From the Desert to Mawazine — A Reflection on ATEEZ's Six-Year Rise

Headlining an international festival with 2.5 million viewers after starting out at a company that had  only 20 employees sounds like a heartwarming movie plot — but for ATEEZ, an eight-member group from KQ Entertainment, it’s reality.

While the group has amassed many accolades and praise in the recent past, they started out not knowing if they were even going to make it to releasing their second album. In 2017, the K-Pop scene was starting to gain immense traction in the West due to its online presence, and groups from small companies were just on the cusp of being able to create a footing for themselves. ATEEZ was one of the groups vying for a chance to show their talents to a global audience.