A Malaysian ATINY Talks About Her Favorite Group ATEEZ And Her Bias WooYoung

ATEEZ / Kpopmap

I love ATEEZ and WooYoung so much so I want other people to love them too. I hope I will be able to do that with this interview.

 

Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from?

Hello everyone! My name is Nis. I am 23 years old, part-time student and full-time ATINY. I am from Malaysia.

 

How and when did you enter the fandom?

Let me be sappy and say I’m actually destined to be an ATINY! I used to be a long-time fan of a third generation K-Pop group and had this one fan account that I followed and was very attached with due to their up-to-date posting. However, back in 2018, I was surprised when the dedicated fan account suddenly posted picture of a rookie group that I am unfamiliar with, stating their interest in them. Keep in mind that I am a very “tunnel vision” type of fan so when I stan a group, I only pay attention to them. So at that time, I just ignored the post and still followed the account since they still posted about my favorite group. However, posts regarding the rookies became frequent until it reached to the point where the person behind the account stated that they were going to rebrand as a fan account of the rookie group since they lost interest in my ult group. Feeling betrayed (I know I am being dramatic for no reason), I unfollowed them.
Fast forward to 2021, my interest in K-Pop was dwindling down and I became just a casual fan. Out of sheer curiosity and boredom, I started to watch Mnet’s “KINGDOM: LEGENDARY WAR.” During the introduction, I did not really pay attention to ATEEZ as I did not really know them. However, they really did not come to play and stole my heart with their outstanding and powerful performances. The performance that really sealed the deal for me to stan ATEEZ is their ‘Answer: Ode to Joy’ performance. Of course, I also did not take a long time to pick a bias since a certain two-toned hair guy with a bright smile and bubbly personality (it’s WooYoung!) decided to pick me as one of his worshippers.

 

Now you are probably wondering, what is the deal with my too long back story that did not even involve ATEEZ? Surprise (or not), turns out the rookie group that became the reason why I felt betrayed by an innocent fan account is actually ATEEZ! And I just found out that the person behind the fan account is actually a WooYoung-biased. Talk about fate.

 

What are the reasons why you love your favorite group?

I have a lot of reasons! Other than the obvious ones like they are very talented in singing, dancing, performing (ATEEZ is called as global performance idols for reasons), song writing and producing (for HongJoong and MinGi as of now), they are a group of such charming guys. If I can describe how charming they are, we would be sitting here for a long time to read all the positive adjectives I could think of. Nevertheless, the utmost reason I love them would be because of how loving they are. Watching them care for each other, never forgetting to state their appreciation towards ATINY and staff at any given moment, sharing funny and heartwarming anecdotes about their own and the other members’ families really touches my heart and makes me cherish them more.

 

Who caught your attention at first and why?

As I have mentioned before, it’s WooYoung. Whenever I saw him popped up on the screen during “KINGDOM,” laughing and talking freely, I am immediately smitten.

 

Who is your bias, and why?

Again, it’s WooYoung! From the moment I saw him in “KINGDOM,” I found my eyes kept going back to him in every ATEEZ video I decided to watch to know more about them. As a result, I got to know his personality and fell in love with him a lot faster than the other members. Everything about him is absolutely amazing but let me simplify it here. First, his dancing. For anyone who is new to ATEEZ, the group has three main dancers and WooYoung is one of them. All three of them have wonderful, distinct style of dancing but WooYoung’s is my favorite. He has very pretty dance lines and he moves like water! His dancing is very smooth and clean. Other than that, his facial expression is also on point. ATEEZ is known for their performance due to their intense dance and theatrical facial expression so it’s no wonder that WooYoung also has good facial expression while dancing. You can check out his fancam of ATEEZ and THE BOYZ’s performance of Post Malone’s ‘I Like You’ at “MBC Music Festival.” He looks very playful and flirty which suits the mood of the song so much.

 

Second, his smile and laugh. I think these two attributes of him are very dangerous. I don’t really know what about it but every time I see and hear it, I automatically laugh and smile along. It’s contagious, it’s dangerous, he needs to stop (no, he doesn’t). Third, his love and care for others. I already mentioned before that the utmost reason I love ATEEZ is because of their loving nature, and I feel this especially towards WooYoung. In Watcha’s “Fill In The Next Blank” Episode 1, which featured WooYoung as the star, he stated that he knows how to give love but does not know how to receive it. And I think that statement is true when seeing how loud he is with his affection for others, constantly seeking physical touch and giving gifts, unabashedly complimenting people, encouraging members to speak during lives by paying attention to them and laughing to their jokes. He’s so sweet and I love that about him so much. Finally, his honest and straightforward personality. Truthfully, I have seen people who are uncomfortable with this character of his but I find it very refreshing. Within the harsh world of K-Pop, it has become second nature for lots of idols to control their words and behavior but seeing WooYoung becomes himself, speaks his mind and not afraid to stand up for himself and his group members, it is very admirable and it has become something of his that I idolized. There are actually a lot of amazing things about WooYoung to be talked about but since this is a simplified version (is it really?), I will stop here.

 

Can you recommend a title track and a B-side track for new fans?

This is a very difficult question but I’ll brave it. For new fans, I recommend ‘Turbulence’. Not only the rhythm is easy to listen to, but the lyrics are something that I think lots of people will be able to relate to, especially the youngsters. Lots of my non-ATINY friends also love ‘Turbulence’ among all other ATEEZ’s title tracks.

 

Asking me to recommend a B-side when ATEEZ literally has no skips discography is a crime! Jokes on me though because I’m still going to try. For B-side track, I want to propose ‘Take Me Home’. Crowned as the best B-side of 2021 by Genius Korea, I promise that ‘Take Me Home’ will really bring you to another level of listening experience. As one of my favorite B-sides, I 100% recommend this song, especially for people who are going for late night drives.

 

Can you recommend a fancam, V Live, cover video, cover dance, or individual content video of your bias to our readers?

There is actually a lot! Since WooYoung is really charming, he shines in every content video. But if we’re talking of recommendation for readers who are probably not familiar with ATEEZ, I suggest for you guys to take a look at Studio CHOOM’s Artist Of The Month from June 2021. WooYoung really did a very good job with his dance performance. The choreography, the song, the outfit, the stage directing, and of course, his immaculate facial expression, all blends seamlessly.

 

And if I’m talking about WooYoung’s dance performance video, I will not stop until all of you guys watch this. WooYoung dancing to Logic’s ‘1-800-273-8255’ for Watcha’s “Fill In The Blank” is absolutely beautiful, especially with the message he intends to deliver with the performance.

 

I also enjoy and recommend for you to watch WooYoung’s individual content called “맛있게 먹우영” (“Enjoy Muk WooYoung”) on ATEEZ’s Youtube channel. It’s a cooking content series where he shows his journey in acquiring Korean cuisine cooking certificate. He gets along so well with everyone, is always witty with his comeback and has hilarious reactions to everything that it’s such a joy watching him.

 

Can you also recommend a content video (variety series, song cover, dance cover, etc.) by your favorite group?

For variety series, the first thing that pops up in my mind is ATEEZ’s “Salary Lupin.” Other than the fact that they are extremely funny, you will see how competitive ATEEZ are especially when it comes to food. “Salary Lupin” Episode 7 still haunts my mind to these days. Another series that is a must mention is “WANTEEZ.” If you are new and looking to get to know ATEEZ, watching this is the right way to start.


 

Wait, there’s more! You guys should definitely check out ATEEZ covering Bruno Mars, Anderson Paak, and Silk Sonic’s ‘Leave The Door Open’. It’s soooo good it’ll melt your ears off! For dance cover, while ATEEZ has many amazing dance performance videos, I always find myself going back to watch the dance covers they did during their KQ Fellaz days. ATINYs consider these dance performance videos to be iconic as it shows how good they are in performing despite still being trainees.


 

Can you share with us one of your favorite lyrics?

ATEEZ has many songs with great lyrics but ‘The Letter’ stands out in particular for me. The first time I’ve heard and understand the lyrics, I was smiling and crying at the same time. It’s to my knowledge that HongJoong wrote the song lyrics while thinking of ATINY but I can’t help myself to think of them when I understand the song. Especially the first part of the chorus, with translation, “Thank you for always being there by my side in every moment. I know after a long difficult day, even at that moment you still smile for me. The love you showed me let me stand up again always” (apologies if this is not 100% accurate but that’s actually the gist of the lyrics). These lyrics really remind me of how ATEEZ has become a great source of strength for me and I’m sure every ATINY think the same as well.

 

Are there any words from the members you would like to share?

“Be a person who is trying his best in everything than just wanting to be the best only.” This is translation of words from YunHo that is always in the back of my mind and never fail to comfort me. Growing up, I was always at the top of my class so I kind of develop high expectation for myself, thinking I’ll be like that for the rest of my life. However, during the latter part of high school when I turned out to be just an above average student, I became disappointed with myself because I grew up thinking I have to be the best and better than everyone else. This went on until the first year of college. I became pessimistic, thinking thoughts like “What’s even the point of trying, there’s always going to be someone who is better than me” and I just stopped. But finding ATEEZ and hearing YunHo’s words makes me realize that while I may not get to be the best at something, I can still try my best to get good results. I actually still pressure myself with high expectation from time to time, but I’ve come to acknowledge that I really need to chill, forgive myself even if I don’t reach my expectation and don’t stop trying.

 

What is your favorite group/bias’ influence on your daily life?

I’m not sure if this counts as an influence but watching WooYyoung socializes with people leaves a deep impression on me that I try to do what he did when interacting with people. The way he is so attentive towards the person speaking, his open body language when hearing people talk and not to mention, timely responding to the person’s words and jokes. As someone who has the attention span of a goldfish, it’s difficult for me to focus when people are talking, I zone out and then when it’s time to react, I’m struggling. I’m working to get better so I hope I can communicate like WooYoung eventually.
Another thing I am reminded of when talking about influence is San. Again, I’m not sure if this counts as influence but seeing San’s really good body posture has driven me to correct my body posture too. For your information, I have bad posture due to my habit of slouching. So whenever I see San standing or sitting up straight, I always find myself subconsciously straightening my back lol. It’s a good thing so I don’t mind.

 

Name a variety show/content show that you would love to see your bias on? Tell us why.

WooYoung is always labeled as a menace (affectionately) by ATINY since he’s mischievous and doesn’t hold back his thoughts. It will be very interesting to see him in JTBC’s “Knowing Bros,” to see how the cast members handle him (or how he would handle the cast members since they are pretty brutal haha).

 

Name 1 quality in your bias that you wish you had.

WooYoung’s extrovert personality. I already mentioned that I admire this side of him the most. I want to be able to have many friends and talk to people freely like him too.

 

If your bias were to collab with another idol, who do you think would be best?

I.M (from MONSTA X)! With I.M’s deep voice and WooYoung’s soothing high pitch vocal, I am confident they will be a great duo and release bangers too. They are also already close to each other so this is not too farfetched, I must say (please let it come true, I’m begging). Other than that, can Shawn Mendes be considered as idol too? It’s just that WooYoung loves him so much and has been talking about collabing with him few times already. I need his dream to come true.

 

What is your biggest dream for your favorite group/bias aside from being happy and healthy?

ATEEZ has always mentioned of wanting to be in Billboard as well as Grammy, and that has become my dream for them too. They’ve already achieved No. 2 on the Billboard 200 during previous comeback so for this upcoming comeback, we’re working on getting them the first spot in the chart. Manifesting they will get it this time!
Besides that, I also have a dream for HongJoong (it’s okay if it’s not my bias right?). HongJoong has talked about how he wanted to create a clothing line that is irrespective of gender and size. After his recent affiliation with the brand Balmain, slowly but surely, I think we’re getting there. I hope I’ll live to see the birth of Hongjoong’s fashion brand and if I’m lucky, get to wear it too!

 

Nis’ message for WooYoung:

I actually have so much to say but I’m getting embarrassed now. I’ll just make it simple. To WooYoung, I adore you so much, maybe to the point I get cuteness aggression sometimes. I also admire you, for your personality, talents, for how your mind works. Never doubt yourself and try to change because as cliché as it is, you are perfect just the way you are. Please be happy always because seeing you laugh and smile has become one of the things that make me happy. Wishing you all the good things in the world <3.

This article was created by a Fan Writer and posted without edits, according to our guidelines. Views expressed are solely those of the Fan Writer and not representative of Kpopmap.
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