The popular K-pop boy group Stray Kids brought their music to Arlington’s Globe Life Field June 6 and 7 as part of the North American leg of their world tour, hyping up its Texas fans with plenty of interactions you don’t see with other K-pop groups of their size. The eight-member group is the first JYP Entertainment boy group to perform at Globe Life Field and the third K-p op act overall.
From the early morning of June 5, STAYs — the official fandom name for Stray Kids fans — woke up to go line up for merch at Globe Life Field to beat the masses for the two show days. Many fans waited on average five hours to try their hand at purchasing merchandise to prove they saw the act live. Stray Kid branded keychains, baseballs and basketball jerseys were some of the exclusive merch available only at the stadium; lines for these items and more were hundreds long despite the 90-degree heat and reached local DFW news.
On the sold-out show day of June 6, around seven in the morning, fans were lined up waiting off property, with some even camping from the previous day. Around 10:30 a.m, the VIP lines opened. Concert attendees were given randomly numbered wristbands that determined on pure chance where they would get to sit once inside the stadium.
Around 3:40 PM, VIP STAYs were let into the massive stadium. They waited for soundcheck inside, while outside STAYs hosted Random Dance Plays, also known as events, where a random song plays and listeners dance along to it. STAYs could also find other fans handing out free fan made merchandise while waiting. These freebies took the form of bracelets, portable fans and photocards of the band members.
During the soundcheck, the eight members came onto stage, introducing themselves to the cheering STAYs. They performed three songs, “Social Path” featuring LiSa, “Miroh” and “Topline” featuring Tiger JK, while walking around and interacting with fans. They then left to prepare for the main show, with thousands of fans waiting in anticipation.
The show then began with the song “Chk Chk Boom” blasting through the air as the signal that the group was about to come on stage. Shannon Guthrie, a concertgoer who traveled from Austin, Texas, was one of the 40,000 people in the crowd that day.
“My favorite part was definitely the opening sequence of ‘MOUNTAINS’ with the dancers then leading into the members coming on the stage,” Guthrie said.
The eight members came out in all-white glittering clothing to the song “MOUNTAINS,” and immediately began a loud show-stopping performance that only they could execute. Different parts of the stage rose, representing the motif of the song, as the members flawlessly carried out the dance steps. Fans during the song “Jjam” chanted the iconic fan chant of “I know, you know, Lee Know,” referencing the dancer member. With those three songs, the eight members introduced themselves as Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N for their opening mention.
More recognizable songs, such as the older”District 9,” “Back Door” and an outfit change into “Chk Chk Boom” were performed, the members now wearing alluring red and black outfits. The members would walk towards the extended stage, interacting with fans throughout little breaks in the performance. After “Domino” was performed, Changbin took off his red blazer revealing a black tank top while transitioning into “Gods Menu,” one of their most popular songs. The entire stadium burst into singing “ne sonim” during Hyunjin’s iconic killing part. After “Gods Menu,” the duo stages began.
The duos performed “Truman”, a rap-based song with Felix and Han; “Burnin’ Tires,” a fun upbeat vibe with Changbin and I.N; “Escape,” a sensual, wrenching song with Bang Chan and Hyunjin; and “Cinema,” a beautiful ballad from Lee Know and Seungmin that put STAYs’ names on the big screens thanking them. After this, the members changed outfits once again to perform more songs like “Giant,” “Cover Me.” and “Walkin’ On Water.”
The concert encouraged everyone to participate, with the members holding screaming competitions between fans in different sections of the stadium. During a break, fans participated in a segment where they did dance challenges to Stray Kids’ songs while waiting for the encore to begin.
Later, after almost three hours of performances, the concert began winding down with the members getting on carts to traverse the stadium and say hi to fans who were further away. In the last couple of songs, multiple members came down from the stage to greet fans in the pits, with Felix, Hyunjin, Bang Chan, I.N, and Changbin coming around.
Stray Kids brought an exciting time full of interactions usually not seen at K-pop concerts to thousands of adoring fans in Arlington. Immediately after the concert ended, fans already felt like seeing them again.