One Day at a Time: 6 Songs We Never Sleep On

Welcome back to our One Day at a Time series in which we count down to ATEEZ's fifth anniversary! As part of our special giveaway event, you can comment on each post for an additional entry into the giveaway being held on Instagram. If you want your comment to count as an entry, make sure to include your Instagram username in your comment.

When you have a discography as vast and varied as ATEEZ's, you're bound to have some songs that are decidedly less popular with the fandom. But today, these under-loved songs are getting their long-deserved time in the spotlight.

fever

GD: Fever is so beautiful. It is so, so beautiful. It feels unfair to have to put to words the beauty of a song that is indescribable.

One of the things that I love most about ATEEZ's music is that it always sounds so full and layered, but I love that here, a lot of the verses feel more understated. Simple isn't the right word, but it's something like that. Like their vocals carry the song. And please, the vocals.

The Jongho into San and then there's Wooyoung coming in there. This is in fact one of my all time favorite Wooyoung parts. Plus Mingi's rap. Hongjoong's rap. Jongho singing while Hongjoong raps. It's all just very good.

all about you

Bobby: Maddox is a beautiful and wonderful human and I love this performance, but I am dying for an OT8 All About You. Did you ever hear a song and think "Ah, they must have released this for me" because it was just too perfect? I get that with ATEEZ a lot, but All About You just. . . makes me feel like I can breathe. The instrumental is glorious and the vocals are heavenly. It's so tranquil and sweet, and I cannot believe we are lucky enough to have it.

blue summer

GD: I remember my husband once telling me that every time he hears Blue Summer, he feels like it's the first time he's hearing Blue Summer. I actually have no idea what he meant by that, but also I sort of get it.

I was relistening to it for the purposes of writing this post, and it did feel like I'd forgotten exactly how good this song is. And I suppose that's the whole thing with ATEEZ's music; it's just so good, your brain refuses to hold on to the goodness because it's not logical that one group should have so many perfect songs. But anyways, Blue Summer somehow straddles the line between catchy pop and sentimental ballad, making me feel like I'm both happy and yearning for something.

paradigm

Bobby: If you ask me, all of ATEEZ's Japanese tracks are criminally underrated. But there is just something about Paradigm. I hear that song, and it rattles in my skull and slithers down my spine. It creates an itch in my brain and then scratches the hell out of it. It triggers all my fight or flight responses at once. . . but like, in a good way? It's crunchy and slinky and angular all at the same time. I can't explain it, but it's true.

I hate both whispering and whistling in songs, so how is it possible that the first 12 seconds of Paradigm are still perfect? How is it that the high pitched, buzzy horn sound that persistently runs through the chorus is enough to make the song feel weird and alien (and therefore reinforces the themes of the song) but not enough to drive me insane?

Do I even need to talk about Jongho's vocals in the final chorus? Need I mention the stellar and perfect rap verses? Must I even point out all the excellent choreo moments--the gorilla, the bongos, the wristwatch, the wobbly leg, the sneaking through a house but the floor is lava? No, of course I don't. Because I've already convinced you and now you get it.

diamond

GD: I am here literally begging ATEEZ to perform their Japanese songs outside of Japan. I loved Limitless, but when I heard Diamond I felt like it was written just for me. It is the exact type of song that speaks to me personally.

It has this bright sound with a lot of layers, and generally, the more prolonged belting from Jongho, the more the song will speak to me personally. It's the exact type of song I listen to when I need to feel like I can get through anything. In fact, this is the playlist I made inspired by Diamond.

stay

Bobby: I can't say exactly why, but Stay reminds me of all the best parts of quarantine. Though I faced several struggles during the pandemic, I was one of those people who really thrived in a stay-at-home environment. Truthfully, that's just how I live my life.

I used to obsessively listen to all of the Treasure series while doing grad work online, so I had heard Stay probably dozens of times in the background before I ever actually listened to it and realized how great it is. It's chill but energetic and hopeful. And it reminds me of quiet reading days and working in the flower beds and having the time to take my dog to the park for walks in the woods almost every day.

I actually first discovered ATEEZ just a few months before quarantine began. And even though I do wish I'd been here from the beginning, I don't think I could have found them at a more perfect time. They brought joy to my pandemic years in a way that nothing else could.

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Aren't we so lucky to stan a group with such a beautiful, inspiring, energizing discography? What's your ATEEZ song that no one understands like you do?