In leaps and bounds, Stray Kids conquers all grounds [GOLDEN 2023]

The Korea JoongAng Daily will choose 15 top K-pop acts and look back to their golden 2023 and a possible Golden Disc nomination. Up next is Stray Kids, one of the fastest-growing boy bands in K-pop, whose global influence grows by the day.

Boy band Stray Kids [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]

Nicknamed the “Korean Grammys,” the 38th Golden Disc Awards will take place on Jan. 6 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to honor the passion and talent that shone bright in the world of K-pop during the year of 2023.Organized by the JoongAng Group, the Golden Disc Awards is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korea with its unique format where dozens of nominees and multiple winners are chosen for three main categories — music, album and rookie of the year.In this series, Golden 2023, the Korea JoongAng Daily’s entertainment arm Celeb Confirmed looks at K-pop’s biggest and brightest stars who are potential nominees, and their achievements this year.

In leaps and bounds, boy band Stray Kids’ growth has been truly one of the most remarkable sights to see in K-pop in recent years — especially in terms of its influence around the globe.

Stray Kids is one of the best-selling bands in K-pop that sold 4 million copies of its album within just a week of release, but what makes its feat even more noteworthy is that the band only debuted in 2018 and only celebrated its fifth anniversary of debut last March.

Giving it the mega boost to stardom was the international makeup of its fandom, named Stay, which had been credited as the No. 1 contributor to the band’s rapid rise to the top of the charts and into people’s hearts.

This year, the band released two albums: its third full-length album “5-STAR” and its eighth EP “Rock-Star” both of which embody the band’s iconic energy and upbeat vibe but with a unique touch that brings life to each new music. “5-STAR” sold a jaw-dropping 4.6 million copies of its album within the first week of release, the highest figure back then.

The band is set to perform at the upcoming Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) on Sunday as the second-ever K-pop boy band to do so.

Read the full story here at Celeb Confirmed

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]