GO LIVE

## "LIFE" Duology

### Producers

Amanda MNDR Warner, Peter Wade Keusch, VERSACHOI, Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, Glory Face (Full8loom), Jake K (ARTiffect), MosPick, $un, Bang Chan, earattack, Eniac, Lee Hae Sol, Armadillo, Ranga, Kwon Young Chan, Giriboy, Minit, KZ, Taebongi

**GO LIVE** (Hanja: GO生; RR: *gosaeng*) is the first studio album by South Korean boy group Stray Kids. It was released on June 17, 2020, with "God's Menu" serving as the album's title track.

The physical release comes in three Standard versions (A, B, C) and one Limited version.

## Background

*GO LIVE* was announced on May 28, 2020, with release of the album's trailer.

It features previous digital singles *Mixtape : Gone Days*, *Mixtape : On Track* and *TOP*, released on December 26, 2019, March 25 and May 13, 2020 respectively.

The album was promoted on music shows with the title track "God's Menu" from June 18 to July 12, along the song "TOP" for two performances. The song "Easy" was used for follow-up promotions on July 10, 11 and 12.

## Composition

> Stray Kids, who participated in writing, composing, and arranging each album to build their own "malataste music" world, will compete with more unique and experimental works.
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>  The eight members refer to the new song as a dish and contain the spirit to capture all listeners' tastes buds with this menu.
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> Stray Kids took the lead in all directions, including keywords, concepts, and music for the entire album, and did their best to realize 100% of the group's original charm.
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> It visually expresses the raw feeling of living and breathing vividly through rough unprocessed eyes and colorful graffiti effects.
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> In particular, the members directly proposed a collaboration with musicians who were usually interested in realizing the team's color. The writers of the first full-length album, which was composed in this way, drew great attention upon its release.
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> On the first track "GO LIVE" MNDR, who won the 2017 Grammy Awards "Best Dance/Electronic Album Award" for their work *Skin* in collaboration with Flume, added a hand to composition and arrangement. On top of that, they improved the completeness by working together with musician Peter Wade Keusch, who worked with world-class artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Charlie XCX.
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> The third track "Easy" was made by Mike Daley, who worked with Lady Gaga and Chris Brown, Henry Oyekanmi, who worked on Selena Gomez's songs, and Mitchell Owelly, who worked on Justin Timberlake's album.
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> In addition, a large number of colorful writers, including VERSACHOI, Full8loom, MosPick, Jukjae, Lee Seu Ran, earattack, and Lee Hae Sol, participated.
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> Since their pre-debut album *Mixtape* released in 2018, Stray Kids have given their listeners raw charm. They are expected to pioneer the K-pop market with *GO LIVE*, a new dish completed with fresh and distinctive ingredients and first full-length album.
> ― Official Introduction
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## Tracklist

1. GO生 GO LIVE
2. 神메뉴 God's Menu Title track
3. Easy
4. Pacemaker
5. 비행기 Airplane
6. 일상 Another Day
7. Phobia
8. 청사진 Blueprint
9. 타 TA
10. Haven
11. TOP
12. SLUMP
13. Gone Days
14. On Track

## Physical Album

Standard ver. (A, B, C)

* CD (3 types)
* Photobook (3 types)
* Photocards (2 out of 40)
* Unit Lyric Leaflet (1 out of 2)
* 4 Cuts Films (1 out of 4)
* Secret Card
* Polaroid (1 out 8) (*pre-order only*)
* Poster (1 out 3) (*pre-order only*)

Limited ver.

* CD
* Photobook
* Photocards (2 out of 40)
* Unit Lyric Leaflet (1 out of 2)
* 4 Cuts Films (1 out of 4)
* Secret Card
* Special Photocard (1 out 8)
* Mini Standing Card (1 out 8)
* Polaroid (1 out 8) (*pre-order only*)
* Poster (1 out 3) (*pre-order only*)

## Achievements

*For achievements specific to the title track, see God's Menu*

Awards

### Media Evaluation

> Since their debut, Stray Kids have been building a repertoire that reflects who they are: young, bright kids growing up and expanding their worldview. The two trilogies that shaped them as an act — I Am and Clé — dealt with a different kind of growing pain, which makes the timing for their first full length album, *GO生*, pretty perfect.
> Here, Stray Kids are not young’uns wading through loss, pain, and confusion as they were on “Astronaut” or “Side Effects.” *GO生* presents a far more confident, self-aware, and sophisticated image of this octet, whether it’s on “God's Menu,” where they claim that they’re not going to follow anyone else and instead play their own game, or on “Blueprint,” where they diligently keep moving forward no matter how hard people try to bring them down. For an act whose albums read like a diary of youth, *GO生* is the perfect graduation ceremony and start to a new era. — L.S.
> ― Billboard: The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2020: Critics’ Picks
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## Trivia

* Converting the hanja title GO生 in hangul gives 고생 *gosaeng*, which means a "hard life".
* The album's trailer showed two moons merging while everything came to life and started moving in unison with a pounding beat, a nod to the closure of Stray Kids' lore developped throughout the "I am" and "Clé" series, and the rebirth of the group's identity, as expressed by the hanja 生 *saeng* which means "to be born".
* "GO LIVE IN LIFE" is written on the album's CD. Fans speculated that the album would get a repackage titled "IN LIFE", which turned out to be true.
* The original title track for *GO LIVE* was scrapped last minute and replaced with "God's Menu", because the members thought they would do a better performance with it.
	+ An initial candidate to be the title track was the song "Super Bowl", which ultimately lost to "God's Menu" and was released in 2023 as a b-side on Stray Kids' third studio album, *★★★★★ (5-STAR)*.

## References

1. ↑  Stray Kids [INTRO "GO生"] (June 15, 2020)
2. ↑  Stray Kids [INTRO "★★★★★ (5-STAR)"] (May 31, 2023)