“Kings”: Stray Kids’ fans applaud as Gen 4 idols hailed “Next Generation Leaders” by TIME magazine 2023

Stray Kids have been hailed as "Next Generation Leaders" by reputed American publication TIME magazine in their latest edition.

The list consists of a compilation of some incredible artists who are lauded as trailblazers and game-changers in their respective areas of work. It includes personalities from politics, business, culture, science, and sports.

Stray Kids have been named as "Next Generation Leaders" in the culture category.

Singapore-based TIME journalist Chad de Guzman penned a paragraph praising the eight-piece group. He also lauded their genre of "noise" music consisting of headbanging anthems, K-Pop, EDM and a blend of eclectic genres of music and how they stood their ground, despite the criticism levied against them.

Mr Guzman complimented the Case 143 singers for embracing their own unique sound and creating a genre of music, now popularly known as "Stray Kids music."

"Yet instead of shifting gears to pander to expectations for Korean boy groups, Stray Kids embraced their distinct sound… Straying from expectations became a recipe for global success.”

A STAY who goes by the username @Dl0RSOO wrote on X,

"Kings!! well deserved."

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Stray Kids’ fans express their immense pride after eight-member group is featured on TIME's coveted list

TIME also added a quote by Changbin, who shared the group's long-term goals and leaving behind a distinct legacy.

“The goal is to continuously pioneer new [musical] subjects and to have our music be recognized as a ‘Stray Kids’ genre.”

For those unversed, Stray Kids was originally composed as a nine-member group. It consisted of Bang Chan (leader), Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, I.N. and Woojin.

Woojin left the group due to personal reasons, undisclosed to fans back in October 2019, and the Thunderous singers are known to be an eight-piece group.

The Oddinary singers are described as a self-producing idol group involved in conceptualizing, writing and producing their own music most of the time. They have released four studio albums, four compilation albums, eleven mini-albums and 29 singles so far.

Interestingly, Stray Kids is a name chosen by the members themselves referring to themselves as lost children who are busy chasing their dreams.

Alternatively, their group name also refers to like-minded individuals who represent the idea of coming together to chase their collective goal. STAYs are proud of the members and have taken to X to lavish praise on the eight-member group being referred to as "Next Generation Leaders."

Here are some of the best reactions from fans:

Over the past couple of years, K-pop has broken the fourth wall and established a new generation of fans worldwide. They have done so through their genre-defying music, incredible performances, fan service penetrating through the tough barriers of language and culture and unifying diverse global audiences.

According to TIME and STAYs, SKZ, as they are known as alternatively, have been pioneers in bringing about this change.

TIME highlighted some of the aforementioned Gen 4 K-pop boy group's achievements. This includes topping the Billboard 200 chart with their sixth EP Oddinary and winning the Best K-Pop award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in September.

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Stray Kids have announced their new album ROCK-STAR to be released on November 10

SKZ have joined the long list of November comebacks by announcing their forthcoming album release ROCK-STAR slated to be released on November 10 at 2 pm KST.

It marks their first release in five months after the release of 5-STAR back in June. The eight-member group released an intriguing prologue teaser hyping fans' expectations for the group's upcoming release.

Additionally, they are nominated in the Best K-pop category at this year's MTV EMAs or European Music Awards. BTS' Jungkook, SEVENTEEN, New Jeans, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and FIFTY FIFTY are the other nominees.

The 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards will take place in Paris, France on November 5. More information regarding the NOEASY singers' comeback will be unveiled soon.