Boy band Ateez talks fame at home and abroad

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Boy band Ateez talks fame at home and abroad

Boy band Ateez performs its new lead track "Guerrilla" during a showcase on July 28 for its eighth EP “The World Ep.1 : Movement,” set to drop on July 29, at Sejong University’s Daeyang Hall in eastern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Boy band Ateez performs its new lead track "Guerrilla" during a showcase on July 28 for its eighth EP “The World Ep.1 : Movement,” set to drop on July 29, at Sejong University’s Daeyang Hall in eastern Seoul. [NEWS1]

 
Ateez is back with its signature rebellious attitude with the new track “Guerrilla.” The boy band held a showcase on Thursday for its eighth EP “The World Ep.1 : Movement,” set to drop the following day, at Sejong University’s Daeyang Hall in eastern Seoul.
 
The eight members — Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho — introduced the lead track “Guerrilla” as a “very fast-paced and psychedelic number.”
 
“This EP is the beginning of a new album series following our ‘Zero : Fever’ series,” said Mingi.
 
“The music style of ‘Guerrilla’ is something that we haven’t tried before,” said Yeosang. “It was a series of trying new things for us, and encountering something new is always exciting. I hope our fans Atiny feel the same way when they see it.”
 
“The World Ep.1 : Movement” features a total of seven tracks that continue Ateez’s dystopian world view: “Propaganda,” ‘Sector 1,” ”Cyberpunk,” “Guerrilla,” “The Ring” and “WDIG (Where Do I Go)” and “New World.”
 
Ateez performs "Guerrilla" [NEWS1]

Ateez performs "Guerrilla" [NEWS1]

 
Ateez is a K-pop act known for seeing much more success abroad than domestically, relatively speaking. The band entered the Billboard 200 albums chart last year and recently wrapped up its world tour “The Fellowship : Beginning of the End,” which saw the boy band perform in Seoul, the United States, Europe and Japan, meeting 180,000 fans throughout the first half of this year. The boy band is set to embark on another world tour in the second half of this year.  
 
“We are so grateful that fans from all around the world, not just in Korea, are giving us so much love,” said Wooyoung. “That gratitude has turned into a sense of responsibility to keep doing our best, and also to work just as hard to get Ateez’s name more known in Korea as well.”
 
“Wherever it is, if there is a single Atiny watching us from somewhere, we will create quality music and perform a great show for that fan,” San said.  
 
Members say that they have had discussions within the team regarding the band’s popularity in and out of Korea.  
 
Ateez performs "Guerrilla" [NEWS1]

Ateez performs "Guerrilla" [NEWS1]

 
“We do talk about if we are relatively lesser known to the public in Korea, and ponder what differences the foreign and Korean markets have that resulted in this phenomenon,” said Hongjoong. “But anything ‘relative’ isn’t that important to us. We are already so grateful for the many Korean fans we currently have, and we don’t plan to start doing anything differently. We’re just going to keep producing the music that we want to.”
 
“The World EP.1 : Movement” has sold over 1.1 million copies in preorders as of Sunday, becoming Ateez’s first million-seller since the boy band debuted in 2018; a milestone for a top K-pop act. 
 
Hongjoong expressed gratitude toward fans for reaching the milestone.  
 
“Rather than focusing on just the numbers, we will take it as a message to keep working harder and repay the love from fans." 

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]
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