"Lalalala" () is a song by South Korean boy band

Stray Kids Stray Kids (often abbreviated to SKZ; ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han (musician), Han, Felix (rapper), Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For un ...

, taken from their eighth Korean-language extended play '' Rock-Star''. It was released as the EP's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

on November 10, 2023, through

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

. A

drift phonk Phonk () is a subgenre of hip hop music, hip hop and trap music directly inspired by 1990s Memphis rap. The genre is characterized by its use of vintage Memphis rap vocals, chopped and screwed production techniques, and Sampling (music), sample ...

and

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

track, the song was written by

3Racha Stray Kids (often abbreviated to SKZ; ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For undisclosed personal reasons, ...

, Versachoi,

Cubeatz Cubeatz (sometimes stylized as CuBeatz) are a German hip hop production and songwriting duo from Hildrizhausen, consisting of twin brothers Kevin and Tim Gomringer. Originally embarking on their careers within German hip hop in 2008, they have si ...

, and Luis Bacque about celebration of life and how to enjoy it. "Lalalala" peaked at number six on the

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

, became the group's first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 90, as well as first top ten on the ''Billboard'' Global 200.

Background and composition

"Lalalala" was written by

, an in-house production team of

members Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han, and co-composed with Versachoi, Kevin Gomringer and Tim Gomringer from

, and Luis Bacque in November 2022, and intended to be included the group's third studio album '' 5-Star'' as the

, but it was replaced by " S-Class". During the recording session, the group felt the song is suitable for being a lead single and performing on stage. Therefore, the song was outtaked from ''5-Star'', which included "Item" instead. On October 6, 2023, Stray Kids announced their eighth Korean-language extended play '' Rock-Star'' set to be released on November 10, 2023. The EP's track list was revealed on October 9, marking the second track "Lalalala" as its

, as well as the rock version. The song was first previewed on the EP's

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

video on November 6. The song's Korean title " ()" (pronounced ''rak''; means "pleasure") is a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...

with "rock", expressing the meaning of "although you will feel any emotions in life, you hope the last emotion you choose will be pleasure". Musically, "Lalalala" is a

and

track with "harsh" electric guitar, "lively" drums, and "thumping" bass, talking about celebration of their life, pushing through all kinds of pain to find joy and release through music.

Commercial performance

In South Korea, "Lalalala" debuted at number 33 on the

for the issue dated November 5–11, 2023, and rose to number six the next week, Stray Kids' first top ten and highest peak on the chart. The song first entered the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 dated November 15 at number 33 and ascended to number eight the next week. In Europe, "Lalalala" peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 74 on the French Top Singles. The song landed at number ten on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and number six on the Global Excl. US, dated November 25, 2023, making Stray Kids their first top-ten entries and highest peaks on both charts, surpassing "

Maniac __NOTOC__ The MANIAC I (Mathematical Analyzer Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer Model I) was an early computer built under the direction of Nicholas Metropolis at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. It was based on the von Neumann arc ...

" (21 and 15, respectively). The song earned 44.7 million streams and 9,000 digital sales worldwide. In the United States, "Lalalala" entered ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the first time at number 90 with 3,000 downloads and 6.1 million streams in the United States, becoming the seventh South Korean group to do so, following

Wonder Girls Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony (Wonder Girls song), Irony" and 5 members: Park Ye-eun, Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Ahn So-hee, Sohee. Aft ...

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

Blackpink Blackpink (, stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie (singer), Jennie, Rosé (singer), Rosé, and Lisa (rapper), Lisa. Regarded by ...

Twice Twice (; Japanese language, Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Tuwaisu''; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon ...

NewJeans NewJeans (), also known as NJZ (), is a South Korean girl group formed by ADOR, a sub-label of Hybe Corporation, Hybe. The group is composed of five members: Minji (singer), Minji, Hanni (singer), Hanni, Danielle Marsh, Danielle, Haerin, and H ...

, and Fifty Fifty, as well as the second boy band after BTS. Additionally, "Lalalala" was the fourth song to top the

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—its first issue was dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-speci ...

after " Mixtape: Oh", "Maniac", and " Case 143".

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Lalalala" was uploaded on November 10, 2023, concurrently with the EP ''Rock-Star'' release, preceded by one teaser video. Directed by Bang Jae-yeob, the visual depicts clash of inside emotions, and pleasure ultimately wins at the end. It shows Stray Kids' dance performance in different sets:

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

, a bank robbery, an army, and a white background, and alternate with gigantic smoke-like creature attempts to attack both Stray Kids and a marching band of young boys during performing. At the end, the group and backup dancers salute to the marching band through a portal. ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'' chosen the music video for "Lalalala" is one of the best K-pop music video in 2023. The music video reached 100 million views in January 2024.

Live performances

Stray Kids promoted and performed "Lalalala" at several domestic music programs from November 10 to 19: ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'', ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'', ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'', and ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leeteuk ...

''. The group performed the song and " S-Class" at the 2023 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on November 19. "Lalalala" was also performed at several award shows and year-end music festivals, including

Asia Artist Awards Asia Artist Awards (; abbreviated AAA) is an awards ceremony organized by South Korea-based business newspaper ''Money Today'' and its global media brands StarNews and MTN. This honors the outstanding achievements and international contribution ...

, ''

KBS Song Festival The ''KBS Song Festival'' () is an annual South Korean music show that airs on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) at the end of every year. It first aired in 1965 as an awards show, but KBS discontinued the awards ceremony in 2006. It has con ...

'', and ''

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

''.

Accolades

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' named "Lalalala" number 11 in their list of The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2023, writing that it speaks "to pushing through all kinds of pain to find joy and release as they do through music and to 'just feel the rock.'" ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'' named its remix the "Best Rock Remix" in K-pop of 2023.

Credits and personnel

Personnel *

– lead vocals, background vocals ** Bang Chan (

) – lyrics, composition, arrangement, all instruments ** Changbin (3Racha) – lyrics, composition ** Han (3Racha) – lyrics, composition * Versachoi – composition, arrangement, all instruments,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(Kevin and Tim Gomringer) – composition, arrangement, all instruments * Luis Bacque – composition,

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

* Nickko Young – arrangement (rock version), guitar (rock version) * Lee Jae-myung – bass guitar (rock version) * Lee Kyeong-won –

digital editing In mass communication, digital media is any communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronic d ...

* Goo Hye-jin –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* Lee Tae-sub – mixing * Dave Kutch – mastering Locations *

JYP Publishing JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...

(

KOMCA The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it ...

) – original publishing, sub-publishing * Songs of Universal, Inc. ( BMI) – original publishing, sub-publishing * JYPE Studios – recording, mixing * The Mastering Palace – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Stray Kids 2023 singles 2023 songs Afrobeats songs JYP Entertainment singles Phonk songs Republic Records singles Songs in Korean Songs written by Bang Chan Songs written by Changbin Songs written by Cubeatz Songs written by Han (musician) South Korean hip-hop songs Stray Kids songs