Felix, one of South Korean boy band Stray Kids’ stand-out rappers and dancers, is a fresh but increasingly significant face in the international K-pop industry.
Although Stray Kids only made their official debut in 2018, Felix and his bandmates have worked non-stop to create their own brand of personal storytelling and music. They have already released seven albums, filmed more than 30 music videos, recorded songs in English, Korean and Japanese, and performed concerts across Asia, North America, Europe and Australia.
An important part of the ambitious and promising K-pop act, Felix has stood out not only because of his unique low voice that is a hallmark of any Stray Kids song, but by helping the band grow by reaching international fans.
He’s still a rising star with much more to show, but here’s what you need to know about Felix’s life so far.
His early life
The performer was born Felix Lee Yong-bok to Korean immigrant parents in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. He is the middle child in his family, with an older and younger sister, and the Seven Hills suburb he grew up in is described as “working class”.
In addition to receiving training in taekwondo (he’s a third-degree black belt) and swimming as a child, Felix also grew up loving singing and dancing, eventually finding a role model in South Korean superstar G-Dragon of BigBang.Felix left Australia to follow his dream of being a K-pop star and moved to South Korea despite only knowing very basic Korean.
With about a year of training at major K-pop agency JYP Entertainment under his belt, Felix competed in the singing competition reality show Stray Kids, which put nine potential young stars through a series of tests and evaluations to decide the line-up of the new boy band.
After receiving criticism of his language skills and confidence, Felix was eliminated from the show along with another competitor, Lee Min-ho. In a surprise to both viewers and the members themselves, the two were given a second chance in the final episode by Stray Kids judge and JYP Entertainment founder J.Y. Park.
The K-pop exec said that the group seemed happier with the two members back on the team, ultimately deciding that Stray Kids would debut as a nine-member outfit (now eight after Woojin left in October last year).
His role in Stray Kids
Felix is considered one of Stray Kids’ main rappers and dancers. His ultra-bassy low tone can easily be heard in any of the band’s songs, but it’s perhaps best heard in his ominous opening lines to the 2019 single Miroh.
Alongside members Lee Know and Hyunjin, Felix is one of three members who are a part of Stray Kids’ “dance line” as the leading dancers in the group. They have even shared their own self-choreographed videos with fans.
Being with Stray Kids has made me feel more confident. It made me who I really am. I feel brave these days
Felix and Stray Kids’ leader Bang Chan – a fellow Aussie – are the group’s best English speakers, who take a leading role in promotions while overseas.
His image
As an artist, Felix is a bit of a paradox. Despite his shorter stature, small hands and charming looks that see him likened to a cat, his husky voice and intense dance style make him explode into an entirely new person on stage.
While it wasn’t always prioritised in some of Stray Kids’ earlier work, his voice has almost become a hallmark of the band’s music today and is loved by the group’s growing fan base, known as Stays. (“Where Stray Kids ‘stay’,” the band explained when revealing the name of their fan club in 2018.)
“I now know how to use my voice a bit more,” Felix told MTV during a 2019 interview when reflecting on Stray Kids’ first year together after releasing their first No 1 album, Clé 1: Miroh. “As we record new songs, I’ve been able to improve.”
In his own words
A major theme of Stray Kids’ music is taking the path less travelled and Felix has embraced that mindset in his own life.
“For me, when I was at a young age, I had listened to a lot of music and my mum introduced me to K-pop. From there, I thought, ‘Why not take a different road and take a chance on this K-pop life?’” he said in a 2019 interview with Australia’s Sunday Night TV programme. “It’s an adventure, it’s very new. I’ve learned a lot of new things including the language, culture and food.”
While it’s been an adventure, Felix has opened up about how tough it has been for the guys.
“We went through that same hardship back in our trainee days,” he said in a 2019 interview with Billboard, before flipping the sentiment by describing how “it wasn’t easy at first, but now that we’re a group, we wish to share all of our past hardships to Stays in the future – and through that we believe we can help each other.”
And as he told MTV in the summer of 2019: “Since being in the group, I’m learning more about myself as well and who I really am. Being with Stray Kids has made me feel more confident. It made me who I really am. I feel brave these days.”
