I listened to this song for the first time the day it was released. I was half asleep, up early to watch their anniversary live. And honestly, I don’t remember much of my initial reactions. I was very tired. But oh, is this song beautiful. It’s simple and soft and catchy. And I really wish we had more background on it than we do. I always love hearing them talk about what goes into a song.
What we do know, from their anniversary live, is that Han and Seungmin wrote this song together about three years ago. It sat in storage for a bit, and they pulled it out again, refreshed and updated it, and released it as an anniversary gift to STAY. A lot of people compared it to their song “Respirator” that came out a couple years ago. I love that we have yet another song by the two of them.
Let’s look at the lyrics.
Couple disclaimers: I don’t speak Korean. I am using my limited SKZ knowledge and the English translations from Genius. These are my own thoughts based on those translations and not meant to be a definitive interpretation.
Here is the audio to listen to as you read the lyrics:
There are two past songs I pointed out in my annotations – “GLOW” and “Grow Up”.
“GLOW” I think is more of a subtle, coincidental reference, but it’s something I caught since I just went through all of the Mixtape songs. There’s are a couple lines in “GLOW” that echo the first lines of this song:
Star, Light (Chorus):
Even if we don’t know where we’re headed
But if we’re looking in the same direction
Somewhere where the stars shine
Won’t we still dream of tomorrow?GLOW (Intro):
Even though we can’s see the end
We must go to the end
On this path without a map
It’s a maze, don’t wanna look back
Only looking forward as we run
Shining through the darkness
I said this in my post about “Run It,” too, that it’s fascinating having just gone through all of the Mixtape songs. And as I write more and more of these deep dives, I see more connections. And I see the progression. I see the similarities and the differences. And this is another example of that.
I love “GLOW.” It was a very emotional and personal song to them, written and performed for the survival show. And it’s all about the struggle of being a trainee, the hard work they were putting in while the uncertainty of eliminations loomed over their heads. The darkness was the unknown, the uncertainty, the stress. And the glow was them. They were fighting through together to get to the other side.
I would argue that “Star, Light” is the same song eight years later. There’s still darkness. There’s still unknowns. There’s still uncertainty. There’s still stress. Those things don’t disappear. They just change shape. But the glow this time, the light, is them and STAY.
They didn’t have that back then. It’s not like no one knew who they were. People showed up to the busking mission and the final live performance. But it wasn’t the fanbase they have now. It wasn’t even STAY yet. They were relying on themselves and each other and this nebulous dream of debut and possible success to keep them going.
Now, they have eight years of success under their belts. They have eight years of relationship with each other. And they have eight years of having STAY.
And this where the other song reference comes in – “Grow Up.” And this one feels much more intentional, because the line that Changbin sings in verse 2 is the Korean name for “Grow Up” exactly:
잘 하고 있어 – jal hago iss-eo – You’re doing great
“Grow Up” is from their debut EP I Am NOT. And it’s so, so sweet. I can’t wait to get to this song and deep dive the lyrics. It’s so good. The whole song is about falling down and getting back up. “Everyone falls. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone messes up on their first time. Keep going. I’m right here. You’re doing great.” And if it isn’t heart wrenching to think about pre-debut (and possibly even trainee/survival show) 3RACHA writing this song, I don’t know what is.
The full line from Changbin in verse 2 is “Under the same sky, you told me, ‘You’re doing great.’” And a lot of people brought up Kingdom Week: No+. This was a seven episode show following their win on Kingdom: Legendary War. The last episode was called NOEASY, and they unveiled songs from their album NOEASY that came out the same day.
In this episode, they also performed “Grow Up,” but part of the way through the song, the music cut off unexpectedly. And the walls of the room/stage they were in lit up with video messages from STAY. The members are obviously surprised and get very emotional as they finish singing the song and the messages culminate in a bunch of STAYs saying “We love you” and “You’re doing well.” And then they all give very emotional comments afterward (especially I.N). If you need a cry today, watch it.
Putting that event in context: It was still in the midst of COVID, August of 2021. They hadn’t had a live concert in a year and a half. Their last live concert was from their District 9: Unlock World Tour following the departure of Woojin (which was very traumatic, and there was a worry that they wouldn’t be able to continue with only 8 members or that STAY wouldn’t, well, stay without him).
They’d had success with “God’s Menu” in the summer of 2020 and got a lot of visibility from it. But they hadn’t really been able to see it yet. Knowing chart numbers and streaming numbers and album sales is one thing. But seeing a stadium filled with fans or meeting people at a fansign is another.
They’d done a live streamed fanmeeting and a few no audience award shows and showcases. And they’d just finished Kingdom: Legendary War, which also had no audience other than the other groups competing and the occasional group of judges. Being surprised with this fan project and seeing that they actually still had fans that were waiting for them and proud of them…that’s hits different.
“Grow Up” wasn’t part of the MANIAC Tour set list, but STAY sang it countless times at concerts throughout that tour.
And I can’t imagine having this song that they wrote as encouragement for STAY being turned back on them in that way. And if Han and Seungmin wrote this song about three years ago, that would put it in 2022-2023-ish. After Kingdom, during/after the MANIAC Tour. I love that they left that in there. It was obviously a memorable and impactful experience for them. And it speaks to the whole theme of this song.
Stray Kids and STAY are in this together.
The cynical way to look at it is “Well, of course, they’re in it together. You can’t be a performer without fans. You literally can’t do your job as a singer if people aren’t buying your records and coming to your concerts.” Yes. Obviously.
But there is genuine connection there. There is genuine gratitude. This is not the only time that Stray Kids have written a sentimental song about/for their fans, and it won’t be the last.
And what a way to talk about STAY. Starting with the title: “별, 빛 (STAY).” Translated to “Star, Light (STAY).” What I love about this is that it’s not Starlight. It’s “Star, Light.” There’s a comma there. It’s like they’re saying STAY are stars, light, and starlight. And the lyrics are very obvious. Some of my favorites:
Verse 1:
In that distant place, far away
There are countless bright stars in the sky
Inside that shimmering tunnel, loneliness disappears
Here, may I shine by your side too?Pre-Chorus:
Among the countless stars in the Milky Way
If one day our paths align into the same orbit
We’ll surely shine brighter than anyone else
There’s only one reason: it’s just you and me
I love this analogy of STAY as stars. And it shows up in the cover image, of course – stars around the compass in the middle. And even the handful of live performances we have of this song from the fanmeetings are on theme, without even using choreography.
For those performances, they were on a ship set piece that was lifted off the stage and moved around during the song before touching back down. And the bottom of the ship – visible from the floor seats – was the compass and stars from the cover image. It took me a second to make the connection, because it really didn’t fit with the theme of the rest of the fanmeeting. But I mean…a ship? With stars and compass on the bottom? What do sailors use to navigate? The stars.
(I could do another 500 words on the symbolism of the compass in Stray Kids lore and the connections to “Broken Compass”… I’m making so many notes to talk about in my “Broken Compass” post…)
This whole song made me think of Lee Know’s ment at the dominATE: celebATE encore concert where he talked about diamonds. He said that diamonds are precious and beautiful, but it’s the light that matters. Without light, a diamond is just a rock. And he likened STAY to the light that makes them (the diamonds) shine. He said: “So, if we die, isn’t it the light that lingers? You are my light.”
One, adorable. What a softie. Two, if that’s not this whole song…
And that’s the difference between Mixtape and now that I talked about earlier. “GLOW” was just them, fighting and stressing and desperate. And “Star, Light” is them and us. Like I said with “Run It,” they feel more settled. They have found what works. They have found a fanbase who adores them. And they draw strength from that fanbase.
This song feels like a thank you and a promise, summed up in verse 2:
Under the same sky, you told me,
“You’re doing great”
So, moving forward,
let’s promise to hold on tight to each other’s hands
They are thanking STAY for being their light, promising to support us, and inviting us to be part of their dream with them. Isn’t that adorable? Doesn’t that just want to make you melt?
There was a comment by @rouge._.rogue on Threads back in February that has stuck with me since I read it (and if you don’t follow him, do. He’s amazing). He talked about the fact that celebrities also have a parasocial relationship with their fans: “We call our end of engagement one sided, but they are forming a one-way relationship with us too, just in a different realm.” He was specifically talking about concerts being the place where those two one-sided relationships meet and can be reciprocal.
And I’d never really thought about Stray Kids also have a parasocial relationship with us, just on a large scale. And like I said earlier, you can look at that cynically. They have to connect with us. It’s their job. The connection is what brings people back. And it’s what K-Pop in general is really good at (to the fans’ and idols’ detriment sometimes).
But it also feels genuine. Call me crazy but when Lee Know said we were the light that make them beautiful diamonds, I believed that. Not as fanservice. Not as his job. But as something he believes. We’ve seen them take care of their fans, be genuinely concerned and supportive both in person and online. And I think this song really shows how they see us.
We are their stars, their light, their starlight. We are guiding them. We are helping them. And in return they are promising to hold our hand and bring us along on the next part of their journey. It was an absolutely perfect way to celebrate their 8th anniversary.
Sources:
“Star, Light (STAY)” by Stray Kids
Fanmeeting “Star, Light” Performance
STAY singing Grow Up on Kingdom Week: NO+
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