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Stray Kids for Beginners: Eight Members, Their Own Musical Path and Where to Start

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  • Category: Starter guide
  • Artist: Stray Kids

KPOP NO1 Editorial · Sources checked November 4, 2026

The opening question is already in the album title: I am NOT. Before you learn every member's name, Stray Kids gives you a way into its story through a refusal to accept a ready-made identity. Years later, THIS & THAT replaces an either-or choice with the possibility of taking both. Between those titles is a catalog that JYP describes through the group's determination to find its own path.

Stray Kids is a JYP Entertainment group with eight members on its current official profile. Its music credits, individual projects and differently named release series can look like a lot to untangle. This guide connects them through a small set of official albums and videos, so you can find a first favorite without treating the catalog as homework.

What does Stray Kids mean, and who is STAY?

JYP's introduction to THIS & THAT explains the group name through the idea of finding and following one's own way. It also identifies the internal production team 3RACHA as central to the group's album-making. That makes creative involvement part of the official account of Stray Kids, rather than a nickname attached afterward. JYP's THIS & THAT introduction

The name you will see for the fans is STAY. JYP's 2026 anniversary-single page explicitly uses that fandom name, linking the group and its supporters through an ongoing relationship. You do not need a paid membership to begin exploring public videos; official notices are the place to check if you later become interested in fan events.

There are also two useful dates to keep separate. JYP celebrated the group's eighth debut anniversary on March 25, 2026. Its debut-album entry dates I am NOT to March 26, 2018. The anniversary and album-release date therefore differ by a day. Keeping the event attached to its date is more helpful than trying to make those two official records say exactly the same thing. Official anniversary account

Meet the current eight members

The names, Korean spellings and birthdays below follow JYP's current profile. Each portrait links to a named SKZ-PLAYER upload from the 合 (HOP) campaign on the group's official channel. They are individual songs presented within that project, rather than eight separate group debuts. Official profile

The solo titles offer a practical way to recognize someone before returning to a full-group MV. You might remember a name through a song, then recognize the same performer in a group setting. The relationship goes both ways: a familiar group performance can also send you toward an individual project you have not explored yet.

Avoid reading a permanent job description into every credit or clip. The official profile establishes the roster and birthdays; a particular upload establishes who is featured in that project. Those are useful facts in their own right, without turning one performance into a claim about everything a member can or cannot do.

2017–2018: making the introduction part of the music

JYP's I am NOT page traces the group's public introduction to the 2017 JYP–Mnet reality program Stray Kids. It describes participation in writing, production, concepts and performance during that period, followed by the pre-debut Mixtape release in January 2018. I am NOT then arrived as the debut mini album with District 9 as its title song. Official debut-album account

The agency connects District 9 with building a space of the group's own, outside standardized expectations. The I am NOT track list broadens that identity question across songs such as Mirror, Awaken and 3rd Eye. It also explicitly marks Mixtape#1 as CD-only, a small edition detail worth noticing when track lists do not look identical across formats.

Debut-era documents describe the lineup at that time. The member cards here follow the present official eight-person roster. When you encounter an older video, let its date identify it as part of the archive; it does not replace the current profile.

2020–2022: three different doors into the catalog

GO生, released June 17, 2020, is the first full album. JYP introduces God's Menu as its title track and connects the album to the group's own musical identity. For a newcomer, the full-album format gives you more room to move beyond a single video and see which other songs you want to follow. GO生

Stray Kids "神메뉴(God's Menu)" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

NOEASY, the second full album, followed on August 23, 2021, led by Thunderous. The official album page contains the complete track list and role-labelled credits. Comparing those credits with the debut is one concrete way to follow the group's creative involvement over time, rather than relying on a broad label alone. NOEASY

Stray Kids "소리꾼(Thunderous)" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

Next comes ODDINARY, a mini album dated March 18, 2022, with MANIAC as its title song. JYP's description again places member participation across the album's work at the center. The change from a full album to a mini album is a format change, not a reset of the group's history. ODDINARY

Stray Kids "MANIAC" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

Our take: If one of these videos brought you here, hear the release around that song before trying to jump through every year. You will get a more personal answer to “Where should I begin?” by noticing which neighboring track you return to than by accepting a universal ranking.

HOP and KARMA: group songs beside individual work

JYP dates 合 (HOP) to December 13, 2024 and labels the project SKZHOP HIPTAPE. Its track list contains Walkin On Water as well as the individual songs used in the member cards above. The shared release is the connection between those solo videos and the full group's campaign. Official HOP entry

Stray Kids "Walkin On Water" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

That connection is especially useful if a SKZ-PLAYER upload was your first encounter with Stray Kids. You can enjoy the individual song, identify its album context, and then explore the group title track. You do not have to choose between following a member's work and following the collective.

KARMA, the fourth full album, arrived on August 22, 2025, with CEREMONY as its title track. Use JYP's own release classification when moving between full albums, mini albums, mixtapes and other named projects: a creative series name does not automatically tell you the commercial release type. KARMA

Stray Kids "CEREMONY" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

2026: THIS & THAT, an anniversary letter and a September single

THIS & THAT was released on August 7, 2026 with eight tracks. JYP introduces a hip-hop-based title song and an attitude of making choices freely. The listed songs also include RUN IT, After You, FARMING, I Do, Way Out, 그날 and a Festival Version of the title track. Official album and credits

Stray Kids "This & That" M/V

Official video · JYP Entertainment / YouTube

Watch the original on YouTube ↗

The year's catalog is not limited to that album. 별, 빛 (STAY), released on March 25, marks the debut anniversary, with HAN and SEUNGMIN in the lyric and composition credits. In the later 11월 11일 entry, JYP describes a Pepero collaboration single released September 10, 2026. Its title refers to November 11, but that is not its release date. Anniversary single · September collaboration

Those entries make a helpful final lesson for a beginner: a song title, an anniversary and a release date can point to different things. Follow the official entry's date and format, then decide whether you want the group's larger album campaign, an individual project or a song addressed to STAY.

Your first listening route

For the identity story, pair District 9 with This & That and use one intervening album as a bridge. For the member route, open one of the SKZ-PLAYER cards, then Walkin On Water. For an album session, choose GO生, NOEASY or ODDINARY according to the title song that already interests you.

These routes are suggestions, not a test of fandom knowledge. You can change direction when a new track catches your attention. The useful next step is simply to keep the song attached to its release and the performer attached to their name.

Open the companion video card ↓

Selected releases at a glance

Date / period Release Format / place in the route
2018-03-26 I am NOT Debut mini album
2020-06-17 GO生 First full album
2021-08-23 NOEASY Second full album
2022-03-18 ODDINARY Mini album
2024-12-13 合 (HOP) SKZHOP HIPTAPE
2025-08-22 KARMA Fourth full album
2026-03-25 별, 빛 (STAY) Anniversary digital single
2026-08-07 THIS & THAT Eight-track album
2026-09-10 11월 11일 Collaboration digital single

Official videos by chapter

Official upload Channel Format
Stray Kids "District 9" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "神메뉴(God's Menu)" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "소리꾼(Thunderous)" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "MANIAC" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "Walkin On Water" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "CEREMONY" M/V JYP Entertainment MV
Stray Kids "This & That" M/V JYP Entertainment MV

Where to go next

Sources