The group Ateez is expected to show a new side of themselves with a summer song that will blow away the heat.
Ateez held a press conference to celebrate the release of their mini album 'Golden Hour: Part. 3' on the afternoon of the 12th at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul, where they discussed their new album.
After announcing their comeback about 7 months after releasing mini album 'Golden Hour: Part. 2' in November of last year, Ateez said, "I am excited a day before the album release. We have returned with a sexy and refreshing vibe, so we ask for your interest and love. As it is an album we worked hard on, we will show you a good side of ourselves."
Hongjoong noted, "We are presenting our mini album for the first time in 7 months, and it is the 'Golden Hour: Part. 3' that we have been looking forward to. It is an album we have been preparing for a long time, so we will strive to meet the expectations from those who have been looking forward to it," and San added, "It is nice and exciting to greet you with a new image after a long time. We are preparing various activities from today onwards. We will make it fun."
Ateez's new album 'Golden Hour: Part 3' depicts a journey of confronting emotions in the most instinctive way of youth, through deviation, temptation, and shaking. Members Hongjoong and Mingi participated in the songwriting for a total of 4 tracks, including the title song 'Lemon Drop.'
Yeosang mentioned about this album, "We put a lot of thought into releasing a summer song after a long time, and since each member worked hard, I hope you look forward to it," while Wooyoung explained, "I wanted to show a more grown-up version of ourselves through this album. We will showcase Ateez's unique charm. I hope you recognize our sincerity."
Additionally, Hongjoong added, "For those who loved the intense music of the previous Ateez, you might think the style has changed, but rather than saying the appeal we pursue has changed, I believe these are the genres that fit the message we want to convey through this series."
The title track 'Lemon Drop' is a seasonal song aimed at summer, presented by Ateez after a long time, and is a refreshing R&B and hip-hop track. Like the cocktail of the same name, Ateez's confession is fresh and sweet, expected to brighten up the hot summer days.
Hongjoong commented on the title track, "It includes a fresh and sweet confession from Ateez. I heard this summer is going to be hotter, and I hope this song can fill the hot summer days with the excitement unique to Ateez," while Wooyoung stated, "I think we have prepared a catchy hook and corresponding choreography that fans will like. I hope you can overcome the heat while listening to 'Lemon Drop.'"
Ateez, with their previous mini album 'Golden Hour: Part. 2', claimed the second No. 1 on Billboard's main chart 'Billboard 200,' setting a record for the highest local album sales in the first week of its release, continuing their global ascent.
In response, the members said, "We are grateful to Ateez for achieving good results. In this album, rather than feeling burdened by the results, we think it would be nice to build good memories and stay healthy as we continue our activities as we envision," adding, "We have achieved many goals, and our next goal is to strive to become a group that can show good performances for a long time together as Ateez with all 8 members."
They continued, "Over the past 7 years, it seems we have risen with many visible achievements. We believe we could do nothing without Ateez, and while it is good to show greater venues or good songs as a measure of our next achievements, we feel that through the Golden Hour series, we have demonstrated that Ateez is a group that continuously attempts new things in music, showing that we have the courage to present a different side. We want to surprise our fans with something remarkable as our next step," they added.
Marking its 7th anniversary this year, Ateez expressed, "We are thankful to Ateez for being with us for 7 years, and we are also grateful to the members for staying healthy during our activities. Regarding re-contracting, we are thinking a lot about how to show Ateez for a long time and in what ways. We will strive to provide a good response soon with good news."
Lastly, the members stated, "The teamwork has been the driving force behind our growth and ability to stay active all this time. We spoke about thirst in this album, and it seems the members feel that way a lot right now. We wonder what kind of image we can show and whether we can approach (our fans) by showing various attempts. I feel that there is a strong desire for new images among ourselves."
They added, "We have shown various images so far, but we still want to present new sides. We previously mentioned that unlimited possibilities are prepared, and we will show the new sides of Ateez that we haven't been able to showcase much."
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