Stray Kids Drives Fans Wild in Historic Rock in Rio Debut

It took a while for Brazil’s major festivals to give K-pop a space proportional to the strength the genre has already achieved worldwide.

On Friday (Sept. 11), Rock in Rio changed that scenario by dedicating a night of the Palco Mundo (World Stage) to the genre for the first time. And it fell to Stray Kids to close out this historic chapter as headliner.

Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. were, without a doubt, the most anticipated artists of the day. From early on, STAYs took over the Cidade do Rock with custom lightsticks, group T-shirts, fans, and plenty of anticipation to see the eight members again in Brazil.

The response matched the hype. Stray Kids closed out the Palco Mundo lineup with an explosive show, driven by intense choreography, hits from different eras of their career, and constant interaction with a crowd that barely stopped screaming.

This reunion was exactly what the members had been waiting for. In an interview with Billboard Brasil before the festival, the group had already spoken about their eagerness to see Brazilian fans again. At Rock in Rio, one only had to look at the crowd to see the feeling was mutual.

“We’ll make sure there’s a lot of passion,” they said.

“DOMINO” and “BOUNCE BACK” kicked off a sequence that had already raised the energy sky-high within the first few minutes. “Thunderous” and “MANIAC” kept up the intensity, backed by precise choreography and the packed Cidade do Rock singing along.

In this first segment, the members went with streetwear-inspired outfits, combining blue, black, and white in athletic pieces, jeans, tank tops, and accessories, keeping an individual identity for each member without losing the group’s visual cohesion.

Between songs, the lineup broke apart and reassembled quickly, with the members moving across different points of the stage and finding time to joke around and talk with fans.

The performance took on a different aesthetic during “DIVINE” and “God’s Menu.” The members swapped the sporty look from the start for predominantly white outfits with traditional Korean references, while the dancers reinforced that inspiration with black-and-white clothing, hats, and long fabric sashes woven into the choreography.

During “Chk Chk Boom,” the members tried out a few samba steps on stage, drawing even louder screams from the crowd.

Throughout the set, songs like “S-Class,” “LALALALA,” and “God’s Menu” revisited different phases of the group’s career, while tracks from “THIS & THAT” showcased their most recent era.

After trying out samba steps during “Chk Chk Boom,” that choice rounded out the sequence of nods to the Brazilian audience throughout the show. In the final stretch, the group ramped up the intensity even further.

Fireworks, pyrotechnics, and a light show took over the stage as the members ran, jumped, and made the most of their final minutes alongside Brazilian STAYs.

And there was even more Brazil in the set. In one of the most lighthearted moments of the closing stretch, Bang Chan sang a bit of “Ai Se Eu Te Pego,” the hit by Michel Teló. The audience immediately recognized the surprise, singing along to the chorus and screaming even louder.

What a debut. It was historic, loud, and, above all, it left the Cidade do Rock wanting more. May this have been just the first of many nights of K-pop at Rock in Rio.

— This article was written by Bruna Calazans and Dora Arai for Billboard Brasil