AbbyGG

this ask is a blank check to ramble, hopefully about jongho but also, about whatever you want ^_^

kay love you bye 🌬🖤🖤🖤

Hi! This was a good prompt for me to watch Jongho's studio live (translated here by hotyapper) and muse a bit about Jongho!

Jongho said he created this studio so he could comfortably sing to atiny. He's not necessarily interested in producing music, but he just wants a space to perform the songs we want to hear him sing.

When you thank about it, creating his own studio is a logical choice for Jongho. As his career progresses, he's accepted more solo projects: OSTs, Immortal Songs, The Seasons, and collaborating with iconic composers. He's recognized by seniors in his field like Baekhyun and Woodz and routinely touted as one of (if not the) best vocalist of his generation. He is the pride of Ateez and the pride of Atiny.

At the same time, if you were to judge purely based on numbers, he lags behind the other members when it comes to streams and views. Indeed, while all the other solo mvs have reached or surpassed 1mil views, To Be Your Light remains far from that goal. Many have criticized the fandom for their lack of support to his solo projects. I really prefer not to speculate on why that may be; personally, I love so much of his work, but I am not always in the mood for the slow, sentimental ballads he prefers to sing (this is true of the other members' solo work, such as San's Snowflake or Yunho's Be Alright). Jongho is quite stoic, so there's no real indication of how he feels about this disparity. At a concert back in January, he asked atiny to give the TBYL music video lots of love as it had just premiered.

Anecdotally, I've noticed that Jongho really does enjoy spending time with atiny. This is not a new phenomenon either. @elvenpathed ran the numbers and Jongho is one of the most active members on fromm, both in terms of frequency of messages and quantity of messages per session.

From this year alone:

Jongho came on Fromm 17 times, and sent 1210 messages. That's an average of 71 messages per sessions, with only 5 photos sent, no videos and no voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 242 messages)

Jongho is not always interested or motivated to perform fan service with the other members, but he's actually excellent at fan service with atiny. He's incredibly smooth and flirtatious when speaking to us. I would say he has a lot in common with Yunho in how he conducts his live sessions with atiny; perhaps even more so lately.

This could be attributed to my theory that the post-contract renewal period saw a psychic burden lifted from the members' shoulders. They seem happier, relaxed, and more natural than we've seen in a while, both together and individually.

While Jongho can be shy and get embarrassed when expressing affection to anyone, he is sincere and earnest in his delivery. Recently, he came up with a new call-and-response for when he ends his lives:

When you think about it, building a studio and committing time out of his busy schedule just so he can make us happy... that's an incredible act of love to be shown from an idol.

Mandatory disclaimer: the point of all of this is absolutely not to name and shame members who don't interact enough or don't send enough messages (there's not minimum, they're not machines). It's absolute curiosity and I guess tangible information for those seeking to buy a Fromm subscription.

Fun little fact: May 17th is the day that saw the most members (4, Seonghwa, San, Mingi, Wooyoung) ; San showed up almost every day (18 days our of 31) ; Yunho beat the records of day without showing up this year (22 days)

Members ranked by most to least messages:

San (1897) ; Yeosang (998) ; Jongho (640) ; Wooyoung (478) ; Mingi (316) ; Hongjoong (298) ; Seonghwa (171) ; Yunho (98)

Members ranked by most to least chatty (messages per session on average):

Yeosang (333) ; San (100) ; Jongho (91) ; Wooyoung (60) ; Hongjoong (58) ; Yunho (49) ; Mingi (45) ; Seonghwa (43)

Thorough details under the cut.

Seonghwa came on Fromm 4 times, and sent 171 messages. That's an average of 43 messages per sessions, with 1 emojis sent, 3 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 57 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 0 times.

Hongjoong came on Fromm 5 times, and sent 289 messages. That's an average of 58 messages per sessions, with 10 emojis sent, 2 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 145 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 0 times.

Yunho came on Fromm 2 times, and sent 98 messages. That's an average of 49 messages per sessions, with 1 emojis sent, 2 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 49 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 0 times.

Yeosang came on Fromm 3 times, and sent 998 messages. That's an average of 333 messages per sessions, with 6 emojis sent, 0 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 0 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 30 times.

San came on Fromm 19 times, and sent 1897 messages. That's an average of 100 messages per sessions, with 159 emojis sent, 5 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 379 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 155 times.

Mingi came on Fromm 7 times, and sent 316 messages. That's an average of 45 messages per sessions, with 9 emojis sent, 0 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 0 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 0 times.

Wooyoung came on Fromm 8 times, and sent 478 messages. That's an average of 60 messages per sessions, with 8 emojis sent, 14 photos sent, 0 videos and 0 voice messages. (that's about 1 photo every 34 messages) He interacted with Atiny directly a total of 0 times.

MINGI : BLUEPRINT - FiX ON THE UNFiXED (artworks focus)

+ bonus: og video

"And I....I am the Vampire Lestat!"

Yes. Yes, you are. 🥹❤️‍🔥

Some more thoughts!

Be forewarned: this is a monster essay

Since I wrote about Wooyoung and Yeosang's respective magazine features, we've had a few other members harness the transformative power of editorial fashion to soft-launch a rebrand of their idol persona.

There's interesting timing to this. Of course, all eight members just renewed their contracts with KQ for a whopping seven more years, which I've heard is longer than average. They are clearly committed to being in ATEEZ for as long as possible.

"Our ship only goes one way."

At the same time, we've already seen the members make moves towards new and personal pursuits: fashion, acting, production, modeling, etc... essentially setting the wheels in motion for life after ATEEZ.

This corresponds with the bold direction of their new album In Your Fantasy and the world tour of the same name.

Last year's tour Towards The Light was thematically focused on the ATEEZ lore storyline and included their most popular songs. The tour also featured semi-scripted interludes with group interaction, such as the saloon prologue to Arriba, and performances that reaffirmed bonds of love and friendship (Dancing Like Butterfly Wings & Youth).

By contrast, the In Your Fantasy tour prioritizes the solo performances, each hand-crafted to the members' specifications in collaboration with Hongjoong or outside producers. The solo stages remind us that ATEEZ is made up of eight exceptionally talented individual artists. They have different ways of expressing themselves, and their personal motivations are sharply coming into focus as doors previously closed to ATEEZ are finally open, beckoning with opportunity.

According to San in a recent interveiw:

We’ve changed the entire flow. At first, we questioned if changing the ATEEZ style that fans had grown familiar with would be okay. But then we thought - when have we ever feared that? So we decided to go all in on our own color. Everything’s been changed. Each member even has a solo stage. In our 8th year, we’re showing what we’re truly capable of. We’re saying, “Look what we can do. Look how good we are.” That’s what this concert will show.

Hongjoong said something interesting on his live the other day, about how he used to feel comfortable speaking on behalf of the group when it came to the artistic direction of Ateez. Things are different now!

translation by @lovelifebeauty_

To be honest, now that I’m speaking frankly - back during our debut days, and even for some years after that - I actually did take control of various situations. So when ATINY talked about the overall aspects of things involving me, I was in a season where I could comfortably and openly talk about them without any reservations. But now, honestly, it’s a bit harder to do that. The members each have their own ways they want to express things, and in reality, when we make decisions, we try to reflect each member’s opinions as much as possible. And I believe that’s the right direction to take. So it’s not as easy for me now to just casually say, ‘This is like this, and that is like that because of this and that.’ It’s not that kind of time anymore. But that’s okay, and I don’t even want to force it. I just hope ATINY can understand that. It’s not that I feel pressured or dislike it at all when people ask me questions or talk to me about things - I really don’t feel that way. I know there are parts you’d like to hear more honestly and openly from me, and if I’m not able to do that, it’s probably because of the reasons I just shared. I just wanted to let you know that.

Hongjoong added:

And also, each of the members has their own way of communicating with ATINY. The way we talk, the way we express ourselves - it’s all different. So I hope you can enjoy and appreciate each member’s style just the way it is. I’m doing things in my own way too - and that’s that.

We also now know that the members have a major say in Ateez's concepts, personas, and styling. I don't know if this is exceptional within kpop but I found it pleasantly surprising when reading their latest interview for Billboard Magazine:

Hongjoong: We’re all super involved in different parts of the process. Each member has their own way of expressing their identity, whatever feels most natural to them. The things we talk about the most vary from person to person, but for me, I’m always thinking about how far we can push a new concept, and how to keep the balance between the music, visuals, choreography—everything. There’s no one right answer, so I try to stay open and really listen to everyone’s ideas.  Seonghwa: We’re pretty involved across the board—everything from outfits to hair styling. We all share our thoughts and also try to really listen to each other. At the end of the day, what matters most is whether it fits the concept. That part never changes. 

Yunho: Everyone has their own take, but for me, I’m pretty vocal when it comes to shoot concepts and styling—especially if it helps bring out my vibe in the best way.  Yeosang: When any of us has a specific visual concept in mind, we usually talk it through with the team and find a good balance. Hair and outfits are where most of the back-and-forth happens, but we always try to make sure everything fits well and feels right through open communication. San: We talk a lot when it comes to visuals. Like with “Ice On My Teeth,” we had tons of convos about how to really bring out that resistance or mafia vibe. I remember discussing details like the glasses, the pomade—everything. I think all that attention to detail really paid off, and I’m super thankful to everyone who helped make it happen.  Mingi: Our input actually gets reflected a lot. Even from the planning stage, we’re all talking and bouncing ideas around about the concept and direction we wanna take for each album.

  Wooyoung: I definitely care a lot about the outfits. If I have a good idea, I’m quick to speak up and share it.  Jongho: We’re pretty outspoken when it comes to everything—concepts, music, choreography, you name it. There was even a time when one of our B-sides became the title track because we really pushed for it. We’ve also worked closely with the choreo team to tweak moves that felt more “us.” And it’s the same with visuals. We make sure it fits our vibe through a lot of back-and-forth with the team.

I wonder if that b-side is Halazia?

Given these responses, I can see how the members viewed In Your Fantasy as an opportunity to set the tone for the next seven years of their careers as idols.

To quote Turbulence:

Wherе should we be, in what form What should we become, and I?

The "and I" is my favorite part of the song, btw. We an I. Together and separate. But also, musically, this part sounds like they're starting a new sentence, left unfinished. "what should we become? And I..."

Several of the member's recent magazine features feel congruent with this take. Let's take a closer look.

Yunho for Marie Claire Korea

@storkmuffin already wrote a brilliant breakdown of Yunho's interview (part 1, part 2, part 3). I'd like to quote a few passages from their post, as it sums up the crossroad Yunho finds himself at:

Ateez are already rising seventh year Idols. There are two whole generations of boy idols coming up right behind them. He's aging out of being the First Boyfriend type. He needs other moves as his Atiny audience grows up with him. There's a vanishing window of time when he can keep doing these things: being Best Boy Winner at all the cute little tasks, and being the key that balances the power within the big personalities in the group. Yunho has multiple personas he has deployed to date, but they've been variations on a theme: The smart dance captain. Yunho the Idol he talks about in the third person who will never be angry or make you unhappy. The showbiz old hand persona that walks the line between Tryhard and Adorably Cooperative that he brings to the reality content put out by variety programs. The 'characters' he plays during stage performances for each song. But at this point Yunho needs something a little bit more than that, in order to not get lost in the shuffle. It's a very delicate balance though, where he can't fully let go of all of the above and risk alienating his core fanbase, but can't stay tied to that fanbase that will inevitably become distracted by something else young and shiny and of the moment.

The Yunho "brand" up until now has been about reliability. We know he's going to show up to a concept looking tall, handsome, and cool. For IOMT we got a bit of cruel condescension, the kind that draws us to chaebol love interests in kdramas, but he wasn't trying to scare us the way Seonghwa or even San attempted to in their commitment to the mafioso concept.

For his previous magazine work (shot with the other members) stylists really don't seem to want to mess with the proven formula of "tall, handsome, wears a suit well."

I also want to mention his Seoul Fashion Week appearance, which very much played to his strengths and didn't necessarily interest me beyond Yunho's effortless beauty.

Which is why it was SUCH a shock and delight to see Yunho show up in Marie Claire Korea looking hot, deranged, and dangerous.

What's so interesting about this shoot is that it's not like we saw more skin than usual; in fact, Yunho was perhaps more covered up than he's been in past fashion shoots.

it's just how the styling took the things we usually find attractive about Yunho (his height, his large expressive eyes, his thick hands) and turned them against us. Now he's towering over us, posing menacingly; now his eyes look like a shark scenting blood in the water.

The Marie Claire photoshoot felt like a complete sentence when compared to Yunho's inconsistent styling for Lemon Drop. Yunho seemed uncomfortable with the sexy concept of the Lemon Drop mv and the choreography did not give him any killing moments (he also didn't begin the song, which I've found is a reliable indicator of its popularity). The abrupt pivot to emo styling for the second week of Lemon Drop promo was aesthetically jarring, although I do think Yunho really suited the sickly Victorian child concept.

It's clear from his Marie Claire interview that Yunho is still in the process of determining who he'll be for the next phase of his career. In terms of an artist and musician, his solo stage for In Your Fantasy provides an exceptional showcase for his voice and dancing. It also seems like he's borrowing from his members to see what works best for the audience: there's some Wooyoung and Seonghwa in the neck-grab; there's some San in the "It's You"-esque hip gyrations.

It was interesting to hear him in the most recent logbook talk about going first in the concert:

"To be honest, because it was my first solo performance, I was worried of how ATINY would react. I felt a lot of pressure since it was my first time. But Eden came and told me 'Yunho, you have to be the first to do it.' Since he gave me a heavy responsibility, I think I took that responsibility and did a good job."

Do I detect a hint of resentment? Of course, by going first Yunho sets the tone for the rest of the night. We can rely on Yunho to do a great job and set us up for success. On the other hand, when you're followed by seven remarkable and, in some cases, highly elaborate performances, you must wonder if the audience will forget about you.

Yunho used the Marie Claire interview to set some intentions for the coming years: he wants to get back into acting, and his short-format drama will be an interesting test of his star power and durability. Yunho clearly has connections and is working them, but as someone who does watch kdramas (though not very many), Yunho's current persona screams Second Male Lead, which is nice work if you can get it, but he'll never be content with that.

Kdrama already has Rowoon and Park Jinyoung and Choi Minho to be the sweetheart male leads. If Yunho can tap into the dark, brooding energy he brought to his Marie Claire shoot, I can see him following the path of Cha Eunwoo or Lee Junho.

Of all the members, I feel the most unsure about how Yunho's idol persona has changed or will change. I think he's still figuring it out too. It's kind of exciting.

San for Arena Homme+ Korea

I want to kiss this stylist on the mouth.

I don't love comparing ATEEZ to other groups because I really don't pay attention to other groups and don't see the benefit. HOWEVER, when Wooyoung did his feature in the last issue of Arena Homme, the cover star was Hyunjin from Stray Kids modeling Cartier watches. His photoshoot was straightforward: beautiful face, beautiful watch.

But for San, who was there to represent Tag Hauer watches, the editors and stylists clearly had more creative freedom, not to mention San's willingness to commit to a bold, weird, erotic concept.

They put harsh red eyeshadow under his eyes; they painted his nails and chipped the polish; they dressed him like a queer club kid.

Here's what San had to say:

credit @lovelifebeauty_

Q: You said you saw many different sides of yourself — which ones stood out to you? A: First of all, I tried nail art. (laughs) I don’t usually wear much eye makeup, but I did today. I also experimented with different hair textures. Those details felt very new. It was a shoot that made me realize - when done well, these styles can be really cool. Q: Your gaze definitely changes in front of the camera. It’s like flipping a switch. A: When it’s time to work - whether it's on stage or in front of a camera - a different version of me steps forward and does his best to embody the role. I think that naturalness gets captured by the camera. It’s not acting; it’s me fully accepting and expressing the role. These transformations feel natural and comfortable now. Q: You seem to immerse yourself easily. A: I don't like pretending. It’s hard for me. So when I’m in that situation, I consciously tell myself “This is who I am,” and I focus completely. For this shoot, I imagined myself as a car engine revving up. The concept had that racer vibe, and since TAG Heuer is linked with F1, I personified a racecar and imagined that feeling. I love zeroing in and visualizing like that. If I’m not fully immersed, there’s a risk of disconnect for the viewer. I need to accept it completely so it can move others. So today, I truly thought, “I’m a car.”

Fuck yeah. I'm a car.

San has never once shied away from committing to a persona or performance that others might deem un-idol-like. He was mocked and insulted during the Guerrilla era for his expressive face and dancing style, to the point where he had to ask his parents not to search his name online.

I wrote a post comparing San's IOMT persona and performance to his pervious eras, and I'll quote myself:

Even as GH1 and GH2 pivoted away from the bombastic stages of their earlier eras, San continues to fully inhabit his "character." For Ice On My Teeth, he had signature mannerisms and gestures that he maintained across performances. It's actually an interesting meta choice to make San's character in Ice On My Teeth the one with the least overt emotionality, but you can see it simmering under the surface. That's the tension that makes San so compelling to watch on stage, and why this era has brought him so much popularity.

For San, there is no difference between becoming a cold mafioso for Ice On My Teeth and becoming a car for Tag Hauer. He's actually among the more slippery members of Ateez, in that he is able to become whatever is needed of him. I don't think it's an act or affectation, I think it's genuinely how his mind works. It's unlike the way Yunho calculates what parts of each member he can absorb into his idol persona for maximum appeal; San is just naturally a chameleonic person.

That doesn't mean there aren't any side effects. For his Creep performance, San addressed how he taps into his more negative emotions:

translation by @Incandescentsan

The intention? The concept… well… From the start… it moves like this, then like that *san demonstrates choreo* It's pretty direct: "I feel like a creep". Like, I… kind of feel that way. Like… I see myself as someone I can't stand. It's a really simple expression of "me". What I feel. It might come off like acting, but for me, I do feel like someone who hates himself sometimes, it's like a dry heave *san talking about the spitting smoke move* So the movement comes from that emotion. Yeah, that's one way to feel it. You can think of it however you like. Maybe it's acting, or like… I couldn't stand it and I was like "eeakk". It might involve some level of self-hatred, but I didn't want to lock it into one meaning. I wanted it to be open to interpretation. Like an open ending.

I think San has been trying, with relative levels of success, to discard the Grand Duke of the North persona. He's said that people form an impression of him as dangerous and stern, even if it's meant as a compliment that you look like a handsome manhwa love interest. This is clearly not how he wishes to be perceived as San-the-human, but his utter commitment to the persona means being typecast by your audience.

Which is why I love that he did not go for a classic, handsome idol photoshoot. What he's doing for Arenta Homme is no less sexy, but it's also subversive. It's a masculinity tied more to queer subculture than heteronormative romantic fantasy. Like Wooyoung in the same magazine only one issue earlier, San is reiterating that he is not just a handsome idol. He's an artist who is unafraid of looking weird and busted and strange in pursuit of the performance.

Seonghwa for Dazed & Confused Korea

This feature announced Seonghwa as the first global ambassador for Songzio, an avant-garde Korean brand with highly artistic and experimental aesthetics.

Seonghwa walked the runway for Songzio in Paris just a few months ago, and it really set the tone for their partnership. Seonghwa looked almost unrecognizable (positive).

Of course, Hongjoong said it best:

[Seongwha] doesn’t approach modelling just like a K-pop idol doing it on the side. He doesn’t treat it like, just a modeling thing, he really immerses himself in it. He tries to understand the attitude and presence of actual models and I think that kind of mindset is seriously so cool. Of course, it might still feel a little unfamiliar. I mean, we’re all more used to seeing Seonghwa on stage. Me, the members, the people around us and ATINYs too, but still… For people who don’t know him, to see the clothes and really feel the concept through him as a model? I really think he created that image so well. Even I was surprised watching it.

Here's what CEO Jay Songzio had to say about Seonghwa:

The most important thing is whether we have somebody that we really have a sincere relationship with, which is the case with this particular artist, who's been wearing [Songzio] for a while and who appreciates the collections and who appreciates the aesthetics of the brand

What struck me about Seonghwa's photoshoot for Dazed is just how much we don't see of him: the styling (done by Songzio himself) hides as much as it reveals. We see Seonghwa's abs, torso, feet, but not his face, or at least not all of it. Seonghwa's face is either obscured by his bangs, shrouded in shadow or contrasting bright lights, blocked by his hands, or covered by a hat.

Seonghwa is merely a vessel for the clothes. He achieves this through the subsumption of the idol persona.

It's such an interesting strategy to essentially hide or deny Seonghwa's idol-ness. The brand is saying, we hired a model for our clothes, not a kpop star. Of course, Seonghwa will most likely make an appearance when Songzio opens their new Paris store later this Fall and it will be a full spectacle. But for this magazine shoot, Seonghwa ceded his own identity for that of the brand he now represents.

Seonghwa's dream has always been to model and to be involved in the fashion world, but that has never been his primary motivation for joining ATEEZ and entering the industry.

Here's Seonghwa's own words from a recent interview:

"I'm interested in acting and fashion. But I never want to lose my identity. I'm a singer, and I want to continue working as one. I always say this when asked - I put the team first. If I can't fulfill my role in the team, I don't think I can achieve anything alone. I exist because ATEEZ exists. I want to be ATEEZ for as long as possible"

There's a parallel to be made between Seonghwa' linking his existence to ATEEZ and his preference to be subsumed by the identify of the brand he's modeling.

Seonghwa has a desire for transformative annihilation.

But this is not a submissive impulse. When we see Seongwha on stage, physically shedding layers of clothes only to be restrained - and even choked - by the many hands of his backup dancers, there's an expression of bliss on his face. He's in charge of his own erotic journey. Everyone on that stage, and behind the stage (Hongjoong), is working towards Seonghwa's artistic goals

Like he said about the choreography: "I thought it would be great if I could blend in a sort of fantasy element, something that only I could pull off."

Seonghwa thrives as a performer, and he clearly seeks out creative, artistic people for whom he can offer himself as muse and execute their vision. This is evident by his parternhips with Isabel Marant and Songzio, but also true of ATEEZ, as Seonghwa clearly wanted Hongjoong to produce his solo.

"Sure, we could have gotten a song from an outside source, but I had this strong feeling that Hongjoong would be the one who could best create something that truly fills my sense of satisfaction."

See what I mean, though? Seonghwa doesn't lack the will or ability: his drive is towards finding people who can create beautiful and interesting things so he can bring their vision to life. And he clearly knows what he wants too: he told Hongjoong he wanted Matz to be a harder rap song; he told Hongjoong what he wanted from Skin.

Seonghwa knows exactly what he wants.

The Best of the Rest

I've run out of images for this post, but I didn't want to forget about the others.

Wooyoung + Yeosang I've already covered.

Mingi hasn't had a recent fashion shoot, except for more Calvin Klein modeling photos. I actually think of all the members, Mingi has the most varied editorial portfolio. In terms of a "rebrand" I actually think Mingi is pretty self-actualized right now. He's already been through the growing pains. The Lemon Drop promo cycle seemed in many ways like a victory lap, with opportunities to show off his charisma and attract new fans. The USA tour has only proven his star power.

Hongjoong had a feature for ELLE Korea, but I think his fashion world bona fides have long been established. There's not real need for a rebrand. He's out here learning to DJ, collaborating with his own idols (Bradley Simpson from The Vamps), and making his own fashion, among multiple other side quests.

Jongho obviously deserves a magazine feature, but he's either uninterested in fashion or not promoted by KQ as someone who could be open to a brand collaboration (the only thing we got was a perfume ad on his page several months ago). Instead, the recent comeback appeared to be a partial campaign by KQ to position Jongho for a solo career post-Ateez (or even during their military enlistment, should Jongho be medically exempted for his knee/leg injuries). He had multiple solo schedules that involved singing, recorded an OST for an upcoming drama, and is the singing voice for  Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.