ATEEZ 멋(The Real)

So, if you’re new to my enthusiasm for the K-pop boy band ATEEZ, you can catch yourself up to speed here. This post is just a quick update that (1) they have a new video out for “The Real,” a song they performed last year as part of the Kingdom competition; and (2) they’re kicking off their COVID-delayed world tour with a set of Seoul concerts starting tomorrow (well, today in Korea).

This version of “The Real” is the heung one, which means it incorporates traditional Korean instruments; they sing some of the lyrics in Satoori (regional dialects) as well. If you follow the band, the video’s storyline is particularly sweet because they essentially use it to welcome Mingi back from his six-month mental-health hiatus: he plays a transfer student who ends up uniting all the various factions at “ATEEZ High.” As a bonus, there are multiple references to Kung Fu Hustle, one of my all-time favorite movies. So, all of that sets this up to be my favorite ATEEZ video to date. Enjoy! And if you want tickets to their world tour…tant pis pour vous, they sold out all 12 cities in like 10 minutes or something absurd.