«No one is like ATEEZ»

Paris. La Défense. October 15th. It was 3.30 pm when we entered a small room on the backstage of the biggest arena in Europe. «The boys will be with you in a few minutes,» says one of the publicists from CJ Entertainment in charge of the event. ATEEZ are coming. For real. After a miss in Copenhagen due to unforeseen circumstances, we are really going to meet with Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho.

Paris. La Défense. October 15th. 3.40 pm. With our iPad with a long list of questions, we stand up in a second when we hear: «The boys are here». The first to enter the room is Mingi. Dressed in a black suit and golden chains around his neck. He looks at us, smiles while saying hello, and goes straight to his seat. In a few seconds, we are sitting in front of one of the most popular boy groups in the whole world. Starting from my left, we see at a very short distance Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, Seongwha, Jongho, San, Wooyoung, and Mingi are waiting for us. They smiled while chatting with each other, but they boasted in a very welcoming hello when they heard we came from Italy. Hongjoong immediately recalled their last tour in our country and said: "We love Italy; I want to return".

Then, after a few seconds, our interview started.

Thank you so much for being here, and nice to meet you. First thing first, how are you, Jongho?

Jongho: I'm okay. I'm actually good, thank you.

You never miss a chance to perform in Europe. What's your feeling when you appear on stage?

Seongwha: Every time we come to Europe, we have an amazing time. We are so grateful for our fans that always wait for us. Every time is a new emotion, a new challenge. So we are really grateful to be able to experience all these amazing feelings with ATINY.

And what is your favorite moment when you are on stage?

San: When ATINY sang with us, they became like part of the show themselves, you know? This is a very special moment for us because it's when we feel we are becoming one with them, a unique entity that is very special and emotional for us.

You always put on a very intense show; which is the most challenging part?

Yunho: When we are on stage, especially during a world tour, we have a setlist that has a very intense timeframe in it. Those moments strain us both physically and mentally speaking. But when we end those segments, when we see ATINY's reactions, we feel so satisfied with what we have done that every pain and sense of tiredness disappear. They give us the strength to go on over and over again with even more power.

We are in Paris; I'm from Milan - both are the capitals of fashion, and you are all very fashionable. So I have to ask: which is the piece of clothing or accessory that you can't live without, your fashion statement item today?

Mingi: As for me... [ Mingi pauses and observes himself, analyzing his outfit, the sash, the necklaces, the cuffs of the open jacket over the bare torso ] I think my fashion statement today is this sash and the epaulette on the shoulders.

Wooyoung: We definitely wanted some elements of Korean tradition in today's looks, and we also wanted these to blend perfectly with more modern looks. In my case, I think it's the cuffs and the details that are inspired by hanbok.

San: I will be changing my outfit on the stage. But As Wooyoung said, we wanted to twist traditional Korean clothes and turn them in a really modern way. So for me, as Wooyoung, it's the hanbok-inspired jacket and the tank top.

Jongho: Part of the fabrics of my outfit today has words written in hangul in it. I think this is the key point of my outfit.

Seonghwa: Right now, you can see me with my hair down, but on stage, I will use hair accessories, a long ribbon, to tie them up. It's a Korean traditional hair tie to stick with the concept we had in mind.

Yeosang: Right now, I'm wearing this really nice jacket; as you can see, I have pins made of jade, which are really precious and traditional. On stage, though, I will take the jacket off during the show, and I will reveal a very fitted top with a cut on my arm. And since I'm wearing all black, I put some gold accessories to color it up a little.

Yunho: I think the jacket and the classic button-down shirt are the key points of my look. Because they are simple, yet I'm wearing them with a twist. I cropped the jacket, have these straps, and the ribbon on my shoulder with hangul words written on it to complete the look.

Hongjoong: [ While everyone chooses Korean to answer our questions, Hongjoong has mastered his English since the beginning ] Actually, we are going to change during the show because we have an opening act with K-Tigers and then our actual stage. So we will change a little bit what we are wearing to impress more the public. However, the key point of my look is these big glasses. I chose to wear them because I wanted to show that I'm a smart guy. [ He laughs ]

Like a true leader, a captain, we might say -- we add. ATEEZ smile. Hongjoong nodded yes while San and Mingi put their thumbs up, agreeing with us.

Hongjoong: By the way, nice shoes. You are wearing Korean elements, too. Those sneakers are pretty cool. [ He smiles. We didn't expect the interaction to be so natural; even though it’s our first meeting everything goes smoothly and became really friendly. ]

ATINYs are debating a lot about your new hair colors. I won't ask you for too many details, but is there a color or a combination of colors you would like to try?

Yeosang: ATINYs say that I'm the only member who didn't try red hair. So... Red is for me.

Hongjoong: I want to try purple one day.

The others look at themselves -- so we add: You might want to stick to your color for a while...

Yunho nods yes.

Seonghwa: It's not a color for me, but I'm growing up my hair. I want to try to grow a mullet.

San: I want to keep my hair black; I think it suits me the best.

It's like my signature question, very basic but might be very difficult: if you had to describe yourself in one word, only one, without overthinking about it... which would it be?

Hongjoong: One by one?

Without any hesitation, the boys raise their fists: "Kawi-Pawi-Po!" they scream. Mingi lose. So he has to start first. He closes his eyes, mouthing: me?

Mingi, it's your turn...

Hongjoon, though, jumps in.

Hongjoong: I will go first. Captain. Because it's my life.

Yunho: Happiness.

Yeosang: Charisma.

San howls to each answer in support of his teammates. Wooyoung looks at him, smiling.

Seonghwa: Star.

Jongho: Maknae.

San: Hot guy. [ He says it without hesitation, pointing to himself. Everybody repeats "hot guy," laughing and joking about his answer ]

Wooyoung: Practice.

Mingi: S-O-N-G-M-I-N-G-I. I'm me.

One last question: who are ATEEZ right here, right now?

The boys smile and stop to think for a second.

San: We?

Hongjoong: No one is like us. We are just unique. ATEEZ is just ATEEZ. There is only one group, like ATEEZ.

The interview ends. The boys start clapping their hands, thanking us for being there. Still, they stick into the room for a while to chat and ease the mood even more. They ask a lot of questions, too, before leaving to get ready for their stage. ATEEZ are the opening act tonight, and they promised: we won't make you regret it.