Stray Kids’ August 2026 releases were designed as a two-part event rather than a single comeback date. The group first marked STAY’s eighth anniversary with SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1, then followed it with their tenth mini album, THIS and THAT, creating a release map that connected fandom celebration, visual storytelling, and new self-produced music.
For fans who saw the coffee-cup teasers, the eerie truck trailer, and the pixel-art “FARMING” video as separate posts, the bigger picture is simple: each piece introduced a different side of the same August era. Here is how SKZ-REPLAY, “FARMING,” and THIS and THAT fit together.
Stray Kids Had Two August Releases
The first release, SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1, arrived at midnight on August 1 as part of the group’s 2026 STAYweeK celebration. The date holds special meaning because it marks the anniversary of STAY’s official formation, making the digital project a fan-focused release rather than the formal start of the new mini album.
JYP Entertainment described the project as a gift expressing gratitude and sincerity toward STAY. Its rollout also included a mini livestream, behind-the-scenes material from Stray Kids’ sixth fan meeting, a new SKZ LOG episode, and episodes of the short-form drama THIS and THAT: The Secret of STAY Company.
The exact U.S. platform release time for SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1 was not specified in the available materials. That distinction matters for American fans looking back at the schedule, since the August 1 release was not presented as part of the eight-song THIS and THAT tracklist.
The formal comeback arrived less than a week later. THIS and THAT was released on August 7 at 1 p.m. KST, which was midnight ET and 9 p.m. PT on August 6 in the United States.
How the THIS and THAT Rollout Took Shape
Stray Kids built the mini album era in stages, beginning with music before fully explaining its concept. On June 22, JYP announced pre-release single “RUN IT,” THIS and THAT, and the group’s Run It world tour together, setting up an unusually connected campaign.
- June 24: “RUN IT” arrived as the pre-release single.
- July 8: The surreal THIS and THAT trailer and teaser timetable were released.
- July 10: The eight-song tracklist appeared through a coffee-cup concept image.
- July 14: I.N and Seungmin’s unit and individual teaser images expanded the bright classroom styling.
- July 17: Stray Kids released the UNVEIL : TRACK video for “FARMING.”
- August 1: SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1 arrived during STAYweeK.
- August 7: THIS and THAT and its title track were released.
The mini album contains “RUN IT,” title track “This and That,” “After You,” “FARMING,” “I Do,” “Way Out,” “Back Then,” and “This and That (Festival Version).” The order gives the project a clear performance-minded shape: it opens with the pre-release single, centers its title track early, and ends with a festival-ready alternate version.
“RUN IT” also established a high bar for the era. JYP reported that the song topped iTunes song charts in 43 regions, including the United States, and reached No. 1 on YouTube’s global music-video trending chart.
Why FARMING Became the Key B-Side Preview
“FARMING” is track four on THIS and THAT, but its UNVEIL : TRACK video made it a major early clue to the album’s sound and visual language. Stray Kids have long used the UNVEIL format to spotlight B-sides with more than a brief teaser, giving fans an entry point beyond the title track.
The video places the members in a tense minefield-clearing mission. They appear as hunters surrounded by maps, notes, and strategy boards, while retro pixel graphics turn the operation into a dark game-world scenario.
That imagery has a distinctly Stray Kids balance. The mission setup is serious and eerie, but the digital effects and slightly strange direction preserve the group’s offbeat character rather than turning the concept into straightforward dystopian drama.
3RACHA, the in-house unit of Bang Chan, Changbin, and HAN, wrote and composed “FARMING,” with Bang Chan also participating in the arrangement. The group’s core production team was credited across all eight tracks, making the video a useful example of how the mini album’s sonic identity was tied to its own members’ creative work.
Coffee Cups, Classrooms, and a Mysterious Truck
The “FARMING” visual did not stand alone. It formed the darker end of an album campaign that kept shifting between cozy, playful, and unsettling worlds.
The July 8 trailer introduced a mysterious truck after an unidentified person received an LP from Seungmin. Inside its surreal world, people working as baristas, chefs, photographers, auctioneers, dancers, and bakery workers all resembled Stray Kids members and repeated only “this” or “that.”
An earlier pre-teaser, titled TEST, took a low-key horror approach as the members explored an abandoned house through shaky camcorder footage. The truck’s return linked that uneasy setup to the later trailer, suggesting that the album’s visual universe was intentionally built in pieces.
At the same time, the tracklist image used paper coffee cups, while I.N and Seungmin’s teaser photos leaned into soft colors, oversized coffee props, and a polished classroom mood. The contrast is one of the most useful ways to understand THIS and THAT: the era was not locked into one genre of image or emotion.
What the August Plan Said About Stray Kids’ Era
The split between SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt.1 and THIS and THAT showed two different priorities. August 1 centered STAY through anniversary content and a digital gift, while August 7 put the focus on a structured album campaign with a title track, B-side previews, trailers, and production credits.
That approach arrived after Stray Kids had achieved eight consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1 debuts, according to the supplied release materials. Rather than treating the next project as only a chart follow-up, the group framed it as an era with room for fan content, lore-heavy visuals, softer member teasers, and stage-focused music.
The remaining question for listeners is how the title-track video connects the coffee-shop world, the mysterious truck, and the game-like mission of “FARMING.” With a festival version of “This and That” closing the tracklist, the mini album also leaves a clear clue about which songs were built to carry beyond the teaser cycle and onto large live stages.
Sources
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K-Cult.com
«Stray kids this and that tracklist teasers reveal a sound direction stays think will define the seventh mini album» -
K-Cult.com
«Stray kids i n and seungmins this and that teasers turn into a soft visual flex and every stay is watching one detail» -
K-Cult.com
«Stray kids go dark as hunters in new farming unveil track and this game world concept teases their this and that era» -
K-Cult.com
«Stray kids split their august rollout in two and stays have a new release date to circle first»