ON a windy day in Downtown Los Angeles, the eight members of the K-pop group Ateez swim through a swarm of press toward a popworld welcome: a ribbon-cutting for an exhibit dedicated to them at the Grammy Museum. It's part of the museum's efforts to celebrate the rising influence of Korean pop music. And Ateez, with a growing international profile and a number one album in the US under their belt, are representatives of the next cresting wave of K-pop.
Inside, the group's arrival on the global pop scene is made concrete: Its costumes and props from a 2023 music video are on view right next to a Shakira display, and not far from Michael Jackson's stage costumes. Hongjoong, Ateez's primary rapper, songwriter, and leader revels at the late pop icon's bejeweled gloves and busts into "Man in the Mirror" with glee. "The fact that we're in the same place as Michael Jackson...." He trails off, and Yunho-the group's rapper and dancer with boy-next-door charm-finishes his sentence: "It's an honor."
While the US has already seen major crossover moments from K-pop groups-BTS at the Grammys, Blackpink headlining Coachellathe members of Ateez have emerged as stars in a shifting landscape where questions about the genre's "mainstream" status pale in comparison to the remarkable fandoms its acts have built. In recent years, Ateez-and its millions of fans, called Atinys-packed stadiums across Asia, Europe, and North and South America, and this April it became the first K-pop boy group to perform at Coachella.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
SHABOOZEY THE BIG SHA BANG
Shaboozey spent months at the tippy-top of the charts with a hit song about dealing with hard times the easy way: by hitting the bar. He sang on a couple songs with Beyoncé too. So we asked the one and only SHANIA TWAIN to help country's biggest new star make sense of his explosive year.
HANNAH EINBINDER BORN STANDING UP
With her star turn on Hacks, the comic turned actor has established herself as one of Hollywood's most exciting young talents-much to her own surprise.
Katt Williams The Man Who Opened The Portal
In January, the comic delivered an instantly iconic podcast interview that threw pop culture into crisis-and seemed to predict all manner of messy celebrity gossip to come. At home on his farm, Williams explains why he said what he said— and why he'd do it again, and again, and again....
JOHN DAVID & MALCOLM WASHINGTON A NEW HOLLYWOOD DYNASTY
The Washington brothers built their careers apart—until an irresistible project drew them together. In The Piano Lesson, they tackle a father's thorny legacy.
FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN'S HISTORIC Hit STREAK
What happens when the best rapper alive reunites with the hottest producer of the moment? You get a back-to-back-to-back run unlike any since the Beatles.
PHARRELL WILLIAMS Designer of the Year
Riding along from Paris to Hollywood to New York with the Louis Vuitton *men's creative director, whose prolific and often prophetic contributions to fashion, film, and music have once again thrust him to the center of the pop culture Venn diagram.
JOHN MULANEY. KID GORGEOUS GROWS UP
After immortalizing the whirlwind of the past four yearsrelapse, intervention, recovery-in his awardwinning standup special, John Mulaney has emerged as one of the most popular comedians on earth. For his next trick, he's embracing his surprising new role as a suburban dad.
DWAYNE JOHNSON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST Actor
It's hard for Dwayne Johnson to hide. Wherever he goes, there he is― as conspicuous out in the world as he is on the silver screen. But after two decades of playing a version of himself in huge movies, suddenly Dwayne Johnson is ready to do something entirely new: vanish.
How the WNBA Became the Most Fun, Complicated, and Exciting League in Sports
Caitlin Clark! A'ja Wilson! Angel Reese! This year, women's hoops emerged as a dominant popcultural force. But the road to sports-league supremacy has been long and winding. This is the inside story of how the W finally broke through.
A Companion for Your Wrist
Audemars Piguet's new release with artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, brings high-art hype to the world of pop-watch collabs.
