On Friday (Sept. 11), Brazil’s major festivals finally gave K-pop a space proportional to its worldwide strength, with Rock in Rio dedicating a night of the Palco Mundo (World Stage) specifically for the genre. Stray Kids were tasked as headliner to close out this historic chapter. The group’s response matched their anticipation for another performance before Brazilian fans. With custom lightsticks, T-shirts, and anticipation lighting up Cidade do Rock, STAYs went wild in Brazil. Their show opened with hits like ‘DOMINO’ and ‘BOUNCE BACK,’ followed by intense choreography and a packed audience singing along to songs from various eras of their career.
‘Thunderous’ and ‘MANIAC’ kept the energy high, while outfits shifted between streetwear-inspired choices to predominantly white looks reflecting traditional Korean elements for tracks like ‘DIVINE’ and ‘God’s Menu.’ Stray Kids also incorporated samba steps during ‘Chk Chk Boom,’ further highlighting their connection with Brazilian culture. A dramatic finale included fireworks, pyrotechnics, and a light show as the group ran, jumped, and performed their final songs to an audience who were clearly left wanting more of K-pop’s presence at Rock in Rio.
"191216 Stray Kids for JYP Entertainment Audition (1).png" by JYP Entertainment (via JYPAudition), via Wikimedia Commons — License: CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) — Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A191216%20Stray%20Kids%20for%20JYP%20Entertainment%20Audition%20(1).png — Image cropped from the original for a 16:9 frame.