Ateez hopes to hit Billboard Music, Grammy Awards someday

Returning with its ninth EP, K-pop boy group Ateez hopes it will be able to take the stage for prestigious U.S. music awards, such as the Billboard Music Awards and Grammy Awards, in the future.

The eight-piece group had a media showcase here for “The World Ep. 2: Outlaw” on Thursday, one day before the album’s release.

Debuting in October 2018 with KQ Entertainment, a minor K-pop agency, Ateez reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart with its eighth EP, “The World Ep. 1: Movement,” four years later.

In January this year, it cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart for the third time in its career with “Spin Off: From the Witness,” its first single album released a month earlier.

The single, in particular, gained attention for staying on the chart for three nonconsecutive times, including its debut at No. 7.

“As a group that always aims high, we hope to achieve results that will make our fans feel proud,” team leader Hongjoong said during the media event at KBS Arena in western Seoul. “We’d like to hit the stage for the Billboard Music or Grammy Awards.”

The forthcoming album is the second installment of the band’s “The World” album series that began with “The World Ep. 1: Movement,” which dropped in July.

While the previous EP delivered a rebellious message about the group secretly working to awaken people who live in the continuous cycle of life like a machine without feeling any particular emotions, the new album depicts a bolder and more exiting movement by the band to change the world, according to the group.

Led by “Bouncy,” the album has five more tracks — “This World,” “Dune,” “Django,” “Wake Up” and “Outlaw.”

Hongjoong, who participated in penning all six songs, said he wanted to express the message through the cheerful and witty lyrics that we need to break rules or limitations of the world and keep showing our own uniqueness.

He emphasized the lead track has “a unique, spicy flavor that the public has never experienced before” with a message that we can change the world if we want.

The rapper said “The World Ep. 2: Outlaw” is an album that probably stays most true to the group, as it now knows how to strike a balance between its artistic vision and the expectations of its fans.