KARMA
- Liv Dunleavy
- Sep 19
- 2 min read
By Liv Dunleavy
Asst. Arts and Feature Editor
K-pop megastars Stray Kids have been absolutely dominATE-ing the music sphere this past year, sweeping awards, topping charts, and breaking records. This summer, the group released their fourth Korean studio album, “KARMA.” Composed of six absolute bangers and two remixes of the title track “CEREMONY,” the full album falls at eight songs for me to play on repeat for the rest of my life.
The album’s tracklist is a manifold of genres. There is an overwhelming draw to each song that is unlike the others. “CEREMONY,” the title track, had fans feral, clambering at YouTube’s metaphorical gates to watch what I would describe as the best piece of media to come out of 2025. Since my very first listen I’ve been salivating at the thought of screaming the chorus live at a concert.
“BLEEP,” the first track on the album, is one of the most fun to listen to and scream at full volume with the windows down. It has a crazy hook, an instant earworm chorus, and downright nasty lyrical composition. 3RACHA strikes again with diabolically genius wordplay on censoring and criticism.
From “CREED” to “In My Head,” the absolute range of this album is shocking in all the right ways. “CREED’s” trap style hip hop beat and rap heavy lyrics are a trap for all STAYs, and the music video is absolute madness. Whereas the pop rock track, “In My Head” is giving early 2000s boy band vibes.
I can’t pick a favorite, believe me I’ve tried, but every song on “KARMA” is worth a thousand listens. I couldn't recommend it more, and I hope to “hip-hip hooray!” and celebrate with you all at the next Stray Kids tour!
