After FIFTY FIFTY, ATEEZ showed their status as a "miracle group" from a small/medium company after they snagged 2 major records in the US and UK charts.
But why are Koreans showing lukewarm reactions despite impressive achievements?
ATEEZ's 'THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL' Debuts at #1 on US Billboard 200 + #2 on UK Album Chart
With consistent hard work and effort on top of their continuously improving skills, ATEEZ finally climbed to the top of the music market!
On December 8, the octet entered the UK Album Chart with their second full-length album "THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL," released on the 1st.
The team particularly ranked No. 2 in the UK Official Albums Chart Top 100, beating Michael Bublé and Taylor Swift to secure the spot after Peter Gabriel.
With this, ATEEZ became the highest-ranking K-pop group in the U.K. official chart after BTS and BLACKPINK and the only fourth-gen idol to achieve the amazing feat of entering second place.
On December 10, the eight-member group continued to showcase their excellence after their latest album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at No. 1.
They became the seventh K-pop group to obtain this following BTS, Stray Kids, SuperM, TXT, BLACKPINK, and NewJeans.
Looking at these records, ATEEZ proved how incredible they are and truly brought honor to K-pop, especially that the UK chart and the US Billboard are considered the two major charts in the music market.
Since both rankings are determined by physical albums and downloads sold for a week along with streaming figures, this is a huge factor in determining an artist's popularity especially globally.
Why Did ATEEZ Receive Lukewarm Reaction From K-Netz?
Regardless of this, the domestic response is just "so-so."
In fact, there are numerous Koreans who claim they "don't even know that ATEEZ exists," while some claim that the group remains a "nugu" despite records.
In light of this, the Korean media outlet Skyedaily explained why Koreans aren't aware that there is such a group.
"Perhaps it is because Korean K-pop artists' entry into overseas charts is not new news.
In the meantime, Wonder Girls, Psy, and CL, including BTS and BLACKPINK have entered Billboard, and girl group FIFTY FIFTY from a small/medium-sized agency has entered Billboard's main chart in April, less than five months since its debut."
The media outlet also highlighted that boy groups like ATEEZ depend highly on how big their fandoms are which are mostly comprised of young girls, unlike girl groups and trot singers who are liked by the general public.
"The emergence of large girl groups such as BLACKPINK and I.O.I. has reduced the number of boy groups in Korea. The girl group's fans can be of all ages, but the boy group's fans are limited to young women.
In addition, Koreans prefer ballads and trot songs more than any other genre. This will not change for a while. MZ prefers ballads, and the older generation is highly loyal to trot. "
ATEEZ is comprised of eight members such as Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. In 2018, they debuted under KQ Entertainment and since then strived to become a fourth-gen leader despite coming from a small/medium label.
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
