When a K-pop concert is happening in your city, you can feel it in the air and see it in the streets, but when it comes to one of South Korea’s top groups with millions of fans, streams, views and praises, the energy and expectations reach all-time highs. The eight-member group Ateez visits Barcelona for the first time since their acclaimed debut in 2018 as part of the fourteen stops on the European leg of Towards the Light: Will to Power, the world tour that started early last year and that has taken them on a journey through Korea, Japan and the US, Coachella included. In a more than two-hour show, we were able to witness what has been often said about them ever since their early years: they are one of the top-class acts in the industry, and their live performances are something you’ve never seen before.
Ever since that mysterious but widespread video of a group of eight guys dressed in all black dancing to Pick It Up by Famous Dex ft A$AP Rocky appeared in our YouTube recommendations in May of 2018 under the name of KQ Fellaz, the feeling that something big was coming only got more and more intense until the day said group debuted four months later, now under the name of ATEEZ. The reason for this video's impact and virality could only be explained by two words: presence and talent. On a strategic choice of almost covering the members' faces with caps, KQ Entertainment, their agency, managed to turn heads and call the attention on them for reasons strictly attached to their artistic qualities, preventing early biases based solely on appearance or visuals. An intelligent choice that made the audience start equally and loyally supporting a group of great performers, not picking a bias based on their pretty faces.
Their debut album, Treasure EP.1: All to Zero, released the 24th of October of 2018, marked the start of a career that up until this day has produced six albums, twelve EPs, dozens of singles, multiple world tours and sold-out arenas, a performance at Coachella as the first ever male K-pop group to do so, and multiple national and international awards that recognised them not only for their artistry but for the impact as one of the leading forces of Korean music on a global scale. With an instantly recognisable sound that blends all sorts of influences in a powerful and almost anthem-like way that never fails to include that dominant je ne sais quoi ATEEZ essence, Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho are well known for releasing complex and demanding songs, both vocally and physically, but excelling at flawlessly performing them live, sometimes even better than the recording, and this was exactly what we saw at their concert.
The setlist of the night and of the tour was made up of twenty-eight songs, combining tracks from all their different eras but keeping an underlying thread amongst all of them thanks to their storytelling, a key element of their concepts that allows them to create narratives between albums, songs and videos, and that they perfectly translate into the stage, making the concert turn into a theatrical experience at times. With a running time of more than two hours, where very few were the minutes without the members being on stage, the excitement from the audience matched perfectly with ATEEZ, turning the Palau Sant Jordi into their own realm filled with lights, powerful vocals, insane choreographies, and pure raw energy and passion that makes it look like it's their first time performing, despite the almost seven years they’ve been doing it nonstop.
The first half of the concert, the most conceptual one where their attire and styling were on par with the narrative, found its peak with the awaited performance of Guerilla, a song that has become almost a war chant for them and for the fans and that has provoked a friendly but intense rivalry among the countries they visit, competing for who can create a louder “Break the wall!” fanchant. Barcelona didn't disappoint with a wall of sound that could be heard far away outside the venue. After that, the members took the stage in duos, trios, or solo to perform their special songs from the latest album, The World EP. FIN: WILL, showing different sides to them, ranging from wholesome energy to the unique sexiness they are well-known for. The second part of the concert was a party, performing some of their greatest hits.
With an undeniable connection not only with the audience with whom they constantly interact but among themselves, proving that more than work colleagues, they are best friends; the joy from artists genuinely enjoying themselves spread through the almost 20,000 fans. A particularly highlightable quality of Ateez, which may sound like a given but is becoming harder to find, especially in K-pop, is their ability to perform live from start to finish: no backtrack, no lip-syncing. With such intense choreographies, where the dance often looks more like martial arts or movie stunts, matched with their hypnotic and intense facial expressions, it wouldn't be strange for them to catch a breath in some way, but they don't. They deliver stable, flawless and intense vocals all along, and they make it seem like it's no big effort, just another day at the office.
Every song was equally enjoyable, and the setlist was curated to cater to the taste of old-time fans and newcomers, but aside from the more explosive anthems or the good-feel songs, there are two personal highlights we must point out from their sharpness and excellent production qualities: Halazia and Cyberpunk, two otherworldly songs that seem to belong to a dystopian future and that they perfectly execute in vocals, rap, choreography and acting. The joy of the members from performing on a new stage in a city they were dreaming to visit—as they themselves made clear multiple times—was evident, and they promised at least four times to come back. After living the irreplaceable and unforgettable experience of their concert, we will be there as many times as they want us to.
