Ateez to release Japanese version of 'Bad'

Boy band Ateez will extend the run of its chart-topping song “Bad” with a Japanese-language version released as a single on July 29, its agency KQ Entertainment announced Wednesday.

"Bad," a confident and sultry song that was originally sung in Korean, will join two new songs, Seeker" and "Higher," to round out the track list, along with instrumental versions of all three songs, for six tracks total. The album explores love through a range of emotional angles, KQ said. 

Ateez is slated to hold a showcase on July 28 to mark the new release, followed by a fan meet-and-greet at K-Arena Yokohama in Kanagawa, Japan, from Aug. 4 to 6.

The original "Bad" is the title track of Ateez's album, "Golden Hour: Part.5," released June 26. The band has been releasing the "Golden Hour" album series since May 2024, consisting of genre-bending music that blend hip-hop, hyper-pop, trap, Brazilian funk, dance and Latin pop. The fifth installment sold more than 1.88 million copies in the first week of its release and topped the U.S. Billboard's main albums chart for the last week of June. 

Ateez debuted in October 2018 with the EP “Treasure EP.1: All to Zero.” The octet, comprising Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho, is known for hits such as “Wonderland” (2019), “Answer” (2020) and “Deja Vu” (2021).

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]