ATEEZ on Golden Hour: Part 4, NASA and Their Message to ATINY

ATEEZ for ‘Golden Hour: Part 4.’

KQ Entertainment

It’s rare to see an artist raking in their personal best numbers eight years into their career, but K-pop boy group ATEEZ shows no signs of slowing down.

“With every comeback, honestly, our results keep growing and it keeps getting better,” says Seonghwa, the eldest member of ATEEZ at just 27 years old. The group just had their biggest unit debut on the Billboard 200 in February with the release of their 13th EP Golden Hour : Part 4, landing on the chart with 200,000 equivalent units. Of those, 195,000 units came from pure sales, marking their biggest sales week as well.

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“That comes in part from our efforts — we do work hard — but a lot of that also comes from the people that recognize and acknowledge our efforts, which is our fans, Atiny,” he continues. Atiny, the name for the group’s dedicated international fanbase, seems to always be at the top of mind for the eight members of the group, bringing up their fans several times during this conversation.

It’s nearing late afternoon in Singapore, when ATEEZ gathers around a camera for this Zoom conversation. The group — consisting of members Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho — is in the midst of the Asian and Australian leg of their In Your Fantasy tour, which kicked off with two nights in Incheon, South Korea, along with an entire North American leg, last summer.

The group is fresh off Golden Hour : Part 4, and its single “Adrenaline,” and they’ve been going nonstop — as they have since their debut in 2018 — from promotions to touring. But the members of ATEEZ, as their fans have come to know over the years, always seem to find moments of laughter and joy even when their schedules are packed. When Yeosang, 26, explains how he sings his part in their latest single, the group erupts into giggles as the staff member translating tries to mimic him. Later in the conversation, Mingi, 26, elicits fond laughter from his group members as he stresses how close they are and his latest desire to take a trip with his teammates.

THR caught up with the group to hear about making their latest album, why they love the B-side “NASA,” how the tour’s going and what message they want to send to Atiny right now.

Can you tell me a bit your new album or what you were thinking about going into it?

SAN Before we released the new album, we talked and thought, “What does ATEEZ do best?” Ultimately, singing and dancing, but we [put] our heart [in it]. That’s it.

I feel like you guys try a lot of different genres, but “Adrenaline” feels a little more out there, sonically speaking. Did anyone find any particular challenges with that?

YEOSANG Actually, while recording the studio, there’s this part that we’re basically yelling, “We’re pumping adrenaline.” That part, I think, really, it was the loudest that I’ve ever used my voice. I really strained myself in order to really push that. I think that was one of the hardest things in my life.

ATEEZ for ‘Golden Hour: Part 4.’

KQ Entertainment

With this album, you charted at No.3 on Billboard. It was obviously a tough week against some really large acts, but you still had your highest sales week ever. That’s pretty rare for someone at this stage in your career. You only seem to keep growing. Does that excite you still?

SEONGHWA With every comeback, honestly, our results keep growing and it keeps getting better. Yes, that comes in part from our efforts — we do work hard — but a lot of that also comes from the people that recognize and acknowledge our efforts, which is our Atiny, our fans. Honestly, when we see that kind of acknowledgement and recognition for us, it makes us think that it only makes us want to work harder. It gives us motivation to do even better for the next album.

To go off of that. As you know, I’ve been following you guys for quite a few years now and something about this album does feel a little different. You’ve won a lot of music shows, and it’s obviously your highest sales week on Billboard. Does it feel different to you, or does it feel like just another album?

MINGI It’s actually the first album that we’ve made since renewing our contracts. We worked really hard. It’s really all thanks to Atiny that we were able to have this album recognized [on charts], and we were able to win so many awards. Obviously, we’re very happy about that. If I think back to the process itself, we made so many memories as we were working on it, and it only makes us want to put in even more effort. The enjoyment of the