Credit JYP Entertainment
It was a night that was more than two years in the making. After their explosive concert back in January 2020, at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Stray Kids returned. They came back to the tri-state area to kick off the US leg of their 2nd World Tour “MANIAC” at Newark’s Prudential Center.
As fans and super stans, aka Stray Kids’s STAY, pack the sold-out show on June 28, 2022, they were greeted and treated to a green maniac stage. After a short video celebrating all that JYP Entertainment has become known for, the anticipation ramped up as if the last past two years has been spent waiting for Stray Kids to return.
Finally, the wait was over as the eight-member group of Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N took to the stage to perform their smash hit and earworm Maniac. The electrifying performance not only showed off the guys’ skills but their evolution as artists. Their hardcore choreo opening set from their 2020 concert was replaced by a more mature and artistic aesthetic rendition of “Maniac.” Following the song, the group went into a dance break before belting out their other hit song “Venom” off of their current number one billboard 200 album chart-topping album ODDINARY. The performance was accompanied by large spider legs coming out of the stage with badass bass vibes filling the arena.
Credit JYP Entertainment
Before stopping to chat with fans, the guys delighted them with their rendition of “Red Light.” Taking a breather, leader of Stray Kids, Bang Chan, waved at fans as he shared his amazement with how many people were in the arena. Having fun, he kidded saying, “It’s been 2 1/2 years! I really missed you guys! I think you missed us more?!” Then the group asked for the lights to come up so they could see their fans that they had waited for. Felix then chimed in, “It’s been 2 1/2 years; happy to be back to show you what we’ve prepared [for you].” Then the boys joked that what they were going to do next was really really hard. Returning to the stage clad and white tops and black pants with gold trim they perform “District 9” with the iconic hard rap line not missing a beat.
After another video break, the boys changed into new outfits for a set that was certainly rocking in which they performed “Hellevator” in red outfits. The boys were also joined on stage by a live band and they performed a heart-thumping chest pumping performance of “Side Effects,” “Back Door,” “Scar,” and “Victory Song.”
Following another video break, the boys split up into their rap lines and vocal lines. The rap line showed off their solo skills picking songs that they love to perform. Felix shared with the audience that he practice his song on the flight over to the US. Then the vocal lines took to the stage with leader bang Chang performing Jason Mraz’s hit song “I’m Yours.” He also confessed it was the song that he used for his audition as a trainee.
Then the guys reunited as one this time clad in blue and silver for their rendition of “Thunderous,” “Domino,” and “God’s Menu.” They finished out the show wearing their signature concert T-shirts while performing “Star Lost” and “Haven.”
The next stop for Stray Kids after one more show at the Prudential Center will be Chicago on July 1st. Then they will cross the nation making stops in Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Los Angeles. They will finish the tour at the Honda Center in Anaheim on July 20th.
For tickets and more information on the tour check out straykids.jype.com
2ND WORLD TOUR DATES:
Fri Jul 01 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sun Jul 03 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Wed Jul 06 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
Sat Jul 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
Sun Jul 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
Tue Jul 12 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
Thu Jul 14 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Fri Jul 15 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Tue Jul 19 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center in Anaheim
Wed Jul 20 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center in Anaheim