Hi! It’s Annie!
Let’s go further down the rabbit hole of K-pop groups I’m obsessed with! When it comes to K-pop there are currently four groups that I consider myself part of the fandom for. Those groups are BTS, ATEEZ, Everglow and Rolling Quartz. Of these I have only briefly mentioned ATEEZ, so I figured I should get on writing a post just for them. As I said when I first mentioned them; my introduction to this group was their performance at the 2019 MAMA’s when they performed a ‘Wonderland’ mashup that included a variety of covers of other songs. One of those songs was BTS’s ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’, which definitely caught my attention. Especially because Jimin and Hobi’s reactions to their performance were beyond adorable. The thing is, I thought that this performance was just a mashup of covers. When I heard the ‘Wonderland’ bits of it, I naively wondered what the original song was like and whether or not it was as good as this. Then I realized it was their own song, and I’ve been slowly becoming more obsessed with these boys and their music since then. Their songs are earworms and I generally have at least one of them stuck in my head every day. Anyways, let’s get more into the band and what they’re like!
The Members:
Hongjoong: Because I’ve started including this, I’ll mention here that he’s my sister’s bias. Hongjoong is the second eldest of the team, but is also the leader. The rest of the group often tease him for being strict, but overall he seems pretty loose and laid back. But he’s definitely the leader of the group, he generally has most situations in his control. He’s definitely got some David Bowie vibes going on sometimes, which is really high praise from me. He is also incredibly sweet with the fans and has the absolute best fashion sense. Not only that, but he’s the composer for most of the songs for this group, so he’s also insanely creatively talented. Hongjoong is also incredibly supportive of the LGBTQ community among so many other amazing communities and organizations. He is one of the lead rappers of the group.
Seonghwa: The eldest of this group. He’s the major caretaker and sweetheart in the group. He’s constantly worrying about the other members and checking up on their health. He’s also known for cleaning. When you see him off stage he can be a bit quiet but it’s just because he’s making sure everyone else has their say. The truly insane part about him is his stage presence. This group has a line known as the “demon line” because of how creepy and attractive they can look on stage. They’re really known for their stage presence. The members in the demon line are Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and San. Seonghwa is one of the last people you would expect to be a part of this line, but he looks like an entirely different person on stage. He is a vocalist in the group.
Yunho: He’s a large puppy dog and one of the funniest members of the group. Yunho seems to be able to have a good time in any situation. He’s always amused by something. He also is one of the most noticeable members on stage because of his height. And also his stage presence, really there is no member of this band who doesn’t have as much stage presence as the others. He’s well known for teasing the other members, but it’s all in good fun! He’s just really fun to watch. He’s another vocalist and he’s also my bias.
Yeosang: The main visual of the group. Yeosang is known for looking so handsome that he looks almost like a statue. He’s generally pretty quiet when they’re all sat together talking, but even then it’s hard to not look at him. There is a grace to him in whatever he does. That gracefulness is also present in his dancing, so he’s also difficult to take your eye off of in performances. He seriously looks very unreal. His role in the group is a performer as he’s definitely more of a visual than anything else in the group. That’s definitely not a bad thing though! He owns the stage!
San: Another member of the demon line which is, again, unexpected. San is a badass, but he also sleeps with about a dozen stuffed animals and takes one specific one everywhere with him. Super relatable. But you don’t expect his stage performance after knowing this about him. The other thing about San is that he’s probably the best dancer in the group. Even so, he’s not the lead dancer. It’s become a thing with people coming into this fandom to be really surprised when they figure out that San is not considered one of the lead dancers. He’s another one who is known for being sweet to the fans. ATEEZ met fans on the Youtube ‘React’ channel and he snuck up behind a girl who `had him as her bias so that when she turned around he was practically nose to nose with her. It was adorable! He’s another vocalist.
Mingi: He acts all cool but he’s also a big sweetheart. He’s also quite possibly the biggest dork in the group in the absolute best way. He’s always messing around, teasing the other members, and generally keeping the energy up. When ATEEZ won one of their first awards he just started jumping up and down as high as he could. He’s also super tall and has a deep voice when they perform which gives him an almost intimidating energy on stage. He is currently on a break for his mental health and I really hope he gets better soon! I’m glad he’s taking this time for himself though; mental health is incredibly important. He’s another lead rapper.
Wooyoung: Even though he’s second youngest in the group, he definitely seems like the maknae. He has this really cute and playful vibe around him. He’s often teased for being well-liked, which makes sense because it feels impossible to not like him. He and Yeosang used to be BigHit trainees, and Wooyoung still has an immense love for BTS that he’s very vocal about. Also relatable. He especially loves Jimin. His duality is also insane because his cuteness turns into complete badassery on stage. Did I mention that he’s cute? Because he is really cute. He’s another vocalist for the group.
Jongho: Who gave this man permission to sound like that? There are very few vocalists in Kpop as well rounded and unique sounding as Jongho. It is not hard to pick his voice out of a song. He can also sing just about anything and make it sound good. He will convince you that his voice is well suited for any song. In ATEEZ’s most recent variety show he was given the request to sing ‘Fancy’ by Twice. If you thought he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, you are very wrong. He’s also super buff and strong, which the other members tease him about. He is the only member of ATEEZ who knows how to tie a tie. He’s the lead vocalist, if it wasn’t already obvious.
This is another one of those groups where you can’t help but love every member. They all have insane charms. Not only that, but they are all great at their roles in the group. There is not a weak singer or rapper among them. Your bias will change depending on who’s on screen while they’re performing because they are all so dynamic.
Variety Shows:
Because I wasn’t as familiar with these yet, I didn’t include them in my variety shows post. I especially like ‘ATEEZ Holdings’ and ‘ATEEZ Fever Road’. The first of those is still ongoing and has only released two episodes. One of them is a spy episode and is hilarious to watch, even if it was kind of obvious to me and my sister who the spies were. But we do have an overhead view that the boys didn’t have and it was still fun to watch them try to solve it. The premise of that one is that they are all part of a company where they work in an office. My absolute favorite is the second one that I mentioned. They literally play a Jumanji style game with high stakes including some members being “kidnapped” and taken to separate locations. More importantly, it features Wooyoung in a giant polar bear suit. I love the personal variety shows, so I was glad to add these to the list of those type of shows that I like along with ‘Run BTS’ and ‘Everglow Land’. They used to have a variety-like show before they debuted when they were calling themselves ‘KQ Fellaz’. In that they go to Universal Studios Hollywood which is a place that I go a lot because I live in L.A. Now I’m going to go back there and just think of ATEEZ.
My Recommendations:
So many. Firstly, you have to listen to ‘Wonderland’ on it’s own and watch their performance of it in the mashup at the 2019 MAMA’s. I would also strongly recommend watching their Halloween performance of it, which is everything you would ever want in a Halloween performance of anything. Along with that, I recommend listening to ‘HALA HALA’, ‘THANXX’ and ‘Inception’. Please watch their performance of ‘Inception’ and ‘Answer’ at the 2020 MAMA’s too. King Hongjoong. That’s all I have to say.
Now, go listen to them if you haven’t! They are beyond amazing and deserve so much love. They are the rookie group that has no idea they are a rookie group because they are already that good. Hopefully their fanbase will just continue to grow!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 