How ATEEZ Became Unstoppable

By Elizabeth de Luna


Last week, the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, was supposed to be bursting with energy, filled to the brim with fans waving light sticks topped with delicate plastic globes. The show at the 17,500-capacity arena would have kicked off K-pop categorize Ateez’s second sold-out United States tour in under per year. Though postponed indefinitely in the aftermath of the global coronavirus pandemic, The Fellowship: Map The Treasure Tour is a unprecedented feat for a crowd so young, proof of Ateez’s massive growth since their debut in October 2018. At this time last year, the far less than six-month-old order was playing venues a fraction of the size of these they right now headline. So, how did these fresh-faced rookies go from playing community centers to arenas in just over a year?


Ateez are undoubtedly talented, although the core of their ethos and key to their success is consistency — a harmony across their music, decorating, efficiency, and dedication to their diverse global fanbase. In their first 18 months as an audience, they proved to be not only remarkably persistent in their pursuit of global success, although virtually indestructible. From their first singles to their most recent release in January, just before the coronavirus epidemic in South Korea halted their promotions, the eight members of Ateez — Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, San, Yeosang, Mingi, Wooyoung, Jongho — and their team managed to release and promote more than five albums through injury and sickness, and across impossibly full schedules and almost a dozen time zones. To understand how they did it, we break down their appeal across four categories.


A Swashbuckling Concept & A Swift Coronation


In K-pop, the term “concept” is used to describe the total package of a group’s visual, creative, stylistic, and musical qualities. For Ateez, their debut single, “Pirate King,” was a conceptual manifesto. Its lyrics declared that the guys were “one with the ocean” and willing to “raise anchor,” “be whichever we want,” and set sail “to the bright place… somewhere on the horizon.” Yet, they conceded, the journey was “meaningless if I’m alone. We can conquer anything, together.” These themes of sailing, light, and journeying with each other toward a nebulous “treasure” have defined the group’s entire discography so far. Their music, spread out over the five-part Treasure album series from October 2019 to January 2020, is remarkably uniform in its messaging: of the group’s 30 Korean songs (not including remixes and orchestrations), 20 say the sea or sailing, 27 allude to going on a journey, and at least 29 say togetherness.


The members have never confirmed that “pirates” are their official concept (they’ve only ever acknowledged the existence of pirates in a single English-language interview), nevertheless the group’s first-ever performance on a Korean music broadcast made things pretty clear: In front of the wreckage of a ship bathed in blues and greens, leader Hongjoong declared himself a Pirate King.


Ateez’s stylists have danced masterfully around this concept, managing to channel the spirit and energy of a pirate crew without subjecting the eight members to costumes. While in their earlier promotions, they wore loose tops and jackets with ties, bandanas, scarves, and belts trailing beyond them as a wink to the swashbuckling unruliness of their inspiration. Pirates don’t wear elaborate or expensive clothes, so any accidental sloppiness conveniently passes as a conceptual choice. However that shows that once their decorating does become more elevated in later releases, the shift is noticeable.


Ateez’s second single, “Say My Name,” introduced the battle between light and dark that connects the Treasure series along a sole thread. In the music video, the members were joined by sleek, sinister fine-tune egos, their eyes tinted beneath the brim of black hats. Their presence offered that the treasure Ateez was seeking, that “bright place,” may not be gold, although the light within themselves. The sides were typically identified by color: red and black for “dark” Ateez, blue, green, and white for “light” Ateez. Their lyrics supported this narrative: Of their 30 songs, 29 say light or the sun, 19 say darkness, 27 say seeing clearly or initial your eyes, and at least six say “red” or “blue.”


The brilliance of Ateez’s decorating is that, even as they dabbled in the light — dancing on the sandy beaches of Saipan in the music video for their third single, "Wave," as Yunho’s tangy blue fringe blows in the wind — the spectre of darkness loomed in Hongjoong’s hair, which was a shocking red. In every of their promotional cycles so far, one member’s hair is tinged with their “dark” side: a light rose for Yeosang in “Pirate King,” red streaks for San in “Say My Name,” Hongjoong’s pepper red in “Wave,” and Mingi’s crimson in “Wonderland” and “Answer.”


The final installment of the Treasure series brought a resolution to this struggle. The music video for the lead single “Answer” shows the light and dark sides of Ateez sitting down to a meal together, seemingly at peace, before the camera reveals a new enemy: a masked figure in white. In the group’s first live performance of the song, Ateez once again dances in front of wreckage, lit up and red and blue, just as they did at their debut. More than per year later, the imagery feels as relevant and urgent because the initial time we saw it.


Slick Production & A Collaborative Sound


In our interview with Ateez’s lead producer Eden in February, the “father of Ateez’s music” (according to Hongjoong) introduced the collective of producers with whom he works to make the group’s sonic identity: Buddy, Ollounder, and Leez. They are referred to as Edenary and, with Eden as their guide, they decide the direction of the group’s sound and message. They tend to produce albums far in advance moreover to overseeing the group’s live visuals, all of which permits them to sustain Ateez’s unique musical identity. “We imagined the Ateez universe from the initial stage,” Eden explains. “In the future, you'll visualize the fashion of the music and the sound changing dramatically based on the storyline.”


Edenary’s ability to affect this storyline is made possible by two unique factors. First, they produce Ateez’s music, not just compose it, which means they can “[set] the structure for a group’s entire creative concept.” Then they work with choreographers B.B Trippin', marketing, plus a visuals team to “bring that vision into focus.” Eden says that teamwork is the perfect way to make something excellent. “If it comes from one individual, it's very hard to prepare a good product. Everything starts with the music, so our role is to make construct a space for other teams to be as creative as they can, to give those possibilities to them.”


They're also able to influence Ateez’s narrative because of their unique team structure and relationship with KQ Entertainment, Ateez’s parent firm. Eden explains, “When an organization like SM or Cube decides to produce an idol sort, they generally design a pool of a hundred songs from different composers or hold a song camp,” inviting composers to meet and collaborate together over the course a number of days. "For Ateez, Edenary has been there from the starting, working on the creation of the order with other teams. It's very rare for this to happen, for producers to work like we do in Korea. That has allowed us to prepare powerful music with a clear identity."


Ateez’s leader and Eden’s mentee, Hongjoong, is observing it all. “[Eden] has influenced us in so several different areas, whether it be our music or concept, and he’s certainly influenced my music, my personalized concept,” he tells MTV News. Hongjoong writes his own raps (as does Mingi) and has helped to write and produce three songs for the group: "Aurora," "Sunrise," and "Horizon." He has his own studio where he can "focus on diversifying Ateez’s musical identity" along with develop his own. "I converse with the members a lot and attempt to incorporate their ideas once I’m producing,” he says. As soon as asked if he hopes to one day have a hand in directing Ateez’s sound, Hongjoong responds earnestly: “Nobody can mention at this point [but] as I continue to grow and Eden creates more possibilities for me to participate, needless to say, I’ll do as much as I can.”


Lethal Stage Presence


A pre-debut video set the tone for Ateez’s approach to efficiency. In it, because the members mouth along to the uncensored lyrics of Famed Dex’s "Pick It Up," it’s clear that Ateez have something most young groups do not: a sense of humor. Before Ateez debuted, they trained at the Movement Lifestyle and Millenium Dance Center in Los Angeles. That gave them a physical and emotional connection to the city, and helped them develop a stylistic looseness and affinity for American hip-hop. In an industry where rookie groups often appear nervous onstage, Ateez’s facial expressions — like Wooyoung’s “Pirate King” smirk — make them seem experienced in back of their years.


Just as Edenary works as a team to oversee the top quality and consistency of Ateez’s music, dance crew B.B Trippin’ does the same for their choreography. Over email, B.B Trippin’ tell MTV News that they give attention to creating choreography with both “distinctive and broad traits,” with the target of placing the categorize both within K-pop and just outdoors of it. In other words, Ateez’s uniqueness is their superpower. “Instead of putting emphasis on completely synchronized choreography, they concentrate on harmonizing with each other,” says the collective’s leader, Sangwoo. “Their strength is showing the dynamics of the order while celebrating each individual member's fashion and talent at the same time.”


B.B Trippin’ have worked with Ateez since their debut and often serve because the group’s back-up dancers. This insinuates that soon after making a first draft “focusing on beat and control,” they develop each member’s personality traits into the dance “as if cloning them.” The troupe's choreography also tends to reflect itself, with moves and references cleverly re-used across countless songs (for example, this arm-waving move from "Treasure" which was used again in "Horizon"), which supports the tighten the group’s narrative and universe.


Ateez have become known for their explosive performances, nevertheless their commitment often verges on back-breaking. At least three members have suffered injuries in the past year, and three have suffered from conjunctivitis, although the categorize performs without consideration, often covering for missing members or sporting eye patches. Even as COVID-19 threatened to cancel their European tour, the order flew to Madrid early in preparation, an injured Jongho in tow. This tireless effort made them feel ever-present through 2019 and endeared them to a world audience of fans known by their official name, ATINY.


Going The Additional Mile For Their Global Fanbase 


Ateez were one of the opening K-pop groups to actively cater to international crowds by subtitling their digital content in English language, and that added effort has cracked the global market wide open for them. Their focus has been so international that Ateez didn’t hold a concert in Korea up until February of this year.


Their commitment to promotions in the U.S. Has been especially exhaustive. Moreover to their sold-out tour in March, the order returned three other times last year. Throughout town for KCON New York and KCON LA, they made appearances on the convention floor, contained hi-touch sessions with fans, and talked with dozens of local press outlets. They also contained three fansigns in the States, in New York and Los Angeles. Fansigns, where fans are able to sit and speak with each member individually, are time consuming and extremely rare In the United States. The categorize is rather skilled in fan service, a term used in K-pop to describe actions intended to delight fans. They dedicated their song “Star 1117” to ATINY in celebration of the date that they officially reported the fandom’s name, often name drop ATINY in interviews, and have been known to write messages to fans in support of their mental health.


While staking their claim in the U.S. Has been a focus for Ateez, the categorize also sold out tour dates across Europe and Australia, contained fansigns in Berlin, London, and Melbourne, and were slated to hold two more in London and Paris before the global coronavirus pandemic put live events and fan engagements on indefinite hold. However even in the face of an international crisis, Ateez has managed to stay connected to their fans. They've released a reality show through Facebook’s Hello82, uploaded a series of vlogs on their YouTube channel, expressed their stuck-at-home boredom on TikTok, and created the hashtag #StayWithATEEZ to motivate ATINY to cover “Answer” while practicing safe social distancing. And as a special gift to fans, last week they performed their pre-debut song "From" for the opening time on Music Bank in Korea; the vibrant live stage incorporated choreography from previous singles and evoked the endearing spirit of the group’s first moniker KQ Fellaz, an exceptional bit of fan service. It ended with personal messages from each member. "My loves, wait a little bit more," rapper Mingi wrote, translated to English.


For Eden, Ateez’s success is grounded in this unwavering connection to their fans, not their music or concept. “Honestly, I have no idea how long this K-pop phenomenon will last or if it will expand, however Ateez will share their story, music, and efficiency with any fan, without consideration of where they are from," he says. "The key to K-pop’s success is the culture of fandom, which I love. Anyone that likes Ateez can be piece of that community, can be ATINY. We hope to produce a musician that treats all fans identically — that is our ultimate goal.”