ATEEZ

With a tougher edge than most of their contemporaries, K-pop octet Ateez combine a fashion runway aesthetic with darker tones that incorporate hip-hop and electronic trap touches. Emerging in 2018, they issued the two-part Treasure EP series, which made a quick impact on the U.S. world charts, and they toured internationally less than a year after their debut. By 2019, the group had topped the Korean charts and risen into the U.S. Top Ten with their first full-length LP, Treasure EP.FIN: All to Action. Their next era started with 2020′s Zero: Fever, Pt. 1, a four-part series that wrapped up in 2021. Ateez began another chart-topping, themed series with 2022′s The World EP.1: Movement, continuing with Japan’s The World EP.Paradigm, The World EP.2: Outlaw, and their sophomore Korean-language LP, the chart-topping The World EP.FIN: WILL. Formed by KQ Entertainment — they were originally known as KQ Fellaz — Ateez comprise eight members: leader Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho. Though based in Seoul, the group trained in California when they were still known as the Fellaz, making their public debut in late 2018 as Ateez. They issued the swashbuckling debut Treasure EP.1: All to Zero that October. Featuring the singles “Pirate King” and “Treasure,” the set peaked in the Top Ten of the Korean chart and was promoted with a tour that included stops in the U.S. In 2019, they released a sequel, Treasure EP.2: Zero to One, which rose to number five on the U.S. World Albums chart, while the single “Say My Name” climbed to number eight on the World songs list. The group also signed a deal with RCA Records. Following the June release of Treasure EP.3: One to All, Ateez issued their first full-length, Treasure EP.FIN: All to Action. The album became their first number one in Korea and also rose into the Top Ten of the Billboard Heatseekers and World Albums charts. As their international presence continued to expand, they made their Japanese debut with Treasure EP.Extra: Shift the Map. The Treasure series continued into 2020 with Treasure Epilogue: Action to Answer (their second consecutive Korean chart-topper) and the Japanese-language mini-album Treasure EP.Map to Answer. Just as Ateez were about to embark on a lengthy, sold-out international tour, plans were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the setback, they continued promotions in a virtual setting and returned to the studio for their next phase, which was unveiled that July with their fifth EP, Zero: Fever, Pt. 1. The seven-track set made an impact in Korea and in the U.S., where the single “Inception” peaked at number nine on the Digital Songs chart. 2021′s Zero: Fever, Pt. 2 continued their international rise, incorporating English songs such as “Take Me Home” and “I’m the One.” Early that year, the group also issued their first Japanese album, Into the A to Z, with Zero: Fever, Pt. 3 arriving later that September. Ateez wrapped up their Zero series in December with Zero: Fever Epilogue, which was end-capped by the Japanese release of 2022′s Beyond: Zero. In July 2022, the group kicked off a new series with The World EP.1: Movement. Featuring the percussive stomper “Guerrilla,” the seven-song set topped charts in Korea and the U.S., notably rising to number three on the Billboard 200. The World EP. Paradigm returned Ateez to the Japanese market months later. They closed out the year with the single album Spin Off: From the Witness, which featured the track “Halazia” and a trio of pulse-pounding electronic remixes. 2023 launched with the near-industrial “Limitless” b/w the breezy, lovelorn “Diamond,” which was followed by the next installment of their series, The World EP.2: Outlaw. Featuring the skittering electronic “This World” and the hard-hitting anthem “Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers),” the group’s 11th Korean-language EP marked their eighth Korean chart-topper and highest U.S. showing to date. They bested that performance at the end of the year with their sophomore Korean-language full-length, The World EP.FIN: WILL, which closed out the series by topping the charts in Korea and the U.S. In 2024 Ateez staged comebacks with the single album NOT OKAY and mini-album Golden Hour, Pt. 1, the latter once again topping Korean charts. ~ Neil Z. Yeung