These days, I keep listening to ATEEZ's 'BAD'.

Honestly, I don't know all the names of the idols these days. I know BTS, of course, and a few famous groups like BLACKPINK.

But recently, the song 'BAD' started popping up on YouTube.

At first, I thought it was just another boy group song. But after watching it once, my thoughts completely changed.

"Where did these guys come from?"

While looking into ATEEZ, I was even more surprised by their agency: KQ Entertainment.

If you trace the roots of this company, it leads back to Seven Seasons, the agency that managed Block B.

Thinking of Block B makes me a bit nostalgic. They had a standout figure in Zico, great songs, and a clear team identity.

They were a team that couldn't be confused with other idols. If things had gone well, they could have achieved even greater success, but various circumstances prevented their peak from lasting as long as expected.

Seven Seasons, created for Block B, changed its name to KQ Entertainment in 2016 and began nurturing new artists.

This feels a bit like a movie. ATEEZ's captain, Hongjoong, wasn't just another trainee who passed an audition at a big agency. He sent his own music and letters directly to KQ, and a company representative discovered him, making him the first official trainee of KQ.

What's even funnier is that at that time, the company had almost no proper trainee system in place.

Hongjoong was the only trainee for about six months until Yunho joined, and then the members gradually came together to form the ATEEZ we know today.

So, looking back at the past with the current results is truly strange.

This isn't a team that was carefully selected by a major agency aiming for the global market.

The company didn't have enough experience in training idols, and Hongjoong was the first trainee of the company.

Yet, that team broke out internationally first.

What I find interesting about ATEEZ is precisely this aspect.

They weren't a team that started with massive attention from the domestic audience. Instead, it was the overseas fans who recognized them first.

Watching their performance videos, I can somewhat understand why.

They really give it their all on stage.

These days, all idols dance and sing well. But ATEEZ has a slightly different vibe.

There's still a sense of urgency to prove themselves on stage.

Especially when you see Hongjoong, the energy that comes from his small frame is quite significant. The leader sets the mood in front, while members like Mingi, San, Seonghwa, and Jongho push forward in their own ways.

And now, they've come to 'BAD'.

Listening to this song strangely fits well with the path ATEEZ has taken.

So these days, when I see ATEEZ, I oddly think of BTS as well.

Of course, I'm not saying that ATEEZ is at the same level as BTS right now.

The global popularity and symbolism that BTS has established cannot simply be compared to the size of their overseas fandom.

However, when considering which Korean boy group will make their name bigger in the global market after BTS, ATEEZ is definitely an interesting team.

Above all, their starting process is fascinating.

This isn't a success created by a wealthy major agency with perfect calculations; it began with a trainee entering a small company.

There was a company that managed Block B, and then a strangely ambitious young man named Hongjoong came in.

One by one, people gathered behind that young man.

And they became eight.

When they debuted in 2018, how many people would have predicted that they would be a team touring major venues around the world and making their presence known in the American music market a few years later?

So ATEEZ is a team where the process is still more interesting than the results.

Whether they will follow in BTS's footsteps is still unknown.

But one thing is certain.

The small company that left some regrets with Block B has now truly created a solid team.

And at the start of that was the first trainee, Hongjoong, who knocked on the company's door.

Listening to 'BAD', the title sounds strangely fitting.

It seems like the kids who started at a company that was once unknown are now traveling the world and asking,

"So, do we still seem easy to you?"