There’s a reason why Stray Kids have been dominating music charts worldwide and the heart of fans. When it came to live performances, the Stray Kids <DominATE> World Tour commanded the Singapore National Stadium on 28 September 2024.
More fans were able to attend compared to last year’s Maniac World Tour, with 30,000 STAYs ready to follow Stray Kids’ lead.
Singapore was the first stop to kick-start the <DominATE> World Tour. The three-hour concert was nothing short of energy and efficient use of the stage for these kings.
Dictating the Big Picture
The VCR of a giant Han and Hyun Jin appeared on the LED screens, and the Stray Kids logo rose up for a grand reveal of Stray Kids moving ‘MOUNTAINS’ as the first song of the night.
Like how this anthemic song is the first track from their latest mini-album, ATE, it set the tone for the show with great energy, pyrotechnics, a large dance ensemble, 3D light effects, and high-quality graphics on screen.
While they were being loud with ‘Thunderous’, the sides of the main stage revealed a live band that accompanied Stray Kids throughout the show. Leader Bang Chan’s love for the band members were apparent as he took the time to introduce each band member and jammed with the band at various times.
As they got STAYs to put their hands up, Stray Kids performed their next ‘JJAM’. The groovy beats and lyrics to JJAM was not the only thing that caught our eyes, but so did their sparkling tops with white-beige fits. The LED screens showcased a spread of delicious things too.
Before moving on to ‘District 9’ at the extended stage, the members took the time to introduce themselves. Hyun Jin had already stripped off his jacket, with fans squealing as he showed off his rizz. Felix said that it was always good to be back in Singapore, and Chang Bin expressed his excitement with his viral chili crab dance.
Then, it was another throwback with ‘Back Door’, but with a fresh take where cameras followed the members closely as they go through multiple doors and knocked on them to the beat.
Solo Commanders
As a K-pop group who produces their own music, the members have released multiple unit and solo songs throughout the years. Han was first up to perform a pop-rock song, ‘Hold My Hand’, who belted high notes effortlessly and was welcomed with a burst of rainbow-coloured confetti.
Lee Know and the dancers then took control of the extended stage with ‘Youth’, with bubbly filter effects on screen.
Seung Min then climbed to a vantage point with a guitar to sing an acoustic ballad titled ‘As We Are’. The stage design heightened the visual of him performing at the top of a mountain.
Hyun Jin made the fans feel good with ‘So Good’, The choreography included an exciting dance break that hit every single beat with his entire body. Their solo songs were all unreleased concert-exclusives, so you just had to be there!
Stray Kids then drove into STAYs hearts with ‘Chk Chk Boom’, the latest earworm from the group to have topped the Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks. The stage revealed the members chilling on a car, as the camera pans up-close during their parts. Lee Know cutely got Hyun Jin to fist bump to the beat, right before Hyun Jin led the first chorus in a cool manner.
5-STAR ROCK-STARs
Stray Kids moved to feel-good party songs and rocked it out with STAYs. They were at the ‘TOPLINE’, as they roamed across the stage to say hi to the crowd.
In star-studded leathered fits, the screen captured wallpaper-worthy scenes as Stray Kids immediately cooked up a storm with ‘Super Bowl’. They showed off those hip and bussin’ dance moves, all the way to the extended stage.
‘COMFLEX’ and ‘LALALALA’ from their ROCK-STAR album was next. Following the music video for LALALALA, the dancers were out in full force in the last chorus. The stage was rocking until the words “Stray Kids” on the screen have “melted” and were dripping onto the stage too.
All eyes were on the live band next, as they rocked an interlude and their instrument solos!
Leading the Pack Calmly and Confidently
The main stage reflected black and white screens of Stray Kids as they performed ‘twilight’ on tiered platforms. Then, they drove those cool tunes further with ‘Lonely St.’, and the stage portrayed the group beautifully as if they were in the middle of a road in the dessert. But of course, they were not alone with STAYs putting their hands up and singing along.
Stray Kids started running across the stage towards the fans as they sung ‘Social Path’. At the end, they dedicated the song to “Stray Kids everywhere all around the world”, who made Stray Kids stay.
They took the opportunity for the remaining members to showcase their mature vocal with their solo numbers.
Fans were in a train wreck when Bang Chan performed ‘Railway’, a mature and sensual track that used a chair and his ripped torso as a prop. The smoke on stage and fluorescent camera filters definitely left the fans “needing more”.
Like what Seung Min said, I.N. gave us the ‘Hallucination’ that he is now a man. With a see-through cropped top, he showed off a strong, confident choreography that accentuated his hips and waves in this song.
Felix then mesmerized the audience with ‘Unfair’. Inspired by Beauty And The Beast, the screen depicted the rose as he descended down the stage, and unto another rising platform. His performance was cool and charismatic.
Chang Bin then showed who’s boss with ‘Ultra’, an edm-heavy rap track with immaculate moves and muscles.
Stray Kids then reunited with ‘GET LIT’, performing freely and confidently on stage.
Reign Of Chart-Topping Hits
‘ITEM’ opened with a tune straight out of a video game, accompanied by game glitch-inspired screens. Like a multi-player format, Stray Kids hung around the band, before showing off their high-level moves across the main stage. They then moved on to the next level with ‘DOMINO’.
What I appreciated is how each member has distinctive costume styles, even if they were dressed in the same theme. There’s so much to see – from the outfits, to the stage design, to the music, to their performance.
Stray Kids continued with their chart-topping hits, ‘God’s Menu’ and ‘S-Class’. The stage heated up even more, literally and figuratively, with more pyrotechnic, rock renditions with the live band, Hyun Jin’s iconic “Ne sonnim!” line, and I.N’s lift during S-Class’s dance break.
Bang Chan claimed that the heat was not because of the weather, but because of the STAYs in the audience, and Seung Min then accused Bang Chan of being a sly fox for saying that. The rest of the members also continued teasing each other as they talked about their solo stages during their talk time.
Bang Chan also assured the crowd that they could sit down if they wanted to, as he noticed that STAYs were standing throughout the show. Stray Kids continued talking with the crowd, as they turned off the lights to see the audience from each level, before moving on to perform ‘VENOM’ and ‘MANIAC’.
Stray Kids executed the physically demanding choreography that included multiple dance breaks with precision and passion, alongside the dancers.
STAYed For The Encore
It was then STAY’s special time to eat up the stage, with dance challenges and a sing-along to ‘MEGAVERSE’ in the lead up to the encore stage.
With the final outfit change to casual fits wearing the DominATE merch, Stray Kids roamed the stage to interact with fans for ‘I Like It’. The groovy, laid-back rhythm and cute choreography was definitely something that the fans enjoyed.
The lovely atmosphere continued with another song about falling in love, ‘CASE 143’. More lovely fanservice ensued.
Stray Kids then gathered back to the main stage for the ending ment, which included a “commentary” of Chang Bin. Seung Min continued being a menace, as he declined to have Singapore’s Pepper Crab dish together and teased that Chang Bin could eat two servings alone. The rest of the members brought out their playful and cheeky sides as well using the camera.
Bang Chan and Felix also made cute, shocked expressions when the crowd answered unexpectedly to the question, “if you thought that the DominATE tour was worse than the Maniac tour, make some noise!”. The members concluded that the crowd probably heard the question wrong and had screamed to show their support for both tours instead.
Stray Kids also thanked the crowd for the endless support, and hoped that fans will “STAY” by their side in future as well.
With that, they performed songs that described their journey, with ‘My Pace’ and ‘Stray Kids’. Fans sang along, interacted with the members, and were happy to have seen the members with playful antics and water fights on stage.
The water festival became even more elaborate during ‘MIROH’ as members continued spraying water towards the fans and each other. There were cute moments, like when Bang Chan uncapped the bottles for the members, when Han fell in shock from being pranked, to Hyun Jin voluntarily allowing Felix to pour water on him, to Lee Know and Hyun Jin orchestrating to water bomb Seung Min.
The members came out for a second encore to ‘Chk Chk Boom (Festival version)’. Felix continued being hyped up as he insisted to “Let’s go one more!” repeatedly and even revealed his abs for the fans.
Fans continued singing and jumping along to the finale – ‘Haven’. It was safe to say Stray Kids and STAYs were each other’s comfort zones.
Stray Kids Everywhere All Around The World
At one point, Singapore STAYs also showed their support for the members through a video and banner project, inspired by their song ‘Cover Me’. In return, Bang Chan thanked STAYs for the surprise and shared that the chemistry and love between the Stray Kids members also belonged to STAYs.
<DominATE> started out as a concert, but it ended up a festival with everyone enjoying themselves. There were lots of jam-packed performances, interactions and efforts in using Singlish too.
It has been a wonderful and heartening experience having seen their growth in the industry till today. To many more years to come!
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