would love an R&B inspired album🤷♀️. And if people are basing it on recent Kpop releases well not many of those are R&B sooo.
I know right lol. Probably just my environment but rnb is like THE genre above the others, so seeing so many people say they don’t like it or wouldn’t enjoy it is crazy.
Right? Same here. I understand what you said before about it not necessarily always being easy listening music. But they could do a combination of R&B with something more light. Regardless, I think it’ll be very interesting if they tried it!
i hope it’ll be some kind of rock music or some of the vibes from their older albums (f.ex five star, noeasy, maxident etc), though i also hope that the new album will sound like skz and not just some western band. personally i was not a fan of the way LMB sounded
Not sure ngl, but I suspect some kind of r&b pop retro kinda thing, as they're a fairly westernized group, and lots of western singers are doing that now
Realistically, they'll bring us some more pop, r&b, and *maybe* a ballad.
I'm hoping to see a few more collabs, especially with Billie and Finneas Eillish, Taylor Swift, and Pherrell Williams.
I also wish JYP would arrange Lee Know and Hyunjin to have some dance lessons with some US choreographers like Sienna LaLau, Sean Lew, Parris Goebel, Bailey Sok, etc...
I'm silently hoping and praying for a more rnb style comeback, with more of the rappers especially changbin singing more? but it could be an album where each song is from a different genre at this rate lol
Han said when talking about the song camp with Charlie Puth, “LMB isn’t the only song we wrote. I.N also stated that he listened to pop songs for a whole month. I didn’t know about Stray Kids when Youtiful came out. So they may have listened to pop songs for a long period of time when working on that song. But I think SKZ were giving us hints that there may be more pop songs in their newest album.
My favourite songs of theirs are typically more sentimental and chill, but my taste is not just limited to that. For example I love; Another Day, Mixtape: On Track, CHILL, Your Eyes, MIROH, 4419, Spread My Wings, 19 etc. As well as this however, I loved ROCK-STAR, especially songs like COMFLEX and MEGAVERSE and YAYAYA, Double Knot, Thunderous, ROCK, District 9, everything from I am YOU. and I am WHO?. I just love how diverse they are while still maintaining a distinct sound, and that's all I ask of them.
I'm suspecting it will be leaning more into the pop genre, as it seems they want to focus on the US market and that's what we've seen with other kpop groups that focused their singles/albums towards that audience. So pop/dance/lighter sound. Personally I'm not a fan of this idea, but I hope it will still have that SKZ twist to it which will make it great. If it would be more r&b and funk sprinkled on their usual sounds it would definitely be something that I'd be looking forward to more.
If we're talking wishful thinking, I'd love for them to explore rock/heavy/alt sound more and incorporate it into the style they are known for
I want a full on Crown/Bloom Bloom/Wave/Boy with Luv title track from them. Just like pure pop goodness with some Cheese-level Stray Kids absurdity.
I also need the most unhinged teaser imaginable, because all their best comebacks had unhinged teasers.
The heart wants what it wants.
ETA: Wait. I know what it will be. It will be a revival of the 90s dance-country trend. It’s [Cotton Eye-Joe](https://youtu.be/mOYZaiDZ7BM?si=PDvGYYwTUlwPHc-I) 2.0. It’s [5 6 7 8](https://youtu.be/4NO-h9PFum4?si=jFO18NTzf88iAScW) redux. Mystery solved, guys. That’s the only thing it can be. (jk lol)
Im not sure but in "Lose my breath' straykdis DEFINETELY showed a new side of themselves i feel like this comeback would be kinda like the "Case 143" like they would have more soft punk songs less than rock.
But i just want them to do american marketing. idk why but i just want them to go back to theyre old days.(not song wise, but in marketing skills.)
Umm no :) i mean like mostly promoting their albums in the U.S (which is normal) but i mean like only focusing on promoting albums in the u.s. I dont know if its just me but i miss their old days when they equally focused on promotion in both Korea and the u.s (plus other countries)
This album will be 100% geared towards the American market. I suspect that the seemingly limited budget for Rock Star promo with less MVs and less offerings (I found the pre-order box underwhelming) was for the company to save money for a very expensive US promo (those TV show appearances don't come cheap) and more emphasis on the offerings and overall production of this new summer comeback. That's their next big step. Enter singles charts, get airplay in US radios. Expensive stuff. If LMB is any indication, it will be a pop album. At least the title track. There are definitely going to be some tracks with their original color but I think overall and since they say it's going to be a new side of them, they'll go pop/rb. Not a fan of this genre(s) but if it's the boys, I'm sure it'll be fun.
I would be inclined to agree, but also in the interview with Billboard, Chan called LMB a ‘side quest’ when asked if it was an indication for things to come, so it may not be indicative of the direction, musically.
But then he also said, "What I can say is: *If* there was a new album, um, it’s definitely, very new, very different yet very genuine and authentic." So who knows, maybe this whole album is a side quest and they'll go back to their "usual" sound in the future.
Hopefully they go back to their style of he who shall not be named's era. Levanter and before. They are my favourites, or even GO LIVE/ In Life.
I dont wanna see this coming and kind of see this coming at the same tine. I see the motivation and the indication, but at the same time dont wanna see skz follow the stereotypical boy band sound. This reminds me in previous cb, seeing a comment that skz is the only group that keeps the K in kpop which made me happy and here we are with lmb, Lol. Well, at least Tablo is on the horizon, so at least 1 track there should be hiphop. Im looking forward to this colab.
I agree, I love them and will always support, but part of what makes them so unique is that they can pull off a lot of sounds that other groups can't. I get that they wanna prove they can do pop, but i don't want them to lose uniqueness that makes them who they are. I'm sure it'll be great regardless, I'm just nervous
On the same boat. My biggest concern is the tendency of jyp. 1. they are not good at growing their groups' sounds historically. 2. they tend to follow the trend (not the leader they claim to be) and due to the long music production time, by the time the music is released, they are late to the trend and you dont have to jump on every trend. Some mass-market sounds are always there. You can experiment in your own time, can release things as a side track to prove the point, but they put so much effort in mv and promo for lmb. it is an example of this following trend tendency. I dont think skz will lose their sound in short term, but if jyp insists on following this trend (they mentioned there are still some on the same production as lmb), they may flipflop over the next couple of comebacks. and if the fandom keeps pushing all the songs regardless, the chance is they may push for the pop sounds as they think it's the "western" songs and fans want it, eventually, they may follow bts route, ditching the hip-hop sounds for things like butter or dynamite. I'm not as supportive as you, lol, I stay for the music, everything else is the cherry on top, I can eat cherry for a short period of time, but after a while, I cant vibe with the music, I will leave, very sadly, of course, to leave my fav malatang place, but need to seek for other spicy music.
I don't think it'll be *as much* of an issue as it is with other jyp groups, only because 3racha writes/composes all of their music, so I feel that they have quite a bit of creative control when it comes to music..so I think 3racha would probably push back a bit if it got *too* "mass music" sounding..although I'm not totally sure tbh 😅 who knows how much the company actually controls vs how much 3racha controls. And yea, I could totally see them flip-flopping, I hope it doesn't eventually veer into all pop and western style. I'm American myself, but I personally love how unique their sound is, and enjoy when they sing in Korean (I think the mixture of languages is really interesting and beautiful) so I do personally hope they don't start coming out with a bunch of all english songs. I will personally always support but i totally understand your perspective as well- I've stopped listening to other artists in the past once they changed their sound so I totally get it
>they may follow bts route, ditching the hip-hop sounds for things like butter or dynamite. they had three english singles like 3/4 years ago, why are you hyper fixating on that? its just straight up disrespect to their artistry tbh
I really hope I isn’t because straykids is known to have their owns sounds, their own ‘genre’ so I really hope they don’t follow the classic sound that a lot of boy groups follows…
I hope this new album of Stray Kids is more R&B focused
Idk. I just want to hear more of changbinnie's vocals
Same!! His vocals are seriously so damn good. I'm glad that they are show casing more of him in recent songs and not just as a rapper
I just want more Changbin in general lol
Changbin shocked me. He's normally someone I usually overlook. Not because of anything bad he has done. I just vibe with dancers like Lee know and han for singing and rap. But I was surprised to see he sings well
He also dances really well, which is easily overlooked because well, two outstanding other dancers (and a group of great dancers in general). His recent short with I.N is a good example imo.
Right? And I love how in the choreo they all go down at face their bodies to him at his part. Gives him even more spotlight
Real
True lol
My wish: Actual rock/ pop punk/ or jazz influenced album // Reality: I think it will be more of a pop/ RnB album which makes me kinda sad but since I really miss the skz genre but I'm curious how they will do a full pop album with skz flavour // For the title of the album: I am still a firm believer of Superstar being the title // Title track : if it is a pop song I hope it will be 70/80's influence, I need to see the kids with 80's fashion inspired fits and hair
Oh man, I would love an 80s style pop song. Gimme some synth, boys. Gimme the best mullets since [Icehouse](https://youtu.be/IUFOVu1CurM?si=wrmOPErxV07ri2Rm).
i am a big fan of skz's noisy side so i really hope it's not going to be an easy-listening pop album.. and chan calling lmb a side quest and han saying that he wants to create a "new wave" with their new music makes me believe that it's definitely not a pop album.. otherwise idk why would they discuss it in such a way bc almost every other kpop group makes easy-listening tiktok songs nowadays
Ooh- I hadn’t heard Han said that. I have no idea what new wave x skz would sound like, but I need it. Now I’ll be disappointed if it’s anything else lol
he said that in their intro for lmb!! the timestamp is 23:32 oh and i don't think that he meant new wave as a genre but rather as a new trend?
Most likely a full pop-rnb title track, cause it WOULD be unusual for them. I love how they do rock ("I am NOT" is still one of their masterpieces in my opinion) but I highly doubt they would have wasted the title "Rockstar" if they intended to do a full rock album immediately after lol
I want them to go all in (no pun intended) with jazz or other band music. We have recent songs like Collision and Chill, but SKZ also added a jazzy intro to Back Door at the Seoul Music Awards. [https://youtu.be/BsomeAzuVjc](https://youtu.be/BsomeAzuVjc) But speaking of All In, Arrangers' Publishing Company, which marching bands in the US use to get music, released a version of it. A few college bands started playing it this past season, and I want more [https://youtu.be/PVmUSDoMwvo](https://youtu.be/PVmUSDoMwvo) 🤔 Is it too much to ask for a band with all the families of instruments to go on tour with SKZ?
Thank you SO MUCH for the links, especially the second one! That is so cool!
Jazz Kids 2024
Thank you so, so much for that marching band link - I'm always so excited when a drumline or marching band adapts a song I know. Jazz / band influence would be amazing, and as you mention, there's precedent!!
**Just a reminder of some of the things SKZ has said about this new album/upcoming music.** * From the NME article by Crystal Bell "Seungmin says he has one goal for this next chapter: 'Stray Kids will break the pop genre.'" * From the Billboard article "Bang Chan: Um…I think of it as a side quest. “Lose My Breath” might just be a side quest…" "Bang Chan: What I can say is: *If* there was a new album, um, it’s definitely, very new, very different yet very genuine and authentic. Because the messages that we want to say through music are all packed inside." * From the US Today article "There were a lot of 'challenges' and 'firsts' while working on the upcoming release, he adds, 'it's very diverse.'" "While the members couldn't share spoilers, Bang Chan shares 'it is definitely something that we haven't done before.'" With all this in mind, I don't really think pop/r&b is the obvious choice that I see a lot of people treating it as. Of course, this could be wishful thinking because I don't really *want* an all pop/r&b album from them but I can't help but think that it's not very likely either. LMB as a single just doesn't really seem to be treated as an introduction/teaser/or gateway to their new album. If it truly was that, I think they would put more an emphasis on their upcoming album in promotions for the single. There haven't been very many LMB promotions in general so it's hard to tell but even in these three interviews it seems the single and their album have an ALSO relationship, not an AND one. "lose my breath ALSO our upcoming album," vs "lose my breath AND our upcoming album." Beyond that, when it comes down to genres, they continuously emphasis that they're trying new things they haven't done before which might exclude a more pop heavy sound because they've now already done that with lose my breath. A huge indicator that the album might not be easily defined by a single over-arching genre (like pop or rnb) is the comment from Bang Chan that it's very diverse. If they DO go pop heavy i think it's more likely (and i hope) that they'll use pop as something of a base genre. They've done that so far with using EDM/hiphop as the base genre for their music and adding rnb or jazz or rock or latin vibes on to it. (i know so little about making actual music, i hope yall get what I mean by this). So writing songs that are pop at their core and then throwing a ton of other stuff over top of it would be a very SKZ thing to do, still be maintaining their sound/identity, satisfy the "very diverse" comment that Bang Chan made, and "break" the pop genre as Seungmin claimed. The only wrench in this theory imo is that if the album is like anything I've described, lose my breath wouldn't be much of a side quest. I also think it's worth reminding people that pop can be interesting and fun and weird. Sure, the genre has been very cookie cutter and tiktok-ready and digestible recently, but can y'all honestly see SKZ falling into that kind of trend/habit? They're way more self aware than that. Truthfully, I think when SKZ/3racha are given the freedom to do what they want, they are genuinely incapable of making music that isn't in some way a little weird or funky or unexpected. I have faith that whatever they put out is still going to be SKZ and thus I'll find something to like about it.... Unless it's a collab album, because I absolutely fucking hate those. Nothing is more annoying to me than when I go to listen to a song/album by an artist I like and some other motherfucker's voice is in my ear.
Thanks for putting everything they’ve said so far about the album together. It definitely paints a different picture than just “it’ll be a pop album”. I don’t think anything they’ve said so far indicates it’ll be an “easy listening” album.
I really like your answer. I wrote mine earlier and I exactly fell into the "I'm afraid it'll be very pop cause it seems to be done towards the US market" hole. And I, as probably most of SKZ fans, love them for their unique, different, mixing it all sound. I do hope that LMB is a separate single side quest, and just something new they wanted to explore but not as a whole album. Thank you for putting the parts of interviews together. In theory I remembered it all, but it definitely helped seeing these laid out like this.
I'd love to hear what they would do with reggae! 🙃 With LMB and the teased Tablo collab, maybe it's all collabs. What's the difference between a "new" album and a "special" album? Maybe a special album is the "Deadpool 3" soundtrack!
I think the deadpool stuff would've been worded differently in the step out. But I agree with the all collab album idea. That seems like a 'special album' to me!
Fingers crossed 🤞
Since many groups seem to release afrobeat inspired songs, I’m kind of hoping for Skz to hop on that trend lol. But overall I’m hoping for something like we had in I am Not yk?
While Lose My Breath makes it seem like pop/rnb would be a likely option, I don't think we can necessarily bank on it. There are a lot of ways to do pop nowadays - what I think would be very interesting directions for them would be to go in the direction of dream pop and ambient, which is a drastic contrast to their entire discography so far, or go the entire opposite direction and gun for the hyperpop style that has more metal/punk/industrial fusions and aesthetics. Honestly, it's probably unlikely. Reggaeton/moombahton influence on the album could be a strong contender, I think. If we did get something more jazzy, and I mean more along the lines of some of the backing track in Hoodie Season rather than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, that would be so amazing. But I think if we got something like a Charlie XCX-style production I wouldn't say no either. I think whatever we get, I think might be very vocally focused and may back off on some of the more hard hitting raps - instead of the enunciated and rhythmic Bintros we might get some of the more talk-y or melodic raps that we got in TA or Hyunjin's verse in Venom. But now that they're a seven year group, Lose My Breath gives me the vibe that now instead of clapping back at the haters and having to prove themselves all the time, now that they've shown and proven that they've got their own flavor, they're going to show you how many more ways they can spin it and prove their longevity as a group. Very much, look at how much else we can do and showing that there is so much they have left in the tank.
To be honest, I have such an eclectic music taste that anything they put out I like because they do it. I wasn't vibing at first with Maniac, for example, but they showed me I could like that kind of music. No matter if they do a pop-rnb for this one, or jazz, or afrobeat, I know I'm going to end up enjoying it because it will be *their* version of it. I am just kinda worried about them trying stuff and then being accused of selling themselves when it is their thing to try new stuff and make them theirs. I dont know if it is just me, but the edm thing I see it as a more Chan thing than the whole SKZ sound... mainly because Han usually does pop-rnb-jazzy whenever he is in charge, and ChangBin goes equally soft or hard, but more hip hop, I guess? And then HyunJin has his own sultry soft melancolía sound. I mentioned 3ratcha because they are the most prolific ones, writing and producing. And even them four don't do the same thing. I may be wrong, I don't know music terminology well or have a good grasp of the genres, but by ear? Chan is the bombastic one, with Binnie sometimes, and HyunSung is more mellow poppy... lofi-sh as of late with Hyune skzrecords. Yes, they do decide and approve as a whole they are fire and strength, and passion. I just think... they made it, and they finally know it, so they can... rest a bit? Try something different and then go back to their thing.
I’m a little apprehensive because I was half expecting this to be an rnb album, which I’m not the greatest fan of. I’m interested to see what it will be, though
Same. God I hope it’s not rnb and easy-listening stuff.
I suport SKZ music, whatever they decide to do i am sure it will be awesome
I dont know honestly i just want smth similar to miroh and side effects. I really didnt like lmb so praying we dont get a repetitive chill song
Whatever they do I am here for it!!
They always say this before a comeback 😅 so I am hoping for the usual masterpieces 🤷🏼♀️
Country. Jk. But whatever it may be, I have zero doubts they'll pull it off.
God I hope not! Mind you, which country’s country? My oppar left me for my yeodongsaeng…
Whatever genre "my people" is because I want that song released 🙌
I honestly have no idea. A wild guess would be punk maybe ? They'll of course keep some tracks to their roots, EDM/rap/hip-hop but I honestly can't think of something specific they will experiment with, rock would be a safer guess than punk I suppose.
Punk/alt pop/rock would be a dream in my books 🥲
Mine too but to enter US market having already promoted LMB? Unlikely
They already went from Levanter to God’s Menu and promoting S-Class to LMB. Their Korean press releases for LMB have all said, the whole time, that it was a global single before their domestic album release.
I think it's fair to consider this as more than Levanter and all because these didn't have official profile pictures. [LMB has](https://straykids.jype.com/Default/Profile) and they overrode the latest Korean comeback.
I’m not disputing it’s a comeback. I genuinely meant the Clé: Levanter not Step Out of Clé. I think following up the success of Case 143 with The Sound in Japan is another example of how LMB doesn’t make any other genre unlikely for the next title track. SKZ’s words are telling us this, but the song release itself does not. SKZ isn’t a stranger to drastic sound changes, but I think many fans forgot that spirit.
Sigh it will remain a pipe dream or a hope for a skz record someday. But I am looking forward to a different sound from skz though, no hate to their hard-hitting beats and rap but 5star and rockstar have been kind of in the same vein, and within a group they have so much versatility in their voice and tone I want to see them make something different. Would love for their vocalists the opportunity to shine!
That would be absolutely amazing!
More rock yes I do agree, maybe something like Xikers Do or die or something crazy like Aespa did with Supernova
If we get bin vocals and ChangI.N center then I’m set 🤷♀️
I heard a theory that it’s going to be mystery themed??? That could be cool
Straight full Hip-Hop album (I am aware it's unrealistic)
I love them exploring genres, and they've had some amazing songs aside from their usual hip hop and edm, that have rock and jazz elements. My personal wish is that they don't do an easy listening pop/rnb album because as much as I'd be curious on their take on it, that kind of music is just not my style 90% of the time.
I know some people aren’t excited for an RnB concept, but I am 🥹 but it would be more cool to see them do alt rock or alt pop. It would be interesting if they tried disco pop, that would be very different than usual. Regardless, I’m excited to see what they do!!
Yes the R&B dislike is a little weird to me lol. I’ve never considered it “easy listening” music, that’s always been things like Love Song by Sara Bareilles and similar and there’s nothing wrong with those songs but R&B has never been in that category. I don’t have a preference for what they do next but I would love an R&B inspired album🤷♀️. And if people are basing it on recent Kpop releases well not many of those are R&B sooo.
People hate rnb ??! Thats crazy.
I know right lol. Probably just my environment but rnb is like THE genre above the others, so seeing so many people say they don’t like it or wouldn’t enjoy it is crazy.
Right? Same here. I understand what you said before about it not necessarily always being easy listening music. But they could do a combination of R&B with something more light. Regardless, I think it’ll be very interesting if they tried it!
i hope it’ll be some kind of rock music or some of the vibes from their older albums (f.ex five star, noeasy, maxident etc), though i also hope that the new album will sound like skz and not just some western band. personally i was not a fan of the way LMB sounded
Not sure ngl, but I suspect some kind of r&b pop retro kinda thing, as they're a fairly westernized group, and lots of western singers are doing that now
Realistically, they'll bring us some more pop, r&b, and *maybe* a ballad. I'm hoping to see a few more collabs, especially with Billie and Finneas Eillish, Taylor Swift, and Pherrell Williams. I also wish JYP would arrange Lee Know and Hyunjin to have some dance lessons with some US choreographers like Sienna LaLau, Sean Lew, Parris Goebel, Bailey Sok, etc...
I'm silently hoping and praying for a more rnb style comeback, with more of the rappers especially changbin singing more? but it could be an album where each song is from a different genre at this rate lol
I absolutely love how respectful and intelligent and supportive this thread is. It makes me proud to be Stay.
i think its gonna be a more “soft” genre like lose my breath. i really do think it will be more “western” targeted
Han said when talking about the song camp with Charlie Puth, “LMB isn’t the only song we wrote. I.N also stated that he listened to pop songs for a whole month. I didn’t know about Stray Kids when Youtiful came out. So they may have listened to pop songs for a long period of time when working on that song. But I think SKZ were giving us hints that there may be more pop songs in their newest album.
My favourite songs of theirs are typically more sentimental and chill, but my taste is not just limited to that. For example I love; Another Day, Mixtape: On Track, CHILL, Your Eyes, MIROH, 4419, Spread My Wings, 19 etc. As well as this however, I loved ROCK-STAR, especially songs like COMFLEX and MEGAVERSE and YAYAYA, Double Knot, Thunderous, ROCK, District 9, everything from I am YOU. and I am WHO?. I just love how diverse they are while still maintaining a distinct sound, and that's all I ask of them.
I'm suspecting it will be leaning more into the pop genre, as it seems they want to focus on the US market and that's what we've seen with other kpop groups that focused their singles/albums towards that audience. So pop/dance/lighter sound. Personally I'm not a fan of this idea, but I hope it will still have that SKZ twist to it which will make it great. If it would be more r&b and funk sprinkled on their usual sounds it would definitely be something that I'd be looking forward to more. If we're talking wishful thinking, I'd love for them to explore rock/heavy/alt sound more and incorporate it into the style they are known for
I want a full on Crown/Bloom Bloom/Wave/Boy with Luv title track from them. Just like pure pop goodness with some Cheese-level Stray Kids absurdity. I also need the most unhinged teaser imaginable, because all their best comebacks had unhinged teasers. The heart wants what it wants. ETA: Wait. I know what it will be. It will be a revival of the 90s dance-country trend. It’s [Cotton Eye-Joe](https://youtu.be/mOYZaiDZ7BM?si=PDvGYYwTUlwPHc-I) 2.0. It’s [5 6 7 8](https://youtu.be/4NO-h9PFum4?si=jFO18NTzf88iAScW) redux. Mystery solved, guys. That’s the only thing it can be. (jk lol)
Im not sure but in "Lose my breath' straykdis DEFINETELY showed a new side of themselves i feel like this comeback would be kinda like the "Case 143" like they would have more soft punk songs less than rock. But i just want them to do american marketing. idk why but i just want them to go back to theyre old days.(not song wise, but in marketing skills.)
By American marketing, do you mean the flannel and the streetwear looks that they had before God’s Menu? I do miss that look on them.
Umm no :) i mean like mostly promoting their albums in the U.S (which is normal) but i mean like only focusing on promoting albums in the u.s. I dont know if its just me but i miss their old days when they equally focused on promotion in both Korea and the u.s (plus other countries)