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| Members of K-pop boy group ATEEZ pose during an online media conference, Monday. Courtesy of KQ Entertainment |
By Dong Sun-hwa
One big attribute distinguishing K-pop boy group ATEEZ from its rivals is the way it picks a song to promote when releasing a new album. Normally, it is the singers and the executives at the K-pop record labels who make such a decision, but ATEEZ, one of the most anticipated rookies in the music scene, always leaves the choice to its fans.
The eight-piece act's new release, "ZERO : FEVER Part. 3" that dropped Monday afternoon (KST) was no exception. The group decided to have "Deja Vu" as its song to perform actively on music shows, after the track edged out "Eternal Sunshine" in a recent fan vote. The fans cast their votes after listening to the previews of the two tunes and watching the videos featuring their performances.
"I think our followers preferred the song because we have brought our unexplored side to the fore in its performance, emphasizing maturity and sensuality," member Mingi said during an online press conference Monday. "People will feel like they are reading a mysterious novel when listening to this piece, which has addictive melodies."
"Deja Vu" is a groovy contemporary dance pop track with the sounds of percussion instruments, while "Eternal Sunshine" is an energetic synth pop song with a funky bass line. Given that ATEEZ has mostly been showcasing its wildness and powerfulness since its debut in 2018, the two new songs can be thought of as deviations from the group's original styles.
"ZERO : FEVER Part. 3" offers four other tunes, including the tropical dance pop song, "Feeling Like I Do," and the R&B number, "All About You." It is the third part of ATEEZ's "Fever" series that started last year, and also the first album since ATEEZ appeared on Mnet's competition show, "Kingdom: Legendary War," earlier this year. In the program, the octet came third, after Stray Kids and The Boyz.
"Our new album focuses on our precious everyday life," Seonghwa said. "We often do not realize its value due to the past being unfortunate and the future being uncertain."
Reflecting ATEEZ's global popularity, the album is already creating a splash, with the "Deja Vu" music video hitting more than 7 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday morning. It also racked up 810,000 pre-orders even before its official release.
"It is an honor to reach such a milestone," Hongjoong said. "I think the best way for us to repay our loyal fans is to show quality and passionate performances."
He said that the group's main goal has always been satisfying its fans.
"It will be great if we can get some good results on the music shows, but even if we cannot, we will be content if people praise our music and performances," he said.
San added, "We want to display our limitless musical spectrum via this album and further rev up our presence in the music scene."
