It has been nearly two years since STAYC last toured North America on their 1st World Tour [Teenfresh]. Since then, the K-pop starlets have released a full studio album (Metamorphic, 2024), a single album ("S," 2025), a Japanese version single ("Lover, Killer / Bebe, 2025), and a special single ("I Want It," 2025). Metamorphic, which showcased their growth and evolving musicality, debuted on Spotify's Top Albums Debut" charts in the US and globally. The title track, "Cheeky Icy Thang," won first place on the Korean Music Bank show. Their recent single, "I Want It," dominated the Asian and streaming airwaves, becoming a summer hit.
Their new world tour, 2025 STAYC Tour [Stay Tuned], began in April of this year in Seoul, then traveling through Asia and Oceania before hitting their North American leg, starting with Seattle on October 2. The group has already performed in San Jose (October 2) and Los Angeles (October 5), with plans to visit Irving, Texas (October 10), Atlanta (October 12), Rosemont (October 14), National Harbor, MD (October 16), Boston (October 18), New York (October 21), and concluding in Toronto on October 23.
The musical sextet - composed of members Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun, Yoon, and J - have been ready to perform several of their new tracks for their North American fans, a.k.a. SWITH. The day after their Los Angeles concert, the group began their press day. Though their days have been long with practices, shows, and interviews, they still seem to be in good spirits and look as refreshed as ever, revealing that they have been making time to have fun and rest.
"It's been so fun, and I am happy to be here," says Sumin. "Thankfully, after these interviews, there is some time to rest. Some members are going to Santa Monica together, and the others are going to rest in the hotel."
During each concert, the members would ask the audience where they should go during their stop in each city. They do make attempts to go to well-known establishments or at least order food from there. In Seattle, their fans recommended they visit the popular restaurant, "The Pink Door," so they went and had a great time. Sieun and a few others plan to go to Santa Monica later that day, after many LA fans suggested the famous beach during the concert.
"I'll go to Santa Monica after this interview," Sieun says. "I'm really excited about it. I was recommended to go to Erewon."
I asked if she plans on trying the viral "Hailey Bieber smoothie," which she says, "Yes! I want to try that!"
Known for their youthful energy (their name derives from "Star to a Young Culture") and catchy melodies, STAYC has begun showing a more mature side. Metamorphic represented their transformation, evolving their "Teenfresh" concept to one of confidence and establishment. After all, the group is no longer rookies, celebrating five years since their debut next month. Their tour title, Stay Tuned, highlights their plans to showcase newer concepts and music.
"We consider [this tour] to be a very important turning point in our career," says Yoon. "There were a lot of different genres of music that we tried in this new album, so we thought a lot about how we were going to show all of them without it being a jarring experience for the audience."
The opening set for the concert began in darkness, with a blast of red lights blaring like an EDM set. The girls walked out to loud cheers and barking, showcasing their newer songs that gave off "this confident and cool identity." The members worked closely on the setlist to ensure everyone had opportunities to shine and show new sides of themselves.
"The first tour was more about including our hit songs," Sumin explains. "During this [Stay Tuned] tour, as the title suggests, we want people to focus on us and the songs. We wanted to select songs that showed our true colors and identities. That's why we used a lot of songs from this recent album release because we felt it was representative of [us]."
The group displayed all sides of their personas and concepts, even with a fantastical set filled with flowers and butterflies that represented their growth, and unintentionally looked like Disney Princesses. Seeun, with her braided blonde hair and purple dress, looked exactly like Disney's Rapunzel, which surprised her, as she hadn't given it much thought.
"I wasn't thinking about Disney Princesses during the show," Seeun smiles. "But now that you've mentioned it, in future shows, I'll think of it as a princess party!"
Below, STAYC goes in-depth about their growth as artists, their favorite moments, their thoughts on North American fan culture and barking, and what they're looking forward to in the future.
Sieun: To be honest, when we first toured two years ago, we had some pressure and worries if there were not enough audience [attending] and not enough cheers, but we didn't have to worry at all. Now, after two years, we're focused on enjoying our audience without worries and just communicating with our U.S. SWITH. We have developed and improved over the past two years.
Isa: I definitely wanted to show that we have grown as a group. With this tour, we have unit and solo stages we didn't have before, and we've been able to try different genres. We wanted to share all these different sides of ourselves with our fans.
Sieun: A lot of SWITH caught my eye because their outfits were so stunning. For example, many came prepared with teddy bear costumes or outfits, or big [giant] ribbons. They also brought a lot of STAYC merchandise! I was so proud of that. I love [SWITH's] talents because they cannot help but sing and dance along with us on all of our setlists. That’s very outstanding. The energy was just unbelievable.
Isa: It’s really fun. Their cheering is really loud. Their voices are very strong. The volume is very powerful. The strength of their voices [enables us] to do the concerts with a lot more energy.
Yoon: Even though there are differences on an individual level, one of the differences [between fans from Western [countries] and Asia] is that the fans in Asia are a little more conservative; usually sitting down and doing certain cheer routines that they’ve prepared [and experiencing the stage by taking it all in]. Whereas in the U.S., they’re standing, dancing, and partying with us as if they were on stage too. They’re just having so much fun.
J: When I first heard the barking, I was a little bit confused and didn’t know how to react. But now, it’s really funny. I do it with them. It’s a lot of fun.
Sumin: I love to write. During this tour, I felt some things that I can’t usually feel because of our busy schedule in Korea. I also share a hotel room with Isa and talk to her since we have different opinions on things. That has been an inspiring experience.
Siueun: If I could stay longer in LA, I would. But this time I’m [excited about] Dallas because I heard that their barbecue is really good. Maybe Toronto because we’ve never been there. Actually there are many European SWITHs So if we can I would love to go Europe.
Seeun: I heard the venue where we're performing in New York is very famous. I'm looking forward to that.
Isa: We are very interested in music festivals. In Korea, we actually attend many outdoor events. It makes me curious how outdoor events are in the U.S. Of course there’s Coachella and Lollapalooza. They’re very well-known popular events and we would be so grateful to perform at one of those. But even if it’s not a performance just going to experience it would be amazing as well.
J: I would love to be at Coachella and Lollapalooza. If the opportunity arises I would gladly perform at any American festivals. If they asked I’d run over right away.
Sieun: I’ve learned more about myself than before [and that there are whole,different parts of who I am]. I realized there is no limit to STAYC’s music because we challenge a lot of different genres.One of the greatest things I’ve learned is that even when we are far apart,the music keeps us connected,and we can all be together through our music spaces.I’ve learned those kinds of things.
STAYC continues their [Stay Tuned] Tour this month in North America, with their concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas tonight.