STAYC, 'Stereotype'

By Alex Ramos

Published September 8, 2021 at 11:27 AM EDT

As easy as it is to feel yourself, to flirt and shimmy, one look can turn your perception upside down. Accompanied by a music video that captures the girls in high school — the springtime of life! — STAYC's "Stereotype" is about inhabiting youth and confidence, but also the vulnerabilities underneath. The titular single from the K-Pop girl group's first EP dresses up STAYC'S teen-pop sound with a persistent hi-hat that keeps you rocking until the chorus' wobble bass kicks in. "Please like me / I'm still tender," sings Sumin. "Don't look at me with tinted glasses on," Isa adds, her voice illuminated by synthy keys.

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Alex Ramos

Alex Ramos is an artist, writer and editor who specializes in media journalism and music criticism. They're a recent graduate of California College of the Arts, where they were trained in filmmaking and animation. Outside of their work at NPR, Ramos is editor-in-chief at Sunstroke Magazine, an independent publication that centers Generation Z, culture and activism.

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