Reacting to Stray Kids "LEVANTER" Trailer + M/V 스트레이 키즈 

In a recent vlog the guys called Levanter their beginning. And many Stays also see it this way, as it's the first album with them as the 8 formation we know today. They went through a very though period when they launched this album, so it's a significant point in time for them. I don't know if anyone mentioned this to you before, but the book ‘The Alchemist’ has been a major influence in this album, especially in the title track Levanter. Levanter is defined as being a strong easterly wind in the Mediterranean region. The Levanter in the book is also a powerful wind that symbolizes change, renewal, transformation. Therefore the song itself also represents a certain change Stray Kids is facing. For those who have not read "The Alchemist", it is a spiritual story of a boy/ a young shepherd who sells all of his belongings to pursue his dreams. As he main character of the Alchemist feels the Levanter, he decides to go on a journey of self discovery. In the same way our guys talk about letting go of the past, embracing one’s self and their journey to freedom (both from the maze they were traveling since Miroh and from the constraints of society). Their goal up to this point was to escape the maze, and I believe that maze was beginning to define them, so by letting IT go (destroying the elevator, the ticket to the new world) they are freeing themselves and can move forward as individuals. The pyramid also gave me pause when I first saw the video. But going back to the Alchemist, that novel shows the journey of a shepherd who dreams about a treasure hidden under the pyramid of Giza. An Alchemist convinced him to go on a journey an fulfill his destiny (self discovery). He leaves on his journey as soon as the Levanter rises, but when he gets to the pyramid he realizes there was no treasure, the journey up to the pyramid was the treasure. So the pyramid collapse in the MV, to me means that it was part of the world they are letting go in order to move forward. The pyramid is not the goal anymore, the journey to reach it was. Also, at the end of the video, I tend to think they are back in the Hellevator field, but as changed individuals. The thing that Felix is holding is indeed a broken compass. I don't know if you remember the lyrics Felix sang in Double Knot, but they go like this: "Blank-sided dice, no-sided coin, wherever it points Now it doesn't matter 'cause I'm following the broken compass in the void" The compass is significant for SKZ and present in other songs as well. 3Racha also has a pre-debut track called Broken Compass. It was remastered and rearranged under the name Mixtape#4 in the Cle1: Miroh Album. That song uses the metaphor of a broken compass to emphasize the importance of pursuing ones dreams without comparing yourself to others. Their light stick is also a compass without direction. I'm not good with all the clone theories and alternate universes LOL, but I'm a book geek, and I was intrigued by the parallels with the book. Before moving forward to the Go Live album, make sure you watch the Stray Kids:Prequel (Highlight Reel) You might already have it on your list. I just thought to mention it. It will provide more insight into their story. Thank you for the reaction and the analysis :)

Levanter is one of the songs that helps me a lot when i suffer from my depression it's my saferope ❤

If I remember right I.N. is supposed to be the only one who is semi aware of the other versions of themselves/the universe

The pyramid actually comes into play if you watch Scars. Scars is a Japanese track that falls outside the story as well, but it mirrors in reverse to Levanter. With that one, you should watch the video, then a lyric video because Japanese tracks never have subtitles. I didn't include it because it only really ties into Levanter. - In the trailer, you see the members in scattered areas that they have traveled through. They seem to be reaching for each other through dimensions. And you see that when they are crossing paths on the street, I.N & Chan have static & feedback that effects them & spreads to the others. In the elevator, it's actually Chan who presses all the buttons when Seungmin is reaching for the Han in the lavender fields. Then we see Han with them as the elevator goes out of control. (The crazy numbers are an indication that is not just going down or up, but across space as well.) The door that forms isn't the elevator. It links so much in their story. Every path they took opened & closed doors. (This will come into play in Back Door.) - Levanter starts with them seeing the door, and the lavender field group in peace on the other side. Everyone is then in separate places after that. - The tunnel does seem to be the one from My Pace, but the distance between Changbin & I.N crumbles into a chasm before their feet. They also dance as a group there. A lot of the choreography is reminiscent of past choreo. Felix & Hyunjin from Side Effects, except this time Felix comforts Hyunjin's fears. The Mirror choreography of Changbin & Hyunjin. The move Han & Hyunjin do is very similar to the one Seungmin & Lee Know do in Mirror as well. The dance with Chan in the center is reminiscent of both District 9 & Double Knot. (Also, if you watch the dance practice for Levanter, it starts with Chan raising Hyunjin up from the ground in almost the same way he did at the end of Side Effects.) - The shooting stars, the lights in a bottle, the beam of light, and the pyramid are all tied to Scars. Sorry for not including it. Like Top, it only ties into this song. - We see Felix in a place outside of time & space watching the compass. As you guessed, it does track the other paths & members form other realities. I.N can see some of this, as he is the glitch. When he was talking about letting go, it was with Felix holding him. Then Felix reassures everyone that "It's all good". Chan is the one who brings I.N's attention back to what the others were doing when he got distracted with the other places he could see. - Yes. They burned the elevator & the ticket. But they also let go of holding onto the keys. These were all things that they hoped led somewhere, or symbolized a path that they thought they had to take. Because they were searching so hard, they got lost in trying to find the way. They lost sight of the reason they had started in the first place. Here they realized that what they needed wasn't something they had to chase. When they realized this, they went through the door. And even though it had a keyhole, they never used one to open it. They left the quiet lavender fields that were anything but paradise, they left the darkness, they left the destruction that they had traveled through behind. Now. With TOP (And Scars, if you wanna explore that one) it ends with what we see here. TOP is the conclusion to the Airplane groups' story. And then we move on to the Highlight Reel. Then to Gods Menu & Back Door. We will see why Gods Menu is the true beginning of SKZ.

Levanter was their new beginning and the kids also see this as it is. On the recent content of skz, they watched the levanter stage and everyone was quite. Stays new that levanter was very difficult which even the kids always share that whenever they hear or perform it, its still heartbreaking for them, silently cry because of it. To tell you a little information. Levanter was supposedly OT9. They already recorded it, made a music video and etc. and amidst all of that, they are already near for their world tour but all things happened. Woojin left, the comeback was pushed back, they need to rerecord everything, the world tour needs to be pushed back cuz they need to prepare as ot8. Everything was in chaos, and the struggle the kids had was hellish. They were even drag because of woojin's issue, everything was a mess that's why whenever they hear or perform levanter, they always feel mixed emotions.

This is the first song after Woojin left the group, it is a significant song for Stay because it marks a new beginning for them as OT8, they were moments of great pain for the boys. Beautiful song😢

In terms of music, I can add to your review that Chan plays guitar, a bit of piano and drums...besides all the synthetic sounds that they incorporate to their music, so at this point, and if you want to watch and hear what it sounds, they've been using a live band at their concerts, so you can see that their music is not only kpop or rock, and it is made in a way that even if you take the synths away and make it rock or an unplugged version, you will still recognise them and their sound, and it will feel Stray Kids anyway... for example, The First Take episodes where they go in one take, with the base in a special studio, nothing else...(from the last japanese album, the song Lost Me was re-arranged and it felt so unique)...and that's why they also broke some kpop barriers and made their own way just looking for their own style, sound and not loosing all the music sense in between, because beside being idols, they are musical producers and musicians on the go too, maybe they are not formally prepared enough to talk about music technique itself, but they know what they want to do and how to achieve it.

levanter is such a beautiful yet bittersweet song for stray kids. as most of the comments have mentioned, it was a very hard time during the release as they had a member leave the group (leaving them as the lovely 8 we know now), and he left before the album was to release, causing stray kids to have to re-record the entire album and the situation just left immense stress on them because they didn't know how the public would react to a new sound and a new formation. while it's not their most popular title track (which is upsetting, it's a very beautiful song and it deserves love!), it is very sentimental. stray kids call this their beginning rather than hellevator or district 9. there is a video that was released during what they call "stay week" (a week they spend celebrating the "birthday" of the fandom, august 1st), where they mention this, as they reflect on their previous releases. and there is a very specific clip of them finding out they had a music show win for this song, where they are told and they all take a breath of relief, and chan even gets on his knees and cheers. it's a very bittersweet moment to see as they dealt with hardships and they ended the era with a win. its also the last time we see stray kids "struggle" (not necessarily a struggle, but they themselves have said the following), as they believe that the following album containing gods menu is what really set their sound as a group. i personally believe that the hardships they had gone through during the levanter album is what pushed them to this final, risky step into a new sound as a group

Wow, I’m reading all the comments with explanations, you guys are awesome, thank you. Here I thought I was a Stay but realize I’m still a baby Stay.

The pyramid is a symbolism of some old story, don't remember the name. In the story a young boy goes on a great journey to find a treasure in a pyramid, only to learn such a treasure doesn't exist and pyramid was a fake illusion. In the end it's a journey of him finding himself, the journey was the treasure in itself. Awaiting English version Edit: I see someone explained in comments in more details 😊

Imagine this being the first song you hear from them cuz it is for me. This got me into Stray Kids and since then I've never looked back. Stray Kids are the reason that life seems so much better! Every song from them holds a beautiful meaning and that's why I love them!

I love how we have moved from music reactions to skz lore interpretation 😂 it really sucks you in - these guy are so creative in their art

This is my first time watching the Levanter trailer, thanks to you. Did you notice, in the elevator, that at first we only see shots of Seungmin. But after he touches Han's hand from the pink field, they are both shown in the elevator, but it's the "fluffy sweater" Han, not the one from the field. And then it's fluffy sweater Han's hand that is messing with the elevator buttons, and touches the watery surface after the key has been inserted, and now there are three of them, fluffy sweater Bang Chan has joined them... The kids from "pink field" dimension are wearing cream, off white and caramel hues, while the street dimension are all wearing black and white sweaters. In all MVs it's the easy way to differenciate the two dimensions versions of the boys, because their styling is different. The pyramid appeared in "pink fields" dimension in the trailer, and the kids from that dimension witness it burning down when the kids from the "street" dimension burn the (h)ellevator. (On a totally unrelated side note, I love your t-shirt, I have the same one in the same color, just the words are different 😊 )

I don’t know if anyone else mentioned it but there is an English version of Levanter.

The theme of the concept (coindcidentally or not) actually fits what SKZ was in reality going through at the same time. The lyrics being about realizing that sometimes letting go helps you find yourself, and after Woojin left SKZ, they managed to find the sound which makes Stray Kids themselves, as their next album had God’s Menu etc which blew them up like never before and established the SKZ sound. And for Woojin, he managed to pursue a solo career and could have all the song lines for himself without being contained as the main vocal who didn’t get to shine that much since SKZ relies more on their rappers than vocalists. So by splitting ways, they both found themselves

Stray kids Prequel Highlight reel is a must before you go on!!!!

This song is however a very melancholic one. For STAY and for SKZ. They get deadly quiet when it comes to this song. The Levanter choreo is very beautiful and symbolic btw. It includes moves from most previous songs. Not the mention the "I wanna be myself" is Seungmin dancing on his own, not following the other members which is just perfect symbolism. Top etc is totally split at this point tho. Japanese comebacks going their own way. Levanter ends main story

For TOP, I would suggest watching both the MV, for the lore part, but also the performance video, because that choreography is so cool and impressive! That song is one of my favourites and [spoiler], it's very..... d.... you know 😊

About your comment about it being a cool encore song: this was very painful for SKZ because they loet their 9th member right before the comeback, they had to redistribute his parts and modify the choreo, and probably redo all the shootings and videos, and they were exhausted in addition to being emotionally shaken by this big change. They had to do all the Levanter promotion with that grief and pain, and never went back to that song again after that, until this year in July, for their 5 Star fanmeeting show. They released a video this summer of "one day with Stray Kids" where they chill, do some karaoke, and watch their older performances, including the old Levanter, and that moment gets them all very emotionnal, thry talk a little about how hard it was... Here's the vlog video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LP0K1l8LtC0.htmlsi=31vPK8FJimcIKya1 It was released during STAY week, the week of content they put out before STAY's anniversary each year.

Hello and thank you for this reaction from SKZ! I love love love Levanter! It's one of the songs at the top of my playlist and every time I hear it Felix comes to mind tapping his foot on the chorus :) It's a very important song for the boys who at that time were going through very difficult times. This song, the lyrics, everything that happened in this moment of cb, the postponements, the re-recordings, all the boys' overcoming has a strength that helped and still helps many people emotionally. It happened to me and I'm grateful to them for it.

I recommend watching skz log they did during stayweek where they talked about levanter

In a vlog they did around a month ago (skz log) they said Levanter was like their new beginning, bcz they went though alot this era, probably with woojin leaving. This ong marked the new straykids with 8 members. Thats one of the reasons why this song means alot for straykids and stayville + I.N was the closet with woojin that's why it was hard to let him go

Levanter is one of my fave SKZ songs. The story and the message is something that most of us resonate with. I am glad that you are keeping up with their storyline I myself do not still fully understand. I am reading all these explanations in the comments and I am learning new things. I am happy that you like the song as well. I always look forward to your Stray Kids reactions 😁

Hi) really thanks for reaction on this song! Levanter really meaningful and so beautiful! One of my comfort songs, reminding how important be myself and appreciate myself. I can't count how many times I've listened to this song. Really masterpiece)

I don't know if you recall but in the video of you reacting to double knot (original version) I said that a lot was based on books and for one of them the pyramids in the video are based on the book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. ☺ It explains the story of a shepherd boy who has a dream about a treasure hidden under the PYRAMIDS of Giza. An alchemist convinces him to leave to fulfill his personal legend (self accomplishment). The boy leaves when the levanter raises. (I am not spoiling the ending, but now you know where the pyramids come from)☺ I am so happy that you are almost at the end of this storyline (but also a bit sad😢) I enjoy it a lot.❤ Also, if you have more interest there is another storyline of other MV's and songs (a shorter one) but also very beautiful. The order of that one is: Mixtape: ON TRACK, B ME: unveil video and MIXTAPE: OH (so it is only 3 video's so it is a shorter one😆)

Pierre, I’ve been following your SKZ journey and love all your reactions. Levanter is my favorite SKZ song, and this song pulled me out when I was in the dark. Glad that you liked it!

I hope you noticed that when everyone felt a beep in the Trailer, I.N. He didn't feel it and looked straight ahead (perhaps proving the theory that he is a clone or the only one conscious). Moving on to another topic, as you already mentioned, it seems to me that this video has a very close relationship hellevator because even that pink field is the end of skz's first song is practically the beginning of his journey, but in this song they come undone (or so it seems) of the most important elements that they presented to us in their MVs, which are: The two moons (theory that both skz come together in the same universe or plane) They get rid of the elevator and the bus tickets. And therefore it seems that the compass that FELIX has appears for the first time (which I would believe represents stay) (I emphasize that Felix has it because I think it is important). Well to resolve your question about the pyramids (I investigated other stay theories) there is a book that seems to have been based on for the song called "the alchemist" where there is a treasure in pyramids, but in the end there was nothing there (that would explain because even when the pyramid disappears nothing happens) I'm going to stop here, although I would like to write more, I think I don't want to go on, I hope I have helped.

Now that u reacted to all the title tracks pls react to the Prequel BangChan put out explaining the lore. The lore is a lot deeper then what he explains but he's explains the basic of it.

I love Levante. Thank you. This is the song that saves me!

I really love your reaction and analysis. You point out some details that I missed back then. Thank you so much ❤ I love the comments section too! There's always new info. STAY, 143!

I was waiting for "this was different" lol thank you for reacting waiting for more videos

thanks for reaction! you are really attentive! There are other great comments adding some information, I will just say there is also an English version of this song :)

Felix and Hyunjin's duet was also used in Side Effects

This is first album when they're 8 and And the pyramid is known to be a symbol of unity also if we move one stone of the pyramid it will fall apart but even though the pyramid fell apart the song says that this is the beginning and not the end

lol I think my comment disappeared bc I added a link to the prequel highlight reel...anyway I'll say again: Levanter is my absolute fav, I appreciate you trying to understand skz lore even though I am certain neither skz or their staff understand it and I wanted to advise checking out the prequel highlight reel before getting into go live since it summarizes the previous eras and acts as a sort of bridge from a more heavy lore territory to now where lore is a little more lax (which i prefer because it allows them to explore more concepts) I think skz lore nowadays is mostly common motifs (the elevator, upside down city....um....shopping carts...couches, yeah couches are a huge skz lore thing)

The elevator levels were..... Y Z S K II D S ..... Stray Kids. So their turbulent voyage led them to their final destination ...... themselves......i wanna be myself....

thanks for the journey through the guys' songs. it's very exciting, thanks to your curiosity I learned a lot for myself, thanks to Stay who help to decipher❤

Queen levanter!

7:36 felt that confused look into the camera haha

They rarely perform Levanter at concerts. It's too painful for everyone, both for the guys and for the fans.😢

Thank youuuuuuu!!!! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

I was waiting for you to react to this song, it's beautiful and I'm glad you liked it! You should react to the English version of this song as well, there's a dance practice video you could watch, or just listen to it in your own time, it's just too good to skip.

Hi Pierre! as you've watched SKZ until Levanter, I suggest you watch 'Stray Kids: Prequel (Highlight Reel)' where they, themselves, explained the Lore for the I am and Cle Albums. And there, you'll be introduced to the Stray Kids of today. I hope you'll do it. thanks a lot!❤ More Powerssss

Lee know voice 😍😍

Hey ! You should check out the English version of Levanter. The lyrics translation is amazing, the meaning doesn't change much. You need to see it please !!

Вы заканчиваете линию разбора по лору, но впереди столько потрясающих треков и клипов, что я Вам завидую. Хотела бы заново увидеть и услышать их в первый раз и обалдеть так, как это было🥰

thank you for this video

The reason it shows I.N being hesitant and looking back so much is that he was the closest member to Woojin and going separate ways was hard on him and the fact that I.N was so young during all this, it was extra rough on him. 🥺 Our boys have gone such a long way I'm so proud of them, this song hits me to the core each and every time.

Thank you for your reaction. I would like to recommend you a video that summarizes the storyline from the beginning to Go Live. The name of the video is "Prequel (Highlight Reel)". It is a video that briefly explains the Storyline. I hope you get a chance to take a look.

Hello Pierre, Thought I would share this from Stay RM_formerlyjustRMbutYTsucks: 〰 I'll do my best to give you a brief rundown on a version of a popular theory Levanter and God's Menu were a turning point and the introduction of a new era. The two worlds appear to merge in Levanter (the title track before God's Menu and the one that started their ot8 era). SKZ have grown up, found themselves, chosen to neither follow the mainstream nor fight just for the sake of fighting, but rather to simply be themselves. You'll still notice two-world references in GM and beyond though, like Changbin's red-and-blue heterochromia and the lasers in the NOEASY trailer, so both worlds still exist in some form, just apparently operating as one for the moment. 〰Levanter is the first really noticeable turning-point, end-of-the-era video and incorporates multiple references, of various forms, to previous songs and videos. It's an emotional video for many reasons, but one of them is that it brings up all these mentions of other moments that happened up to that point, then reframes them in the transformative setting of Levanter. 〰 One of the most obvious is Hyunjin and Felix's neck-snapping choreo from Side Effects being transformed into a gentle action of comfort. 〰The choreo of Levanter also starts exactly where Side Effects ended, with Hyunjin dazed on the ground after the madness -- and then he's gently lifted up into the group, where the confusion and chaos of Side Effects has now been replaced with some of the most connected and supportive choreo in SKZ's collection. The building turmoil of the previous songs turns into an entire song of comfort and shared strength. 〰 Looking forward to the next reaction.. I am enjoying this..

Вас ввели в заблуждение. ТОП это песня к аниме- opening( башня Бога) как и slump ( к тому же аниме) и эти песни на японском языке и клипы нужно смотреть именно японские. ТОР моя одна из самых любимых песен

Если будете смотреть ТОР, то смотрите Японскую версию. Там клип просто бомба

I don’t know you’ve seen Stray Kids: Prequel (Highlight Reel) but I think it helps to understand everything better so you should watch it 😊

me gusta tus reacciones con los videos de skz, tu punto de vista es casi acertado claro hay algunas cosas que falta que descubras como esta cancion LEVANTER es como su inicio para ellos despues de la salida de un miembro, tuvieron que volver hacer el MV los 8 integrantes, me gustaria que reaciones y que comentes acerca de la cancion(chronosaurus-skz)saludos desde Peru😸🤞

In the trailer, not 5, but S

I really tried to watch this because it sounded interesting..But stopping every other frame is bonkers!!!! So freaking annoying...and maybe all your questions could be answered if you just stopped talking for , oh even 30 seconds, you might have an answer..I'll be sure to skip any of your other videos