STAYC YOUNG-LUV.COM era

STAYC made their manifesto with “SO BAD,” gained recognition with “ASAP,” and built a fandom with “STEREOTYPE.” With “RUN2U,” they created a K-pop trend. Their next album will focus on STAYC themselves.

Musically, “RUN2U” showed the most distinctly K-pop qualities. The familiarity that may become STAYC’s future signature is absent. This image attracted support from those drawn to sophistication. Maybe due to the song’s nature, some predict it will be performed on Apple TV+’s KPOPPED in September 2025.

Like “STEREOTYPE,” this song is steeped in Korean retro. But while “STEREOTYPE” leans melodic, “RUN2U” stands out for a distinctive trot-style pitch bend that appears at the 111-second mark of the video.

The music video's composition and color palette have earned praise from many viewers.

STAYC may be young, but true to their royal K-pop blood, they handled glottal stops with finesse. JJ’s “dodo” line at the 96-second mark of the video opened a new frontier in Korean-language rap.

After this promotional cycle, the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end. In-person fan support began, and official light sticks are expected to be released soon.

“YOUNG LUV,” which is also the name of the album, ranked third on MTV’s list of Best K-pop B-sides of 2022.