| “ | You make Stray Kids STAY | ” |
STAY is the official fandom name of South Korean boy group Stray Kids.
Background[]
On August 1, 2018, five days ahead of their comeback with I am WHO, a video was uploaded on Stray Kids' YouTube channel announcing the group's fandom name, STAY. The video showed the word "Kids" and the letter "r" from "Stray Kids" vanishing, revealing the group's fandom name to be "STAY".[1]
In March 2019, an official fan club of the same name was founded, with a paid membership to access several online and offline benefits.
STAY 1st and 2nd Anniversaries were celebrated in 2019 and 2020 with the release of "Special Videos". Since 2021, a STAYweeK event takes place every year with the release of bonus content every day from July 26 to August 1.
Meaning[]
"STAY" has two meanings:
- A place where people who are wandering (Stray) can "STAY", as per the will of the group to make reliable music for stray people all around the world
- The reason for the existence of Stray Kids, as the letter "r" removed from "Stray" is interpreted as "reason". The fans are the reason why and where Stray Kids can stay, hence the official slogan: "You make Stray Kids STAY"
Community[]
Official platforms[]
JYP Fan's: the notice board for official news release, with a small space for the group to share messages to fanclub members, although it was barely used. The website was shut down on July 31, 2024 in favor of the new mobile app, FANS.- VLIVE: The broadcast channel, which also featured a community space and staff board for various news. Closed in December 2022.
- bubble for JYPnation: A mobile app launched in 2020 for JYP artists, where Stray Kids can communicate with fans in a one-on-one layout. A community space for STAY fanclub members was added in 2023, where the group can see and answer fan messages directly, but it closed in January 2024 as it was moved to the new app, FANS.
- FANS : a JYP artists-only mobile app launched in January 2024 to replace the previous community spaces for fanclub members, which also serves as the notice board.
VLIVE: The broadcast channel, which also featured a community space and staff board for various news. Closed in December 2022.
Fan platforms[]
- theqoo: the most active Korean community.
- Amino: an active international community.
- Reddit: an active international community.
- Discord: the biggest and most active international community/server.
Fanbases[]
- @stay_support
- @kstayvotingteam
- @StrayKidsGlobal
- @stay_department
- @SKZSupportTeam
- @StayVotingZone
- @StrayKids_C9
- @skzchartdata
- @billboardskz
- @StrayKSubs
Light stick[]
- Main article: Nachimbong
Songs for fans[]
- "You Can STAY" (2019)
- "Haven" (2020)
- "My Universe" (2020)
- "Star Lost" (2021)
- "24 to 25" (2021)
- "#LoveSTAY" (2021)
- "Mixtape : Time Out" (2022)
- "Youtiful" (2023)
- "PARTY'S NOT OVER" (2023)
- "Stray Kids" (2024)
Messages[]
Handwritten messages by the members for the fifth anniversary of the fandom, released for STAYweeK 2023.[2]
Our STAY are five years old….. The same age as me?!?!? Ha ha ha.
STAY can also go around saying, “I’m foive” Ha ha ha.
To me, special days feel precious throughout my entire life, and so August 1st is also a very special day to me.
I won’t ever forget this day! How could I forget It’s a day when some people who are very precious to me and SKZ were born…..
I haven’t lived for that long either so it may be a bit strange for me to say this, but life can be a bit dark at times, you know?
But thank you for shining brighter than any star in such a dark place. :,) Thanks to that, I’m able to shine brighter, and I’ll stay next to our STAY forever, whenever, and anywhere so that our STAY can shine brighter as well! This isn’t just a promise of empty words; I’ll show it to you through my actions, so brace yourselves, ha ha ha. STAY have to be eternal STAY, lifelong STAY as well, okay? Happy birthday again!!!!! Today is a day you should do everything you want, eat everything you want, and get everything you want!!!!!
Just wait a little bit. One day, I’ll make August 1st an international holiday Ha ha ha.
My precious STAY, thank you for being born~~~~~
Hi STAY~ You’re five! At an age when you’re uncontrollable!!
How is your time with us? Is it fun!?
Life can be harsh at times, but I’m hoping that your time with us is fun and special. How is it!!!
As for me, I am quite enjoying it.
Of course, there are times when I get tired and worn out, but it’s still that much fun. And I want to keep doing things with STAY, so I’m living life harder and enjoying it.
Just as I’m living a happy life thanks to STAY, I hope that my existence is something that gives STAY joy during hard times. Is that how it is??
Congrats on turning five! There’s plenty of time to spend together moving forward, so let’s slowly have a good time together!!! Happy birthday.
Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~
Happy birthday dear STAY Happy birthday to you
Our STAY, congratulations on turning five. Or are you four now since we’re going by international age and your birthday’s passed?
Must be nice to still be a baby~ Ha ha
Before becoming a singer, the only occasions I was congratulated for were my birthday, the last day of school(?), and graduation(?). That was about it, but after becoming a member of SKZ, I’ve been congratulated so much :,) This is all thanks to our STAY, you know that right? By taking steps forward with STAY and achieving the goals in front of me, I was able to feel a sense of achievement that’s hard to experience in a lifetime. I think that’s very, very precious and valuable. I hope to keep spending time like this with STAY and SKZ members for a long time.
Let’s keep loving each other deep~ly
Congrats and thank you for becoming STAY, who are fans of the awesome SKZ, five years ago on this day ><
Hi STAY!! Happy birthday!!
It’s already your fifth birthday. STAY are five years old.
We prepared lots of different things to make STAY happy on their birthday this year as well.
I hope STAY like it!
August 1st, which used to be an ordinary day, has become a special day to remember for life thanks to STAY.
We are such blessings to each other, aren’t we?
I didn’t have very many special days in a year, but after STAY came to me, I have so many more! Thank you for continuing to give me reasons to live!
I’m thinking of STAY a lot more often than you think.
I’ll congratulate you next year too! Bye!
STAY, Happy birthday
To STAY who are celebrating their fifth birthday, I hope you spend the day happily and in good health.
The weather is so hot these days. Don’t eat too much ice cream so you don’t get a stomachache, and stay cool with just the right amount of air conditioning so you don’t get sick.
Thank you for always being next to us. STAY’s existence gives me lots of strength, and you help me figure out the direction of what I should do moving forward. Thank you for staying for a long time instead of making our meeting a passing encounter. Happy birthday and thank you for being born. I love you.
Happy birthday
Because you gave us lots of energy and love from the beginning until now, so many days were like gifts. I’m so happy and proud that I was able to spend those days with STAY. Whether far or close, my heart feels warm whenever I see your heartwarming smiles. I get the thought, “Is it okay to receive this much love?” but I feel that I should receive the gift well and return it with twice the amount of hope and love.
Since Stay are Stray Kids’ R = Reason, thank you for giving me reason in life. Love you!
Wow, it’s already your fifth birthday, STAY.
Even before writing this letter, I’ve been singing with a more loving and deeper heart compared to the beginning. I believe the reason I’m able to value and feel grateful about the things I do each day is that STAY are next to me looking over me and cheering me on, liking every small thing I do, and sharing those feelings with me.
I’m able to stay within your radar and be part of all your big and small worlds thanks to something that I’m able to keep doing for a long time, and that helps me live life to the fullest. As I live on diligently until this time and day of the following year, I’ll become a singer and your boy Seungmin who can get a step closer to you! All of you are always in my daily life, so please keep looking over me until you reach me so that I can also stay here in the same place. I’ll do the same. I’ll stand in front of you with a healthy mind, healthy music, and a healthy appearance! Thank you
STAY, you’re now 5 years old! You’re finally the same age as us, and it makes me happy knowing that we’ve been together for a long time.
I believe there have been more better days than bad days when we were with STAY.
Thinking about the days when we laughed and cried of happiness makes me realize how there have been only fun memories made together. You know, this isn’t something that happens easily. I hope that our STAY are also filled with happy memories; of course, I can promise that we will be the ones creating those memories for you ha ha ha.
You know how I told STAY about how you can lean on my shoulders whenever you’re having a hard time? To be honest, I’m not the type to lean on anybody, and I don’t really talk about what’s giving me a hard time. But when I talked about what gave me a hard time during the fanmeeting, I realized that it didn’t make me as uncomfortable as I thought it would. So from now on, I think that I’ll be able to lean on STAY a bit more, and be more open about things. It may take a while to open up 100%..! But I hope our STAY will be understanding…
I truly believe that with our STAY and my brothers, I will be able to sing for a long time. I also hope that our STAY will always be by our side, ha ha ha. I ask for a lot, don’t I? Ha ha ha.. It’s probably because I like STAY so much, and because I want to be with you for a long time. I’ll continue to work harder, so please stay by our side forever as STAY.
Love you, STAY
Videos[]
Special Video for STAY 1
Special Video for STAY 2
Special Video for STAY 3
Special Video for STAY
"Haven" Special Video
SKZ Family
Special Video for STAY
Trivia[]
- At the end of most of Stray Kids' official videos since I am YOU, there is a message saying "You make Stray Kids STAY".
- HAN's dog Bbama has the same birthday as STAY.
References[]
- ↑ @Stray_Kids (Aug. 1, 2018)
- ↑ [2023 STAYweeK] 801호 사서함 <스키지기가 대신 전해드립니다!>
