Stray Kids, Episode 7: it ain’t live, it’s holding on

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(Written May 13, 2025)

We’re in the middle of the Stray Kids vs. YG trainees battle, so just one quick housekeeping note:  Boys Planet 2 will air in July on Viki.  The K Group series will premiere on July 17, and the C Group on July 18.  Mark whatever you use for a calendar.  Housekeeping done.  Back to the battle!

We left off with Woojin, Bang Chan, and Han about to perform their arrangement of the Blackpink song “As If It’s Your Last.”  Let’s do this.

Good Lord, Woojin can sing.  The overall performance is powerful and stunning, but Woojin’s voice steals the show.  JYP and CEO Yang both give them high praise.  CEO Yang even refrains from saying anything weird.  Well done!

Next up, the YG vocal team.  We heard Bang Yedam last time.  Now he’s part of a five-member vocal team that surprisingly does not include Doyoung.  CEO Yang, a man with no filter, cheerfully tells JYP that he was in a rush when preparing for this battle and just threw this team together.  “Their teamwork may not match, or they’ll make mistakes,” he says casually. 

I keep waiting for the “but…”  There is none.  Here’s our team, I threw them together in a rush, they might suck, enjoy.  It should not surprise you to learn that as of this writing, Yang Hyun-suk is no longer the CEO of YG Entertainment. 

The YG team will perform “Why So Lonely” by JYP group The Wonder Girls.

I’m not a fan of reggae, but I will say the singing here is heavenly.  Bang Yedam hits some high notes to swoon for, and Raesung kills it on the rap part.  JYP gives high praise to Seunghoon.  Knowing what Seunghoon will go through on YG Treasure Box, I know how starved he is for compliments.  I’m glad he’s getting some positive attention here.

Now for the moment I’ve been waiting for.  The dance battle.  We’re starting with Stray Kids.  They introduce themselves, and CEO Yang has apparently never heard the name “Felix” before.  These two have a bit of trouble understanding each other.  Felix, this man has already threatened twice to kill his own trainees.  Just smile and nod and move on.

I’m surprised to learn that Felix has only been in Korea for two months.  He confesses his Korean language skills are still weak.  I wish I knew Korean well enough to understand how he sounds when he speaks it.  Based on the show so far, I thought he was doing fine.  But then again, the show hasn’t really focused on him that much.

So now it’s time to begin, but Bang Chan makes an unusual request to allow his team to warm up for two minutes.  CEO Yang is a bit puzzled but agrees.  Our boys stretch, jump, and do splits, and I think this may be an intimidation tactic.  As in, look what we can do when we haven’t even STARTED yet.

Bang Chan reminds his team to double knot their shoelaces, and finally they all get into formation.  I am officially excited.  Here we go!

It starts witty and fun, with a bouncy tempo.  Then, the vibe changes.

“THIS IS HIP HOP!” yells the voice on the track, and they turn into an aggressive street gang.  The moves are sharp and lightning-fast.  Then – oh my God – they launch into the Kendrick Lamar track “Be Humble.”  They’re moving so fast, it’s hard to get clear screenshots.

This is insanely difficult choreography, and you just have to see it for yourself.  A YouTuber called kssup posted just the performance, and you can view it here.

CEO Yang asks who wrote the choreography.  Bang Chan replies that the whole team did it together.  After confirming the moves were all original and didn’t come from YouTube, the CEO praises them for their teamwork and creativity.  I honestly don’t see how the YG team can beat this.  “The YG team should have gone first,” says CEO Yang.

Our hastily-assembled YG team gets into formation.  Let’s see how they compare to Stray Kids.

They’re good.  Of course, they can’t match the Stray Kids performance, but it’s impressive.  They stay locked in sync, and the routine is high energy.  They really should have gone first.

With the battle over, both teams hug it out.  I guess we’re not getting any final scores or anything.  Both JYP and CEO Yang encourage them to stay friends and keep chasing their dreams, and that’s it for the fourth JYP vs. YG battle.  Kind of anticlimactic, but let’s move on.

We cut to a few days later.  Stray Kids are in a café in Yuk Sam-Dong.  There’s an empty seat at their table, and I’m hoping this means that Lee Know is about to join them.

But no.  The seat is for JYP.  He arrives, and they have brunch.  The food looks amazing, and of course:

This show could have Stray Kids eating at the most expensive Michelin restaurant on Earth, eating off gold plates and using diamond utensils, and they’d still be chugging Sugar-Free Coke directly from the can.

JYP and the boys talk business.  The “Hellevator” music video is getting a lot of views and positive comments.  Then JYP asks to see their progress on an assignment he’d given them off camera.  It’s based on the talk he gave them a couple of episodes ago about honesty, sincerity, and modesty.  The boys had to evaluate themselves on these three characteristics.

This is a nice segment.  The boys read the things they want to improve about themselves.  I get a bit misty-eyed when Woojin reads about trying to be an honest person.  When he eventually winds up leaving Stray Kids, he’s going to have to fight hard against the false accusations made about him online.  He’s going to have to prove himself to be honest, sincere, and modest.  It’s not going to be easy.

Okay.  Now that the nice part is over, time to get back to work.  The next mission is to face the public by doing a busking event.  The boys all look anxious.  In a confessional, Changbin tells us that up until now, they’ve been performing for people they know or through broadcasts.  This will be the first time meeting their audience face to face.

And there’s something else.  They won’t just be playing for the public.  JYP is going to plant other professionals from the company in the audience.  These mystery listeners will be evaluating them.  Depending on the evaluation, someone else in the group might get eliminated. 

I can’t see how they can eliminate another person.  We’ve only got three episodes left after this, and we still have to get Lee Know back.  But STAYs keep telling me we really are going to lose someone else.  I feel like I’m watching a murder mystery and the STAYs don’t want to reveal spoilers.

With the way Bang Chan slumps at this news, I won’t be surprised if he’s the next one out.  He’ll just snap and run screaming out of the restaurant.  There’s only so much one K-pop group leader can handle on no sleep.

We now cut to Hongik University Station, a busy downtown area where all the store signs are blurred out.  (Korean broadcasting laws are very strict.)

Lots of singers and dancers are performing on the street, drawing crowds.  This looks like a fun place to hang out.  Our boys walk along the crowded streets with their selfie sticks, watching the performances and taking notes.

After this field trip, the boys return to the JYP building.  Felix stays up late practicing his Korean rap skills in that DEEP voice of his.  He tells us he’s still at risk of elimination.  We watch him struggle with the language, and I really feel for him.  Back when I started these recaps, I read an online lesson in beginner Korean, figuring I’d learn something simple, like how to say “hello.”  This is the word “hello” in Korean:  annyeonghaseyo.  I know how to pronounce it now, but the first time I saw it, I had no idea where to begin. 

We cut to a practice room, where the whole group has decided to prepare a new song for the busking mission.  It’s called “YAYAYA.”  Felix is worried, not just about the Korean lyrics, but because it’s a style of rap he’s not used to.  I’m getting a sinking feeling.  Is the show telegraphing that he’s going to be eliminated next? 

Later, we watch Felix write some motivational words in Korean text and tape it on a mirror.  He practices for hours.

Meanwhile, Hyunjin and I.N are practicing the choreo in another room.  We’re reminded that I.N is also at risk of being eliminated.  He and Felix are both working themselves past the point of exhaustion, practicing all night.

I don’t have what it takes to do something like this.

Finally, it’s D-Day.  The busking location is Shinchon, a region known for many universities.  College students are the perfect audience for this.  However, unlike the buskers they saw on their field trip, Stray Kids are getting an actual stage built for them with their logo.  And a backstage area.  This isn’t exactly busking.  This is a step up from that.  

The boys put their hands in and do a cheer, and this episode ends as they take the stage.  I notice that Felix isn’t blonde anymore.  Maybe he’s hoping that JYP can’t eliminate him if he can’t recognize him.

Yeah, this definitely isn’t busking.  We’re in for a full-on concert.  I can’t wait!  See you next episode!

Episode 8:  the audience is filled with camera men

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