Hi! It’s Annie!
Late last night in the United States, ATEEZ released their long awaited album, FEVER Part. 2. And yes, they absolutely slayed me. We’ve been waiting for this release for months and it did not disappoint. Between the seven tracks (five plus a different version of two songs) and the one music video we got, not only did we get so much good content but we got some of my favorite stuff they’ve ever done. I already had high hopes from the promotional photos and the teaser for their music video, but somehow all of it still came out better than I thought. I’m only going to talk about the five tracks and not the different versions, though those are amazing too! So let’s get into everything that ATEEZ so generously released to ATiny and the world last night!
Fireworks (I’m The One):
When I first started listening to the song, I really can’t say that I was sold. For all of the verses the vocalists switch off between being heavily autotuned and not really autotuned at all. For example, it was difficult to not notice that Seonghwa and Yunho were autotuned for their verse parts, where no one else was. I know they did it for effect, but the autotune was a lot for me and I wish I could have heard Seonghwa and Yunho’s unfiltered voices in their verses. But the minute San started singing I got into it. San has been getting more and more and he’s really good. Over-all, I was really happy with this release. Obviously, Jongho’s vocals are always impeccable. When the chorus dropped I was absolutely in love. This song has been stuck in my head since I first heard it and I haven’t been able to get it out. But I really don’t mind because it’s such a good song. ATEEZ is the best group that has ever been when it comes to songs that really hype you up. You listen to their songs and you want to get up and tackle the world. This song is easily added to their long list of songs of that nature. Also of note: it was nice to hear Mingi’s voice and Hongjoong obviously always slays his rap parts. Yunho and Wooyoung got so much of the chorus and they slayed that too! These boys are just talented.
Fireworks (I’m The One) MV:
So we can’t move on to talk about the other tracks until we talk about this music video. The concept was amazing. I loved the way the music video was shot, it felt real but almost like a fantasy world at the same time. I almost want them to create a video game within the world of the music video. But more than that, the boys looked absolutely great. Yunho’s black leather and lip ring made the usual puppy dog persona he has change completely into the most badass looking guy in the entire MV. Seriously, the more I think about this comeback the more I can’t help but realize how much Yunho was a stand out here between his look and his contributions to the chorus. He completely bias wrecked me here. Also, it was amazing to see him drive knowing that he just got his license. I have to talk about San’s crop top. Men wearing crop tops is a fairly new concept that I wish would have happened years ago. Crop tops are amazing on anyone and San absolutely killed it in his. This music video loved San between his vocals and his screen time. San is such a good dancer and you can’t take your eyes off of him performing. Obviously, everyone looked amazing though. Mingi recorded his piece for the song, but he wasn’t there to film the music video. I loved how they didn’t try to cover up his absence and had them all sitting around a radio listening to him rap. I miss him so much! But, who was that weird faceless guy at the end of the MV? Because if it was Mingi I may just lose my shit.
The Leaders:
Everyone seemed to be freaking out about this one when the album first dropped. It’s not my favorite song on the album, but all of these songs are great anyways. The whispered chorus really gets me though. There’s so much badass about it. The more I listen to this song, the more I completely fall for that whispered chorus. And I had absolutely no idea that the adorable Wooyoung was the one doing that whispered chorus. He would have been one of the last people I would have pinned for that and I absolutely love him more knowing that it’s him. Also, this song is mostly rapped, which means that all of them are rapping. Obviously, Mingi, Seonghwa, and Hongjoong already are amazing rappers and that just shows again here. But the other members are rapping here and they are also excellent. These boys are continuously showing us that they’re good at everything. I’m also going to single out Yunho again for some of the rapping, because he could seriously be a main rapper if he wanted to just based off this song. But really any of them could.
Time of Love:
This was such a cute and lighthearted song for this album. Musically it had an old video game sort of feel that I loved. I was not expecting Yunho to hit those high notes, but he did it perfectly each and every time. Yunho later hit a note so deep that I could not help but marvel at his range. I keep mentioning Yunho, but he stood out so much in this comeback. The message of this song was one of my favorites too. This one was completely about loving each other and understanding each other, which is a very much needed message right now. It specifically focused on remembering that no one is perfect. I also loved how well Mingi’s raps were placed here. Did I mention that I really miss Mingi?
Take Me Home:
This was probably my favorite b-side from this album. There’s just so much heart in the vocals here. San starts out the song beautifully, but I was not expecting Seonghwa to have the beginning of that chorus. His voice was beautiful there. Obviously, Jongho completes that chorus will his vocals that you can’t hear anywhere else. His voice is amazing and unique just to him. The standouts in this one would have to be San, Seonghwa, and Jongho. Their vocals are the ones that caught me here completely. But those high notes from Jongho and Seonghwa were not something I was expecting. The song has a longing to it that I think they really brought the emotion to vocally. I also have to talk about the saxophone at the end because it was completely unexpected and one of my favorite parts of the song.
Celebrate:
San’s vocals were so deep in this song and I loved it! He really went for it and it sounded so good in the end. I do have to say though, this song was still great but it probably was my least favorite on the album. This was still a really cute song with the lyrics talking about celebrating your own existence. Yeosang’s call and response here was something that was done so well too and it was so adorable.
I don’t think ATEEZ will ever come out with a bad song. All of their songs have such important messages and leave you feeling really good in some way or other. You either feel happy after listening to them or like you can take over the world and really there’s no in between. I absolutely love listening to them and this comeback is probably one of my favorites that I’ve seen. But I don’t think ATEEZ will ever have a bad comeback either. If you haven’t checked out this album, I strongly recommend it! It was so worth staying up until almost two in the morning to listen to it all the way through.
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 