Ateez (; stylised in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by KQ Entertainment. The group consists of eight members: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. They debuted on October 24, 2018, with the extended play (EP) Treasure EP.1: All to Zero.
As of June 2026, Ateez have released fourteen EPs, two studio albums, twenty-eight singles, two single albums, one deluxe and repackaged album in the Korean language, as well as two single albums, three EPs and three studio albums in the Japanese language. Many of their albums each topped the South Korean Circle Album Chart, with Zero: Fever Part.1 becoming the group's first to be certified platinum and The World EP.1: Movement becoming their first to be certified million in the country. The group achieved their first No.1 on the Billboard 200 with their second studio album The World EP.Fin: Will and has secured multiple No.1's on the Billboard Top Albums Sales Chart. They are also the first South Korean musical act to have three different releases chart in the top 10 of the UK Official Albums Chart within a single year. As of July 2026, they are the group with the most top 10s on the Billboard 200 in the 2020s.
Often referred to as "Global Performance Idols" by Korean media and dubbed "Next Generation Leaders" by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in 2020, Ateez have sold over eleven million physical albums worldwide. Their accolades include Prime Minister's Commendation at the 2025 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards and multiple bonsang (main prize) awards. They have also won eight daesang (grand prize) awards across various ceremonies. The group has also served as official global ambassadors for Korean culture and tourism. In 2024, Ateez became the first K-pop boy group to perform at Coachella and also the first K-pop group to headline the Mawazine music festival in Morocco.
History 2016–2018: Formation, pre-debut activities, and Treasure EP.1 Plans for a new KQ Entertainment boy band began after a staff member discovered a letter and sample mixtape from Kim Hongjoong, who would eventually become Ateez's leader, expressing interest in becoming a trainee at the company. Hongjoong became the company's first official trainee and would remain the only one until Yunho joined six months later. Over the next year, members Mingi, San, Seonghwa, Yeosang, Jongho, and Wooyoung joined KQ Entertainment as trainees. Many had previous training experience at other companies: Mingi at Maroo Entertainment, Jongho at TOP Media, and Yeosang and Wooyoung at Big Hit Entertainment. They were known as "KQ Fellaz" prior to debuting.
In late 2017, Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho competed on the survival reality show Mix Nine, placing 42nd, 63rd, 72nd, and 43rd out of all male contestants, respectively. On May 18, 2018, KQ Entertainment released the YouTube video "KQ Fellaz Performance Video I", which featured all eight Ateez members together for the first time, dancing to the song "Pick It Up" by rapper Famous Dex. Shortly after, the group premiered their pre-debut web series, KQ Fellaz American Training, showcasing the eight members in Los Angeles, California, training at The Millennium Dance Complex. During this period, a ninth trainee, Lee Jun-young, was promoted as a member of KQ Fellaz but ultimately not added to the final line-up. For the finale of the web series, KQ Fellaz released the music video of "From", a song composed and produced by Hongjoong.
KQ Entertainment announced a debut reality show with a set of three teasers. The second teaser, released on July 3, 2018, revealed the official name for the group: Ateez. The name, short for "A TEEnager Z", symbolises the group's goal to represent everything about teenagers, from A to Z. The show, Code Name Is Ateez, premiered on Mnet on July 20.
On October 24, 2018, Ateez released their debut EP, Treasure EP.1: All to Zero, alongside music videos for the two lead singles "Pirate King" () and "Treasure". Their debut showcase was held on the same day. The album peaked at number seven on the weekly Gaon Albums Chart, selling 23,644 copies in 2018.
2019: Breakthrough, first tour, and first studio album On January 3, 2019, Ateez announced their first comeback EP, Treasure EP.2: Zero to One, with a teaser photo on their social media accounts. The EP was released on January 15, alongside a music video for the lead single "Say My Name". A music video for the track "Hala Hala (Hearts Awakened, Live Alive)" from the EP was released on February 7.
On January 24, Ateez announced their first tour, The Expedition Tour, with March dates in five American cities: New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The tour was then extended through April with the addition of European shows in London, Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Milan, Budapest, Stockholm, Warsaw, and Moscow. All American and European shows reportedly sold out. On May 17, Ateez performed at their first joint K-pop concert, KCON 2019 Japan, in Chiba, Japan. In early June, The Expedition Tour was extended again to visit Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney in August.
Ateez released their third EP, Treasure EP.3: One to All, on June 10. The lead single, "Wave", was selected via fan vote, winning in the competition over "Illusion". Music videos for both songs were released on the same day. On June 20, Ateez won their first music program award on M Countdown for "Wave", winning a second time on The Show five days later. On July 8, music video for the track "Aurora" was released. Ateez performed at KCON events in New York City and Los Angeles in July and August, respectively, and received the Soribada Award for Best Performance on August 20.
On September 18, Ateez announced their third comeback with Treasure EP.Fin: All to Action, their first studio album. It was released on October 8 with a music video for lead single "Wonderland". The album sold 165,479 physical copies in South Korea in 2019 and became the first Ateez album to reach number one on the weekly Gaon Albums Chart. On November 3, Ateez won the Best Korean Act award at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards.
On November 10, they released their first Japanese-language music video for the song "Utopia", originally a track on Treasure EP.3. On December 4, their debut Japanese album Treasure EP. Extra: Shift the Map was released, and they won the Worldwide Fans' Choice Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Nagoya, Japan on the same day.
2020: Conclusion of Treasure series and start of Fever series On January 6, 2020, Ateez released their fourth EP, Treasure Epilogue: Action to Answer, as the conclusion to their Treasure series, alongside a music video for lead single "Answer". The EP sold 179,796 physical copies in South Korea in 2020. On February 12, Ateez released their first Japanese EP Treasure EP.Map to Answer, with the Japanese version of "Answer" as the lead single.
The group's second world tour, The Fellowship: Map the Treasure, was scheduled to begin in Seoul in February before reaching seven European cities in March and two Japanese cities and five American cities in April. The Seoul tour dates were held as planned on February 8 and 9. However, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining tour dates were indefinitely postponed. Several tour dates had already been sold out; the shows in Amsterdam, Madrid, and Moscow were reportedly since January. All dates in United States were also sold out, including some arenas with capacities of over 18,000 people.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ateez hosted a free, virtual concert called "Crescent Party" on the V Live app, with over 1.4 million viewers tuning into the live event on May 30. On June 26, they performed both the opening and closing stages at KCON:TACT 2020 and held their first virtual meet-and-greet with fans.
On July 4, Ateez released a promotional schedule for their fifth EP, Zero: Fever Part.1, their first release following the conclusion of the Treasure series. The lead single, "Inception", was voted by fans over the track "Thanxx". The EP was released on July 29, and Ateez received their third and fourth music program awards for "Inception" on August 4 and 5, on The Show and Show Champion. Music video of the other single, "Thanxx", was released on August 24. Zero: Fever Part. 1 sold 379,052 physical copies in South Korea in 2020, Ateez's first album to be certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association, and made Ateez the second fourth-generation boy group to generate one million total sales as rookies.
On August 29, Ateez appeared on the South Korean television program Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend. They performed a cover of Turbo's "The Black Cat Nero" and won the episode, making them the first fourth-generation group and the sixth idol group overall to win on the program. On October 31, Ateez released a special Halloween music video version of "The Black Cat Nero", featuring the original artist Kim Jong-kook.
On November 15, it was announced that member Mingi would temporarily suspend promotional activities with the group in order to receive treatment for and recover from symptoms of psychological anxiety.
At the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Ateez won the Worldwide Fans' Choice and Discovery of the Year awards. During their performance at the show, it was announced that they would be joining The Boyz and Stray Kids on the inaugural season of Kingdom: Legendary War, an Mnet competition show which aired in April 2021.
On December 19, Ateez were the only idol group invited to the Immortal Songs year-end finale "King of Kings", where they performed their version of Seo Taiji and Boys' "Anyhow Song". According to an official Twitter survey, Ateez were the fifth most tweeted-about musician in the United States in 2020, after BTS, Kanye West, Beyoncé, and Drake, and the 10th most tweeted-about K-pop group in the world.
2021: Fever series, Kingdom and domestic promotions On January 31, Ateez received their first Bonsang (main award) at the 30th Seoul Music Awards. They returned to Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend for a third time and won the episode on February 6 by performing a rendition of Rain's "It's Raining", making them the only K-pop boy group with multiple wins on the program.
On March 1, their sixth EP, Zero: Fever Part.2, was released with a music video for promoted single "Fireworks (I'm the One)" (). Ateez received their fifth music show win on The Show on March 9 for the song. Zero: Fever Part.2 was certified double platinum on July 8, having sold over 500,000 copies. On March 24, Ateez released their first original Japanese studio album Into the A to Z with "Still Here" as the lead single.
In addition to their music releases, the group and individual members participated in various Korean television programs. In March, Yeosang became a co-host of SBS MTV's music program The Show. Meanwhile, Yunho, Jongho, Seonghwa, and San were cast in the KBS2 television drama Imitation, which aired from May to July. The competition show Kingdom: Legendary War that Ateez participated in alongside five other K-pop boy groups first aired on April 1. For the final round, they released the song "멋 (The Real)" on May 28, which Mingi participated in recording but not performing. The group finished in third place overall. On May 22, Ateez returned to Immortal Songs for a fourth time, winning with their performance of Psy's "Right Now" and consequently tying with Mamamoo for most wins by an idol group on the show.
On July 9, KQ Entertainment confirmed that San tested positive but was asymptomatic for COVID-19. All members except Mingi suspended their activities to enter self-isolation until July 23, and San stayed at a treatment center until he was released on July 19. On July 19, it was announced that Mingi would be returning to group activities.