Greatest Hits:: Stray Kids: My Pace

 I tossed some potentials at Tumblr in a poll and this was what came back in first place, so here we go! Yes, I've gone back to the wasteland that is Tumblr, discovered that I'm considered ancient and decrepit for how long I've HAD a Tumblr account, and had to relearn how to Tumblr. But, that's fine!

My Pace is one of the songs that had to be rerecorded following the departure of the former ninth member, so I'm not quite sure how to navigate the differences. I really want to be respectful of the situation and try to find as many post-departure performances and events as I can, but it may not be especially possible in all cases. In any case, I won't mention his name, because I'm aware that there are feelings surrounding his departure on all sides, and I follow the direction of Chan, who prefers that material of the nine of them not be used anymore.

So all of that to say, I'm going to focus on the eight members as they are now and not mention the former ninth. 

• Group: Stray Kids
• Debut Date: 2018 March 25
• Company: JYP Entertainment
• Status: Active
• Album: SKZ2020
• Song: My Pace
• Release Date: 2020 March 18

This was originally the title track for their second mini album released in August of 2018, but, as I said, I'm going to focus on the eight. Also, every time I think of this song, I think of BTOB on Kingdom trying to decide which Stray Kids song to do, and Changsub's clarifying question. 

Okay. Let's get into it.

Why did no one tell me about that dramatic guitar opening this song has? This is why I'm doing this series and the one for the b-sides because this forces me to listen to songs that I wouldn't have otherwise set out to listen to and help me to dig through three decades of music, so thank you for the thirteen people who selected this one.

Oh, they were babies. Chan hadn't turned twenty-one yet and baby bread I.N was all of BABY AGE. And for the record, Lee Know at seven seconds in? I almost didn't recognize him and when I did...nice. And that's Changbin with that voice going "Nananana"? My dude, I fully count this as being illegal. That's going to be a 3 am earworm, a moment living in my head rent free because yowza. Also, by the way, one of those two is going to be my bas wrecker. I'm almost positive of this. I'll figure it out in May which one it'll be. But I'm getting a better sense of what my type is for the bias wrecker position. On the other hand, Lee Know and Hyunjin apparently didn't know that tongues need to stay in their mouths. Have they learned that since then? Not particularly. Hyunjin especially.

So, as is typical for Stray Kids, I really like the message of My Pace. It's a very comforting reminder that you don't have to move at anyone's pace but your own, to stay in your own lane as it were, which makes both the driving and running motifs perfectly matching to the lyrics of the song. It also hits hard when you remember that this was still in their first year and written in part by Chan, who has commented on his feelings from the seven years he was a trainee. This song is also particularly poignant for the Stays who have been around longer, because y'all got your fandom name around this time too, apparently on August 1st.

(As a behind the scenes, this just sent me down a rabbit hole about when another group's fandom birthday was, I learned some very interesting things about the group, and having found my answer and curiosity satisfied, I can return to this serious business.)

Have some fanchant, everyone!

Seriously, the fanchant is so loud here. I'm so retroactively proud of the Stay. And I.N with his braces is so adorable, I want to throw my shoe. He's precious and adorable and such a precious maknae. However, shout out to Lee Know at 2:08 because what is that? Also, shout out to that voice crack for proving that they're singing live.

So much energy here. They're adorable.

Oh my gosh. Changbin is adorable. I just want to grab his cheeks and squish them and then throw my shoe off a balcony. For the record, he's never triggered my cuteness aggression like this before. But him during the opening of these stages? For the thirteen people who voted on this one, y'all are putting me through a trial to keep from simply keyboard smashing over him. And his rapping? I did not come into this expecting to be steamrollered by Changbin, yet here I am, and thus, here you are suffering with me. He's not my bias. That's Chan. But goodness me.

There are a lot of Argentinian fans who are stoked about the fact that Seungmin is wearing the t-shirt of Argentina. And by a lot, I mean take a look at the comments on this stage. Also, shout out to I.N for wearing the shirt of Mexico. It's a lot of Spanish in the comment section, which is really cool to see as an indication of an international fandom. 

Felix and Han's hair makes me laugh a little. They're precious. And their hair looks super fluffy. Chan also has super fluffy, curly hair (as a side note, one of my favorite things is when Chan has the little duck tail going on when he wears a hat, so the perm is particularly cute). I almost don't recognize Hyunjin. Kid has grown up a lot in the last seven years. But I like the Music Bank stages in particular because it also includes the name of who is singing when. Which is helpful because the Sunshine Twins have similar hair (Felix's voice is a dead giveaway, but with just looking, I liked being able to verify that I was correct). And also for me not being able to recognize Hyunjin until I connected the name to the face and went "Ah. Yes, I can see how he turned from that into what he looks like now." 

This one from Inkigayo I was debating about including before I hit play, and then the English captions immediately made me grab that link to share with you all. Same, translator. Same. 10000% same. 

The funny thing is about all of these stages collectively is the lyrics are "stay in your own lane", and yet this song is collectively bias wrecking the entire fandom. The members are not staying in theirs. Hyunjin biased are getting wrecked by Changbin. Chan biased are getting wrecked by Lee Know. Han biased are getting wrecked by Felix. Like, across the fandom, they just got completely wrecked. Which, as is pointed out, is kind of funny because what the lyrics are. I.N existing is wrecking everyone. And Seungmin existing looking brighter than the future with those clothes. Plus, you can see what their complexion actually is, something that I deeply appreciate.

And now, for the last two, simply bask in the Performance video version as well as the dance practice version. No comments from me. 

Just basking happily in how amazing they were at six months from debut.