STAYC Metamorphic era

STAYC released their full-length album Metamorphic on July 1, 2024. The members intended for this album to be a masterpiece.

The trailer video for Metamorphic features eight minutes of various egos emerging in rapid succession. The album's songs capture the essence of the members in their early 20s. STAYC hoped to share more songs with their fans.

Since their debut, STAYC has consistently sung about pure love. However, for the title track of their first full-length album, they aimed to position themselves as a “4-year-old K-pop girl group,” not one defined by their agency’s small-to-mid size. STAYC sought to impose their taste and reshape the public’s taste. This was the first impression left by the title track, Cheeky Icy Thang.

Cheeky Icy Thang required the members to mold themselves to the song. Even so, STAYC’s uprightness and playfulness—like that of a puppy charging forward—remained intact. The rap grows increasingly provocative and powerful toward the latter half, more than in any of their previous title tracks. Isa’s part in the climax feels like the song’s very purpose. The sound here feels almost like an illusion, and the song’s shortened length seems intentional to preserve that illusion.

Haters took aim at the full-length album—through the title track’s MV, music sites, social media, and anywhere they could. But their attacks failed to take hold in fan communities. STAYC’s fans stood their ground to the very end, and on July 12, STAYC claimed victory on a public music show.

On July 14, a music webzine published a critical review of Metamorphic. The following day, STAYC released a performance video for “1 Thing,” a track from the album.

On July 19, STAYC performed their debut song So Bad on a music show. Unlike four years ago, fans were in attendance. That same day, STAYC released a performance video for “Stay WITH me,” a track from Metamorphic. The song, written by the members for their fans, was accompanied by a video filmed while spending the entire day together with them.

On July 20, STAYC announced the end of their music show promotions through a live broadcast. With their “crunch mode” complete, fans headed to the chicken shops where STAYC members had personally placed pre-orders.

On July 28, STAYC closed out their Metamorphic era with a performance of Cheeky Icy Thang at KCON in the US. At the after-party, the members toasted with the words, “No matter what anyone says, we're the best.”