Stray Kids Electrify BST Hyde Park with Groundbreaking Performance – Live Review

On July 14th, over 50,000 fans were swept into the vibrant ‘Megaverse’ of Stray Kids at the British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park Festival. The long-awaited comeback of the eight-member K-pop sensation marked their debut headline performance in Europe, making them the first K-pop male group to headline a European festival. This historic event was a testament to their meteoric rise across the globe, as they headlined their sold-out festival.

The 8 members – Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N – lit up Hyde Park, turning a thunderous week into a bright, sunny celebration on Sunday Thousands of fans, known as ‘Stays,’ gathered from all corners of the world, eager to witness the group that has been at the top their playlists for years, some even for the first time. The 350-acre park buzzed with excitement, offering a plethora of mouth-watering snacks and finger foods, alongside ten stellar opening acts to entertain the crowd before the main event.

The festival’s lineup included captivating performances by Taiwanese singer KIRE, who enthralled the audience with his sensual stage presence, and the South Korean girl group NMIXX, who energized the crowd with their schoolgirl-themed outfits and dynamic mix of rap and R&B. Other notable acts included Alec Benjamin, Dhruv, The Cuban Brothers, Maisie Peters, Alien Blaze, Bellah Mae, The Live Carnival, Elijah Woods, Ben Ellis, and Tyler Lewis.

As the sun set and anticipation peaked, Stray Kids took to the stage around 9 PM with their track “S-CLASS,” which won the Top 20 Songs of the Year in 2023 at the Asian Pop Music Awards, setting the tone for a stellar night of jams. The Great Oak Stage was adorned with a bold red tapestry, which dramatically unveiled the eight members against a backdrop of Marvel-themed visuals that showcased their unique style and music videos. Fans chanted “Stray Kids all over the world” in unison, their excitement echoing through the park.

The group’s performance was a sensory overload, with dazzling choreography, powerful vocals, and high-energy interactions that left the crowd in awe. From tracks titled, “THUNDEROUS,”  “SUPER BOWL” and “MANIAC”. A perfect blend of high pitch notes by I.N, sick rap lines by HAN and Felix‘s deep baritone voice captivated every ‘Stay.’ The group repeatedly went around and engaged the audience, keeping them bumping till the very end. Their carefree and bubbly personality kept supporters laughing and entertained, matching the group’s high energy performance. Bang Chan, the main speaker of the group, teased fans that the show was over mid way into the show, asking them “if they had a bedtime” and that “it was time to finalize the show.” Leading the crowd to applaud even louder and not take no for an answer, they chanted one more song until the group played more songs to close off. By the end of their 20-song set, which spanned their various albums, the crowd was left breathless and wanting more. Exactly like the lyrics in their chart-topping song “LALALALA” that reached 44.7 million streams and ranked #10 on the Billboard Global 200 stated, “Rock and roll, we dance ’til we fall” the crowd did exactly that.

Stray Kids‘ performance was not just about the music; it was an experience. Fire blazing hot fumes filled the air heating up the pumped atmosphere in Hyde Park, these stars skyrocketed London’s music culture with a tasteful blend of k-pop lighting up the night sky with dazzling fireworks during their “MIROH” song. 

Submerged in Stray Kids universe of sick moves and vocals, many are anticipating when they will come back to London, and are hyped for their world tour called DominATE which kicks off in Seoul this fall with additional dates to be announced for Latin America, Europe, and North America.  After their stellar performance, to keep the momentum going, they made sure to leave ‘Stays’ with a new album to keep the fun pumping and announced the release of their new album, set to drop on July 19th, featuring eight new tracks. This group will not fail to disappoint the world with their greatness, and will continue to dominate the music industry.