Song Review: S-Class by Stray Kids

At the moment, Stray Kids have unofficially taken the title of being the most popular 4th Generation boy group in K-pop, even making history by breaking the record for the highest number of pre-orders of any K-pop album. Did it live up to its hype? In my opinion, to an extent.

If there is one thing that no one can criticize about ‘S-Class’, it is the fact that it went all-out in its production, making many risky choices that could have ruined the song. The song sped up and slowed down, softened and loudened, changed its rhythm and beat, trying to stuff as many different things as possible in a somewhat coherent manner. The effort is commendable. It is easily the most interesting piece of production I’ve listened to in K-pop the whole year. It was here to make a statement in a way that none of Stray Kids’ previous title tracks have done so. I have a slight pet peeve about the second verse because the tempo increase between it and the second pre-chorus was too obvious. There might have been a better way to merge the two sections.

However, with a song this experimental in its production, it struggles to find a strong hook. At first listen, I literally could not remember anything about the song even though I was quite impressed by the interesting production choices. After listening to it for the past couple of days, I can now remember the chant within the chorus as well as the pre-chorus. However, it feels too much like a crutch, and parts of the song easily fade in and out of my head. I think 3RATCHA did try to make sure it has hooks, but when their earlier title track ‘Side Effects’, known to not have the strongest hooks, seems to be more memorable hook-wise at first listen than ‘S-Class’, I think it is a sign that it could have been done better. I like the chants and pre-chorus now but still, I’ve seen many dismiss the song because at first listen they cannot remember anything. If I wasn’t willing to give the song a chance because of how interesting the production is, I would have never listened to it again either. Earlier title tracks like CASE 143 (even though I dislike the song), Maniac, Thunderous, Back Door, and God’s Menu all have stronger hooks in my opinion.

In terms of vocal delivery, I also think that S-Class has some noticeable points for improvement. In particular, I question the choice to make Felix sing the pre-chorus when his lack of vocal technique becomes spotlighted. He sounds rough and hoarse, and not even the clean production could save him. I’m sure that fans will eat it up, but this was too lacking for my liking. On the other hand, I do like how Bang Chan and Seungmin sang the pre-chorus for the most part, but I think that Seungmin also noticeably struggled slightly when singing the second half of the second pre-chorus as I could hear that it sounded quite pitch-corrected and some vocal effects were added to try and hide the struggle. I think this could have been improved if Felix’s line was given to Han (who handles high notes the best in the whole group), or Han just gets more of the vocal lines. However, Han wasn’t given any in the song which is a real shame.

However, Stray Kids sporting the best or one of the best rap lines in K-pop really boosts them in rap delivery. I don’t think any other group out there could have pulled off their rap and chanting lines as well as they did. Their charisma is one of the main things that sell the song for me. In particular, Lee Know’s delivery of the chorus chant is quite addictive and has me chanting along.

Overall, S-Class is a song that I would rather appreciate for its ambition rather than listen to regularly, but it is a valiant effort. However, I do think that Stray Kids music is no longer for me, at least in comparison to their earlier title tracks such as Miroh and Side Effects, which stand as some of my favorite K-pop songs of all time.

Hooks – 7
Production – 10
Vocal Delivery – 7
Rap Delivery – 10
Overall – 8.5