K-pop group, Ateez breaks records in the industry in concert and album sales. PHOTO CREDIT: consequence.net
ATEEZ is one of the most popular K-Pop groups in fourth generation K-Pop. They have broken dozens of records in terms of album and concert sales.
They are slowly climbing to the top and have so much love and support from their fanbase called ATINY. According to the fandom website, “ATINY is a contraction of ‘ATEEZ and destiny’ and signifies that ATEEZ’s future is together with their fans,” (Fandom.com)
ATEEZ made their debut on October 24, 2018 with their first EP (extended play) “Treasure EP.1: All to Zero.” This album reached number seven on the Korean Gaon Album Chart and sold over 50,000 copies in South Korea; which is huge for a debut album and band.
The group consists of 8 members, Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. Hongjoong is the main rapper and leader of the group as well as a composer for the group. Seonghwa, San and Jongho are the vocalists and Yunho, Yeosang and Wooyoung are the dancers; Mingi is also a rapper.
ATEEZ is known for their extreme performances and their hardcore “noise” music. They are often referred to as “Global Performance Idols” around the world by their fans. They have some of the most intense and unique choreographies in K-Pop and their performances are always so well produced and put on.
They released their ninth EP “The World EP.1: Movement” on July 29, 2022. This album and title track was one of their best works in my opinion. The title track is “Guerrilla” and everything about it was awesome. The music video reached 10 million views in 12 hours and over 13 million views in 24 hours.
Let’s get into this album, shall we?
“Guerrilla” was absolutely amazing, I cannot express how good this song was. The dancing, the vocals, the rapping and the production were all so well put together and performed. Mingi’s rap verse is my favorite part of the song because of how smooth his flow is and how deep his voice is. His deep voice when rapping is his trademark, and fans know it’s his turn to rap when he yells his iconic rapper tag “Fix On!” Jongho, the main vocalist, did what he needed to do in the chorus and the end of the song when he belted his high-note that just kept getting higher. I think literally ascended into heaven when he hit that high-note.
Also, the choreography for this song is considered one of the hardest choreographies in K-Pop. K-Pop groups on TikTok make dance challenges for fans and other idols to do. The idols feature other K-Pop idols and invite them to make a TikTok and dance to their song. However, a lot of idols did not want to do it because the choreography was so intense.
“Sector 1” is really catchy and the writing is so good. Hongjoong and Mingi’s rap verses are almost always back to back which is like a double kill. They are so good at what they do and their voices really compliment each other when they rap. The other six members sang on the chorus and their lines were really catchy. This is a dangerous song to play in the car because the base will probably shatter the back windshield. However, I love it and if it does shatter my windshield, so be it.
“Cyberpunk” was one of my favorites on the album. I really liked the techno beat on this track and I also loved how all the members shined on this song. Wooyoung, Yeosang and Seonghwa singing the pre-chorus was absolutely legendary. Their voices were so ethereal and calming. Of course, Jongho killed it again with his parts and with his powerful ad-libs in the background.
“New World” was really unique. There were a lot of vocal combinations and all the members really suited the song well. Again, I will say this until I’m blue in the face, Mingi’s rap verse was amazing. This verse in particular is my favorite of his from the entire album. He was going so fast I had to rewind the song four times to catch up to what he was saying. Yeosang and Jongho’s combined vocals was just heavenly, and I really can’t choose just one member’s vocals that I liked the best.
“The Ring” was slow-paced in terms of how the members sang and rapped it, but the background music and beat was really intense and hardcore. San and Yunho didn’t get much to sing on this song, but I loved their parts a lot. Again, Mingi with his rap verse just brought me so much joy when listening to it. I just love his talent and his voice and everything he does when he raps.
“WDIG (Where Do I Go)” was not my favorite song, but I still really enjoyed it. Whenever they do slow-paced type songs, they always seem to add a really cool and unique beat to it. I’m not complaining about it because it always works. Again, I cannot choose just one member’s vocals that I liked the most on this song.
“Propaganda” was sort of like an intro to the album. There wasn’t any singing or rapping on this song, Just Seonghwa speaking; along with a heavy metal techno beat behind his voice.
ATEEZ is so amazing, so talented and so cool. They are a very unique band and they are also so funny and kind. I highly recommend all of their albums and I also recommend seeing them in concert. I’ve never been to a concert of theirs but I really want to go.