As an exercise in rediscovery, every other Friday we will place a single ATEEZ track under the microscope to explore its deeper meanings, both to ATEEZ's discography and universe and to ourselves.
It's pretty amazing that one of ATEEZ's most iconic songs isn't even their own.
Black Cat Nero
Release Date: August 16, 2021
Album: Season Songs
Lyrics: 홍현걸
Composition: Unknown
Arrangement: 정소리, Ollounder
One of the earliest of the Disney live-action remakes was Cinderella. My mom, whose taste in entertainment I do not trust, told me I should watch it because it was "really cute." I did watch it and found that I did not understand why it existed. While Lily James is precious and I love Helena Bonham Carter just as much as any Potterhead or British movie enthusiast (watch her in Twelfth Night if you can find it--she's delightful), I just don't know that we needed yet another retelling of Cinderella that was beat-for-beat almost exactly like the original it was based on.
I love a fairy tale retelling; it's one of my favorite genres. But, I love them because typically they will take characters or a setting that we really love and they will twist them around a bit and play with them to see what new fun we can have with old stories. Disney's Cinderella does not do this. At least I don't think so. I can't remember much about it, to be honest. But I can contrast it with Disney's Maleficent, which I did not think was good but which I actually can remember because it was interesting because it did something different. (Also, if you want a truly good Cinderella retelling, the absolute best one is Ever After, I am not accepting arguments at this time.)
A while back, just after the Babies had released their cover of Pentagon's Shine, someone on a social media platform that I definitely have never complained about before ever and which shall remain nameless, posted that they didn't like it when groups did covers that varied from the original songs. They and some commenters felt like it was disrespectful to the original artists to modify their work in any way. According to them, it was like the newer groups were trying to "improve" on the songs or performances. ATEEZ was brought up as a group that often (read: always) changes songs to fit their style and some commenters felt that was not appropriate. They preferred when the younger artists simply copied their seniors.
I am almost embarrassed to say that this post and comments have stuck with me over these months, more than they really should have because why should I care what some internet rando thinks about KQ group covers? But, the sentiment is so incomprehensible to me that it's like a lock I cannot break, a knot I cannot untie, a puzzle I cannot solve. I keep mulling over it in an attempt to understand but I simply can't.
You will likely not be surprised to learn that I absolutely adore ATEEZ covers. And it's more than just--I love ATEEZ; therefore, I love their covers. There is some kind of special magic in the way they cover songs that I haven't really sat to think about. Until now.
I knew for this post I wanted to write about Black Cat Nero ('tis the season, sort of), but truthfully I want to talk about all of their covers. And so I sat down and made a playlist of all of them all (the full-group ones at least--and I sprinkled in some Babies for fun) side-by-side with the original songs. You can watch the whole playlist here. It's quite eye-opening.
Some random observations that I will give you in list format just because I do what I want:
It is interesting how many covers get the rock treatment when we still haven't gotten a proper ATEEZ rock song. (Eden, WHEN??? PLEASE)
I genuinely enjoy all of ATEEZ's covers far more than the originals, with the exception I think of Shinee's Sherlock which I would say I enjoy as much. And interestingly, I think that's the cover that remains truest to the original.
I like BTS's On just fine, and have watched ATEEZ's version before and hadn't noticed any major changes. But watching it right after BTS's really made me appreciate the arrangement more than I'd realized. The addition of the brass is excellent and makes the (sadly brief) cover feel so much fuller and more satisfying to me than the BTS version.
What stands out to me overall with ATEEZ's covers is how they are able to make the song feel fresh and new and very much like an ATEEZ song while at the same time keeping the spirit of the original completely intact, even when they fully change the genre. Turbo's Black Cat Nero is straight up a dance pop song (and it slaps, btw). ATEEZ turned it into a gothic rock opera, but it still keeps the playful energy of Turbo's version.
I don't fully understand how they stay true to the original songs (though I feel it in my heart), but I do think I have figured out the secret sauce that turns every cover into an ATEEZ original.
The Rapline
Anytime ATEEZ covers a song that did not originally include a rap, they find a way to fit one or two in seamlessly. Let's face it: our rappers are distinctive. You hear a giggle or a "fix on" and you know exactly who you're dealing with. I'm thinking of how ATEEZ removed Justin Bieber's verse from Stay in order to let Hongjoong and Mingi cook and it was really the best thing they could have ever done for that song.
Jongho
Listen, I'm not going to sit here and say that Jongho out-sings everyone's faves. That would be silly. (I could think it though, if I wanted to, and you would never know.) But, no other groups have a Jongho, plain and simple. So while your group may also have fantastic singers, Jongho is still going to roll up and Jongho-ify your song with his Jongho-ishness and he simply can't be stopped.
Eden-ary
This one feels so obvious and yet so under-appreciated. I know there are Atinys who are desperate for ATEEZ to work with different producers. That's fine, I suppose. But we really should take a moment and consider how the only reason it's possible for ATEEZ to tackle so many genres and different sounds and yet still sound like themselves is that they have a consistent production team. Eden-ary solidifies ATEEZ's musical identity, even when they are singing someone else's songs. And for this we should always be grateful.
All that said, at the end of the day, if I don't like Disney's new Cinderella and I prefer to watch the original, that's okay. You know why? Because the original still exists. Likewise, if I want to hear the Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic version of Leave the Door Open, it's right there. Getting upset that a new thing isn't just like an old thing is so insane to me. I may never comprehend it.
Then again, I suppose it's also insane that I wrote a whole post about an internet person's dumb opinion I disagreed with.
We're all mad here, I suppose.
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