After wrapping up their historical performance at Coachella as the first K-pop boy group to perform in the prestigious music extravaganza in April, ATEEZ is back to the chart with their 10th mini album ‘GOLDEN HOUR: Part 1’ on May 31. The album marks the octet’s comeback in 5 months following the release of their second full-length album ‘The World Ep. Fin: WILL’, which brought them their first Billboard 200 No.1. It also serves as the opening chapter of ATEEZ ‘Golden Hour’ series after the triumphant conclusion of their previous ‘The World’ trilogy.
The album is off to a promising start by selling over half a million copies within half a day after its release and topping the iTunes Top Albums charts in 26 countries. The title track “WORK ” reached No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs charts in 17 different regions globally, proving ATEEZ’s undeniable popularity globally. Let’s check out each track in this album and follow ATEEZ on their golden journey to stardom!
Golden Hour
Maddox, a singer-writer from the same label as ATEEZ, narrates this peaceful introduction track. The narration ponders upon the golden hours in one’s life, saying that everyone has their golden hours, and these moments are usually like quick flashes that disappear in the blink of an eye. It proceeds to inquire about an appropriate term for the time interval that is not part of the golden hours and ultimately challenges the actual meaning of the golden hours. This thought-provoking track sets the theme of the album and invites listeners to their brand new ‘Golden Hour’ series.
Blind
This Latin-influenced dance track is a straightforward love song, where the members express their admiration for their lover and invite her to dance with them all night long. The lyrics include several Spanish words and expressions such as “fuego” (fire), “que bonita” (how pretty), and “el amor es ciego” (love is blind), accentuating the Latin color of the song. During the press conference prior to the album release, Seonghwa mentioned his hope to perform this song at a festival, given its rhythmic beat and alluring lyrics that will get you dancing.
WORK
Different from the powerful and punchy title tracks from ATEEZ’s previous discography, “WORK” is a mid-tempo hip-hop track that declares the group’s ambition to work hard and relentlessly and overcome challenges to achieve wealth and fame. Same as “Blind”, “WORK” also incorporates Spanish lyrics such as “Ganso que pone huevos de oro”, the Spanish title of the Aesop fable “The Goose that Laid Golden Eggs”.
ATEEZ has maintained a cool and serious image throughout their previous music videos. However, this time the members unveiled their hilarious side in “WORK” music video by featuring various funny scenes. For instance, Jongho is underground playing the pipe, Yeosang is happily petting a chicken, Seonghwa is hatching from a golden egg, and Mingi is thrown out of a car as the Grand Theft Auto “Game Over” screen appears. ATINY, ATEEZ’s fans, get to see a different, funny side of the group through these hilarious scenes.
Apart from attempting a brand new style in the music video, San even took part in creating the choreography for the first time for “WORK” together with BB TRIPPIN, the dance crew that has been working with ATEEZ since their debut, showing his talent as a budding choreographer.
Empty Box
“Empty Box” is a calm pop ballad song. Despite the soothing melody, the song tells a heart-breaking story as it depicts the emptiness after breaking up. The members sing that even if they try to leave the beautiful memories with their ex-lover behind and move on, they still cannot forget about her as their heart feels empty without her, and nothing can fill their lonely souls. In the end, the members send their wishes to their ex-lover, hoping that she could live a better life than when they were together. Hongjoong revealed that this song is his favorite track in this album since it highlights the unique vocals of each member. ATEEZ is also promoting this song alongside “WORK” on music shows.
Shaboom
“Shaboom” is a reggae track that captures the vibrant atmosphere of a party. The members sing their desire to take a break from the hustle and bustle in daily life, and enjoy the party time to its fullest. They also call their friends to join them, and invite the listeners to throw away all their worries and lose themselves in music and dance all night long. The addictive reggae beat together with the easy-to-follow lyrics makes this song a perfect summer night party music.
Siren
Bringing the album to a powerful end, ATEEZ demonstrates their limitless energy and ambition with an upbeat hip-hop track “Siren”. The members declare to the world that they will strive to go higher despite all the criticisms and challenges they are facing. Mingi even made a bold diss rap against the critics, saying that they are born with talent and it is a fact that they have become a worldwide music group, which resonates with their performance at Coachella. The punchy melody and impactful lyrics bring out ATEEZ’s unstoppable power and confidence, as well as their determination to walk their own path and achieve greater success.
Summer fan meeting and world tour
Meanwhile, ATEEZ will be meeting ATINY in Korea and overseas this summer. Following the album promotion, ATEEZ is set to hold their first-ever fan meeting ATEEZ 2024 FANMEETING <ATINY’S VOYAGE FROM A TO Z> on July 6 and 7 in Seoul, and will kick off the North American leg of their TOWARDS THE LIGHT : WILL TO POWER the following week, starting with the opening show in Tacoma, Washington on July 14. The group will be performing in a total of 10 cities across the US and Canada until August.
Do you enjoy ‘GOLDEN HOUR : Part 1’, and which track do you wish to see ATEEZ perform at their upcoming fan meeting and world tour? Let us know on Instagram and Twitter, and show your support for ATEEZ by streaming “WORK” music video and the album!
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Featured Image Credit: KQ Entertainment
