Ateez Prepared “One Hell Of A” Show for Coachella 2024

Korean group Ateez – consisting of members Hongjoong (the Captain), Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho – absolutely tore up the stage at Coachella. They’re the first kpop boyband to ever be invited to the festival. And Atiny (the name of their fandom) were super excited after the announcement. For the entire month and a half lead up, the boys kept pretty hush-hush except to say that they were preparing well.

Now that both of their Coachella performances have come and gone, their work can be summed up pretty easily: Ateez ATE. They left everything they had on that stage – twice – and it’s truly a testament to their teamwork, work ethic, and creativity. Their performances at Coachella 2024 are something for the history books. Plus, they’re doing something pretty special – they’re bringing back what music lost.

So mark my words: this is the group that everyone should watch going forward because they have it all. No one is doing music like they are.

But more on that later. First, here’s some details about their performances.

Ateez was scheduled for the Sahara stage on Friday, April 12th, and Friday, April 19th, 2024. Some Atiny said that Sahara is the preferred stage for dynamic performances, and after seeing what Ateez prepared: I can agree. Because we also saw a photo of all the luggage that the group brought to LA, the anticipation was palpable in the days leading up to week one. Everyone wondered what they brought with them and just how mind blowing their stage was going to be because of it. This sentiment is entirely understandable if you’ve seen the fan cams from their Towards the Light concert.

When Friday the 12th at 10:45pst finally came around, the giant screen at Sahara stage lit up with a cinematic of a searching eye. Something that we also see in their concert set. The iris changed from blue to red (could it be a spoiler?). And then it faded into different silhouetted graphics accompanied with each member’s name one-by-one.

Hongjoong’s graphic was all members with the rebellion flags.

Wooyoung’s was a man riding on a motorcycle.

San’s was a boxer fighting in an arena.

Jongho’s was traditional fans and a tiger.

Yeosang’s was liquid being poured into glasses for a toast among the members.

Yunho was a cowboy riding a horse and throwing a lasso.

And for Mingi’s, Yunho’s lasso made contact with a bag which burst into feathers.

Seonghwa’s was his famous sword scene from Wonderland where he slays the Kraken.

At the end of this, the members entered the stage and the crowd went wild both times. They said a brief hello and got right down to business.

Ateez’s 2024 Coachella setlist for both shows (in order of performance) was:

  • Say My Name
  • HALA HALA
  • Guerilla
  • (break for a chat with the audience)
  • Crazy Form
  • Rocky
  • The Real
  • (break for a chat with the audience, and performance two had a quick top outfit change)
  • Arriba
  • Django
  • Bouncy (+ a quick goodbye and notice of last song)
  • Wonderland

All songs were changed to rock band versions, letting us envision what a (potential future) rock album might sound like from them. Ateez are known for experimenting, so anything is possible.

Ateez’s Week One Coachella Performance

Their first weekend performance was absolutely spectacular – the guys were well prepared, and it showed. But the lighting and camera crew did not seem to be on the same page…at all. Just to cite one example: the camera for the live broadcast couldn’t always find the member who was singing. One instance of this went viral on X: Captain’s rap in Crazy Form was entirely missed because the camera instead showed the other members off to the side who were waiting for their part to come up.

There were also many lighting challenges. Yeosang seemed to get the worst of it. He spent a lot of time being in the dark for his focus moments. Even during Arriba when the members called attention to their awesome live rock band, the lighting didn’t seem to illuminate the band properly. Sometimes it was just delayed, but often it didn’t happen before the members moved on.

Ateez were visibly frustrated about this a few times – we could see the looks on their faces. But they still hit their choreography, lyrics, and notes perfectly until the very end, showing their true colors as performers. They’re professionals through and through, and there’s no doubt about that. They were well prepared for this performance and they ate despite the technical challenges.

Notable awesome stuff from week one:

Jongho’s stable vocals throughout the 40+ minute intense stage. His clear and perfect notes despite the difficult choreography went viral on X. Everyone was (finally) screaming his well-deserved (and long overdue) praises. Plus, during one of their breaks, he said in perfect English that it was going to be “one hell of a night.” This sent everyone into a frenzy. All of the members clearly worked hard on their English, but to see them using popular phrases with perfect command was…extra amazing.

No, not just extra amazing. It’s the literal definition of above and beyond. Ateez took this invite super serious and worked HARD.

Their care and attention to even this detail – clear communication – is just one of many reasons why they’re a world apart from other kpop groups right now. They truly consider and value the people who are coming to see their shows, and make preparations to include everyone. Maybe this is why Atiny always say that, “every Ateez live performance becomes an Ateez concert.” They have a tendency to draw everyone in and make it special.

Ateez’s Week Two Coachella Performance

Theories went around Atiny circles all week. Would they change their outfits, and how? What about their setlist – was there going to be any changes? At the sound check on Thursday, it looked like there weren’t any changes to the setlist. But outfit details…those were still up in the air.

And they didn’t disappoint.

The theme seemed to be office worker meets rock star, and make everything tailored to fit like a glove. If you need a better visual: Yunho looked like prince charming meets the gunslinger. And Wooyoung had a white shirt with a sparkly detective-style vest over top.

And it didn’t stop there. At the Arriba stage, they all switched the top half of their outfit into something a little different. Something a little more country. Whether it’s a spoiler for their comeback, or a clever change to better suit the stage design for Arriba and Django – it’s hard to tell with Ateez. But the effect was obvious. With these simple outfit changes, the performance became even more theatrical. Ateez visually changed to fit in with the country-western set atmosphere.

And of course – San and Mingi both found ways to undue their buttons only a few songs in, showing off their chiseled abs. It was something they also did in week one, and it was a success both times. Atiny went wild.

The surprise addition to the exposure club at week two was Yeosang. He had coyly refused to give any spoilers about his outfit during a livestream the day before, and Atiny found out why as soon as he entered the stage. The majority of his top was see-through, save the collar area which was dark as if it was some sort of choker necklace. The whole outfit was definitely giving fierce doberman vibes. Maybe because of this, the Maltese jokes will be a thing of the past?

In terms of technical issues: after only a week, they fixed every single issue. The camera work looked like it was done by someone who knew them well or someone who had been working with them forever. Every little detail was perfect, and each member got the appropriate focus. And the lighting was *chefs kiss.* Watching via the livestream was incredibly dynamic and exciting.

Yes – you read that right. After just one week, Ateez and their staff reviewed and solved the technical issues. They were listening on social media. In just one week, they did what they had to and it took their performance from amazing to epic. Their week two Coachella stage must have been β€œone hell of a night” for everyone watching live, because it was definitely pretty intense on the live stream. This was truly one for the history books.

Final thoughts

Because Ateez had Korean traditions in their performances, and they spoke to the audience entirely in English (with near native level pronunciation), their stages at Coachella felt like a perfect blend of two different cultures. Having that level of sensitivity and respect has become rare in this world, so I think that’s something quite special.

But the magic of Ateez doesn’t stop at things like that. As every Atiny knows, Hongjoong and Mingi both play an active role in producing and writing many of their songs. In fact, every member had a hand in writing or producing at least one of each song on their latest full-length album, Crazy Form. Behind-the-scenes footage also shows that Yunho helps everyone learn choreography when they prepare for their concerts.

Translation: each member of Ateez is talented both behind the scenes, and in front of audiences. They actively involve themselves in the full process, putting in lots of hard work, and it shines through.

And in my opinion, a lot of what they’re doing is bringing back something that music lost a long time ago. Traditional music (in many places around the world) was about exploration, stories, community, and gathering. In essence, it’s deeper than just, “it sounds good” or “the lyrics are nice.”

Music was always something with layers of meaning that people experienced as a group. Whether it was singing about a story, or the sounds itself were part of the story, it was not really a passive activity. And this is the case with Ateez and their work. The music they create has a deeper meaning (you can look up their lore), often includes some cultural elements, and they make sure to draw in the audience along the way.

And if you need an example: look at the plane banners in the sky (Return to A) and the “Golden Hour” written on Hongjoong’s folding fan. It turns out that both of these were clues for their next comeback. But the effect it had was to draw Atiny into the lore, into the meaning behind their songs, in a deeper way.

So if you haven’t checked out Ateez before, maybe this is your sign.

P.S. Jongho, who fought the yellow flag and the wind at sound check, finally won the battle. He looked absolutely regal with it during their week two performance

PPS – That camera shot of MATZ (Seonghwa and Hongjoong) cheering on their guitarist in Arriba was especially artful

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