Why Ateez Could be the Next Big K-pop Band

K-Pop, short for Korean Pop, is a musical genre that originates specifically from South Korea in the 1990s, with the very first boy group, Seo Taiji and Boys, quickly growing into a subculture that gathered enormous fandoms of both teenagers and young adults.

It is often influenced by other musical genres from all around the world, but its main impact begins from Pop, Hip-hop, Reggae, R&B, Jazz, Rock, Soul and Electronic Dance.

What we know as “K-pop nowadays” originated from multiple experimentations with different styles and genres (both music and dance). Together, these modifications helped reshape K-pop and create the current modernised South Korean contemporary music scene.

After a while, other bands such as TVXQ and BoA started emerging and gaining popularity, and that was the very beginning of the success of this genre. The earliest hit, that most of us will probably remember, was ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012 by PSY which went viral worldwide due to the catchiness of the song and dance.

Not long after PSY, the world was introduced to one of the world’s biggest bands ever, Bangtan Sonyeondan, most commonly known as BTS. Since then, whether we appreciate this musical genre or not, we can’t deny that it has truly become a worldwide phenomenon.

K-pop artists are one of the many reasons why this is such a popular genre all around the world. Idols must undergo a variety of processes to maximize their appeal to the public, often called the “trainee period”. All of this is to ensure that their idols can contribute to commercial success due to their apparent flawlessness as people.

It is very clear that BTS has been one of the biggest (if not the biggest) contributors to K-pop’s recent popularity worldwide, but the question is: Who follows to become the next big K-pop boy group?

So, here’s why fourth generation idol group Ateez has all the potential to become Korea’s next big star in the music industry.

Firstly, they come from a smaller company, meaning that they don’t have as much money or presence to promote their music. However, they have stood out as one of the most popular male groups in this fourth generation of idols.

Aptly, they were dubbed “Fourth generation leaders” by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, becoming official global ambassadors for Korean culture and tourism, meaning that they are often referred to as the “Global Performance Idols” by the Korean media.

PSY was quoted on an episode of the show Immortal Songs saying: “All of my junior artists always do their best, but Ateez’s specialty is that they work hard and do well. In my opinion, I think they’re the next generation K-pop leaders.”

Other artists such as Rain have said: “I think the superstar of the next generation will be Ateez.”

Their hard work shows as they create very creative choreographies, demonstrating this through their very solid live performances. Plus, they’re not afraid to bring up important issues in their songs (it can even get political sometimes).

Despite being a fairly new group, they have already sold over one million physical copies of their releases in South Korea alone and won “Artist of the Year” at the 2021 The Fact Music Awards. As well as setting an initial sales record that doubled with ‘Zero: Fever Part 3’ in half a year after ‘Zero: Part 2’ they recently entered music publisher Billboard’s main chart, Billboard 200—making ranks on a total of seven music charts altogether.

Each member of the band all seems to be kind and genuinely care about their fans. They show a lot of gratitude for the support they get, constantly thanking and praising their following while promising to keep working hard in the future, a trait which is naturally loved.

As K-pop continues to grow, Ateez will equally grow with the genre and will maintain an upward trajectory of global popularity. This fast-rising fourth generation group will continue to demand and gain attention for their boundless talent.