''Christmas EveL'' (pronounced "Christmas Evil") is a single album by South Korean boy band

Stray Kids Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin ...

. It was released on November 29, 2021, through

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

, and distributed by

Dreamus Dreamus is an electronics and entertainment company founded in 1999 originally as ReignCom. Currently headquartered in South Korea (and formerly in the United States), it is the parent company of South Korean-based iRiver, Astell & Kern and FLO ...

, as part of the band's Season Song project. Marketed as a "holiday special single", it consists of four tracks, including the dual lead singles "

Christmas EveL ''Christmas EveL'' (pronounced "Christmas Evil") is a single album by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released on November 29, 2021, through JYP Entertainment, and distributed by Dreamus, as part of the band's Season Song project. Marke ...

", and " Winter Falls", with a theme of "

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

naughty boy" and a

, hip hop, and pop sound. Commercially, the single album debuted atop the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...

, was certified triple platinum by

Korea Music Content Association The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

(KMCA), selling 750,000 copies, and was nominated for Album of the Year – 4th Quarter at the

11th Gaon Chart Music Awards The 11th Gaon Chart Music Awards ceremony was held at Jamsil Arena in Seoul on January 27, 2022, to recognise the best artists and recordings, primarily based on Gaon Music Chart of the year from December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2021. The cerem ...

Background

On January 1, 2021, New Year's Day, Stray Kids released the video ''Step Out 2021'', consisting of the group's achievements in 2020, and 2021's to-do plan, including their project called Season Song. In 2021, the group made history after participating and won the

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

competitive reality television show '' Kingdom: Legendary War'', and releasing their second studio album ''

Noeasy ''Noeasy'' (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released on August 23, 2021, through JYP Entertainment, nine months after its predecessor, Japanese extended play '' All In'' (2020) and ele ...

'' on August 23 with the lead single "

Thunderous "Thunderous" (, "Singer" (of ''Pansori'')) is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released as the second track of their second studio album ''Noeasy'', and serves as its lead single on August 23, 2021, through JYP Enterta ...

", which received an important musical success. The album debuted atop the

and sold over 1.2 million copies, becoming the first million-selling album by the group and their label

. On November 11, the group released a mysterious poster to promote ''Christmas EveL''. The project was later described as a "holiday special single" for their fans as a thank-you gift, as part of the Season Song project.

Music and lyrics

''Christmas EveL'' is thirteen minutes and fifty seconds long, consisting of four tracks, categorized as a

, hip hop and pop record with the theme "

naughty boy". All tracks were produced and written by 3Racha, an in-house production team of Stray Kids, consisting of Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han. The group's member Felix and Korean American rapper

Junoflo Samuel Juno Park (born September 25, 1992), better known as Junoflo (), is a Korean-American rapper. He has released three studio albums: ''Progression'' (2015), ''Statues'' (2019), ''222:AM'' (2020), one extended play: ''Only Human'' (2018), and ...

co-wrote the English lyrics of "Domino", originally included on the group's second studio album, ''

'', with the original writer, Bang Chan. HotSauce, Nickko Young, Earattack, and Versachoi also participated in co-composing the tracks. ''Christmas EveL'' opens with the title track, "Christmas EveL", a

funky Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid ...

hip hop song, expressing the different points of view and downsides of Christmas, rather than romance and warmth. ''

Elite Daily ''Elite Daily'' is an American online news platform founded by David Arabov, Jonathon Francis, and Gerard Adams. The site describes its target audience as millennials. In addition to general news and today's hot issues and trending topics, the ...

'' described the title track as an "anti-Christmas song". The Christmas-themed

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

second track, "24 to 25", is about wanting to spend time together from December 24 to 25, especially with their fans, called Stay, driven by a "calm" guitar sound. "Winter Falls", the third

pop track, details a person who tries to erase the complicated thoughts about a former relationship that come to mind during winter and the end of the year.

Release and promotion

On November 11, 2021, Stray Kids dropped a mysterious poster, titled ''Christmas EveL'' without knowing the format. The poster features a horrible, slightly off-smiley face in black, and a blood-like red background, showing 2 torn papers, the one features the red-font "Christmas Eve", and the one writes the "L" in flowing ink, as well as a release date: 2021.11.29. Marketed as the group's "holiday special single", previewing and pre-orders for the limited version of the CD began on the same day, and the standard version began on November 15. The group announced that they would not promote the songs on any music program, as a gift to their fans who have sent warm support and love in 2021. The individual and group teaser photos were uploaded in two sets. The first shows the members in tartan-patterned outfits in an arcade. The second expresses the members tying a bow on their necks and wearing

-themed outfits, surrounded by wrapped presents and a Christmas tree in the background. The official track listing was posted on November 19, serving "

" and " Winter Falls" as a double

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on the record. Two music video teasers of "Christmas EveL" were released on November 20 and 27, while "Winter Falls" was released on November 22 and 28. A snippet video called "unveil: track" of "24 to 25" was uploaded on November 25, as well as the title track "Christmas EveL" via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Reels on November 27. An accompanying music video for "Christmas EveL" was premiered alongside the single album release, "Winter Falls" the next day, and "24 to 25" on December 6. Although there is no promotion at the music shows, "Winter Falls" was given a debut performance at 2021 ''

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

'' on December 25, alongside "

", arranged in the Christmas version. The next year, they performed "24 to 25", and "Christmas EveL" at its 2022 edition of the same program.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Rhian Daly rated ''Christmas EveL'' four out of five stars, and said that aside from the English version of "Domino" that provides a "fiery end to the record", there is a "Christmassy atmosphere that runs neatly through the rest of the tracks". Daly did not see this as a negative though, commenting that "That's typical Stray Kids, though – always keeping us on our toes even when we think we've got them pegged." ''Christmas EveL'' was nominated for Album of the Year – 4th Quarter at

Commercial performance

In South Korea, ''Christmas EveL'' debuted at number one on the

for the date issue of November 28 – December 4, 2021, selling 654,658 copies as of November 2021, making it the group's sixth number-one album after '' Clé 1: Miroh'', '' Clé: Levanter'', '' Go Live'', '' In Life'', and ''

''. The lead single "Christmas EveL" and "Winter Falls" entered the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

simultaneously at numbers 114 and 151, respectively. All of the single album's four tracks also debuted simultaneously on the Gaon Download Chart, where the lead singles debuted in the top 10. In the United States, the single album landed at number 25 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

, as well as number 9 on Hungary's Album Top 40 Chart. ''Christmas EveL'' received a double platinum certification by

(KMCA) on February 10, 2022, and later a triple platinum on May 12.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an English lyricist.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the official website. Musicians *

– lead vocals ** Bang Chan (

3Racha Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 Stray Kids (TV series), reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunji ...

) – lyrics , English lyrics , composition , arrangement , all instruments ** Changbin (3Racha) – lyrics , composition ** Han (3Racha) – background vocals , lyrics , composition ** Felix – English lyrics * HotSauce – composition , arrangement , keyboard , drum programming , computer programming * Nickko Young – composition , arrangement , all instruments * Shin Ye-rin – strings * Earattack – composition , arrangement , background vocals , all instruments * Kim Jong-sung – guitar *

– English lyrics * Versachoi – composition , arrangement , all instruments Technical * KayOne Lee – digital editing * Goo Hye-jin – recording * Choi Hye-jin – recording * Bang Chan (3Racha) – recording * Manny Marroquin – mixing * Jay-P Gu – mixing * Lee Tae-sub – mixing * Yoon Won-kwon – mixing * Chris Galland – mix engineering ** Zach Pereyra – assistant ** Anthony Vilchis – assistant * Kang Sun-young – mix engineering *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering Locations * JYP Publishing (

KOMCA The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it is ...

) – original publishing * Copyright Control – original publishing * JYPE Studios – recording , mixing * Channie's "Room" – recording *

Larrabee Studios Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969. Facilities Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a prod ...

– mixing * Klang Studio – mixing * Studio DDeepKick – mixing *

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

– mastering * 821 Sound Mastering – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

{{Stray Kids 2021 EPs Christmas albums by South Korean artists Christmas EPs JYP Entertainment EPs Korean-language EPs Single albums Stray Kids EPs