ATEEZ

ATEEZ did not wait for anyone to discover them. When leader Hongjoong reached out to KQ Entertainment in 2016 with a letter and a mixtape, he became the company's very first official trainee, and the drive he demonstrated in that moment has defined the group's entire arc ever since. Yunho joined him six months later, and eventually Seonghwa, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho completed the eight-member lineup, with several members arriving from other companies including BigHit, TOP Media, and Maroo Entertainment. They assembled into something greater than any of their individual trajectories suggested.

They debuted on October 24, 2018, with the mini album Treasure EP.1: All To Zero, launching with double title tracks "Pirate King" and "Treasure." From the first performance, ATEEZ established the qualities that would make them one of K-pop's most electrifying acts: scorching trap beats, full-bodied choreography, and a stage presence that treats every song like it might be the last one they ever perform. They became the first fourth-generation K-pop group to be invited to the Grammy Museum, an acknowledgment of the attention they were drawing well before they had major-label infrastructure behind them.

The release of "Fireworks (I'm The One)" as the lead single from Zero: Fever Part.2 in March 2021 was a turning point. The song blends EDM with a trap beat and carries the message that ATEEZ will burn through any false perception of them to make something real and lasting. It marked their first entry on the Gaon Digital Chart, while the album debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart and charted at number eight on the Billboard World Albums chart.

Their catalog broadened from there in exciting directions. "BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS)," released in 2023 on the EP The World EP.2: Outlaw, found the group channeling high-octane energy and a deliberate nod to rock and roll icon imagery refracted through K-pop's kinetic approach. In February 2026, "Adrenaline" arrived as the title track of Golden Hour: Part.4, an EDM-based track defined by heavy percussion and engine-like sound effects that move through you as much as they play at you.

June 2026 brought "BAD," the lead single from Golden Hour: Part.5, their fourteenth mini album, which blends hyperpop, hip-hop, and Latin influences including reggaeton and Latin trap. The music video features actress and ATINY Chase Infiniti, and the album's bilingual ambition, with some songs recorded in Spanish, reflects a group comfortable expanding both their sound and their world without losing the intensity that made them unmistakable from the start.

From "Pirate King" to "Adrenaline" to "BAD," ATEEZ have built a discography defined by ambition and execution in equal measure. Every era has added something new without abandoning what made them compelling from the very beginning. They started with a letter and a mixtape and built something extraordinary from there.