Introducing the 'ZZZ' of K-POP: ATEEZ, Stray Kids, The Boyz

Have you ever heard of the ‘ZZZ’ of K-Pop?

This is actually composed of the three best idol boy groups of the 4th generation: ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and The Boyz. They are originally called ‘즈즈즈 (jeujeujeu)’ because the group’s Korean hangul name all ends with this (에이티즈, 스트레이 키즈, 더보이즈). For international fans, it’s ‘ZZZ’. The fans created this name as the three groups are relatively popular in their generation. In this article, let me introduce to you the three prides of K-Pop.

ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and The Boyz all debuted a few months apart. The senior of them all is The Boyz. The group debuted on December 6, 2017 with the song ‘Boy’. Before their debut, they had their first reality show Flower Snack where they started to gather fans with their charm, making them ‘their’ boys. Three months later, on March 25, 2018, Stray Kids officially debuted with their ‘I am Not’ album. Before they debut, they undergo a survival show called ‘Stray Kids’. Luckily, all trainees debuted from that show. In the same year, ATEEZ made their debut on October 24, 2018 with the title tracks ‘Pirate King’ and ‘Treasure’. They were known as ‘KQ Fellaz’ before their debut. They release YouTube videos showcasing their talents which eventually gathered fans.

ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and The Boyz are quite a big family. Starting with the biggest group, The Boyz. Composed of 11 members: Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric. Before their debut, one of the members, Kevin, joined K-Pop Superstar 6, however, he was eliminated early. Sunwoo also joined a contest named High School Rapper in January 2017. Haknyeon also participated in a survival show Produce 101 where he placed 19th. Next is Stray Kids, an eight-member group. The members are Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. The group was created by their leader Bang Chan. Starting from their pre-debut album, they have already participated in producing their song. They have a sub-unit called 3RACHA which involves Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han who mainly produce their songs. Finally, ATEEZ, an eight-member group as well, consists of Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. Before their debut, Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho participated in a survival show Mix Nine. 

Even before their debut, these boys already showcase their exceptional talents. Due to their hard work, the groups received various awards since their debut. ATEEZ got their first music program award with their song ‘Wave’ in MCountdown on June 20, 2019. The same year, they won in MTV Europe Music Awards as Best Korean Act. The following year, ATEEZ released their album Zero: Fever Part 1 which sold 379,052 physical copies and became the first album to be certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association making them the second 4th gen boy group to generate one million total sales. 2021 starts the peak of their career. Yeosang became a co-host on SBS music program ‘The Show’. Yunho, Seonghwa, Jongho, and San were cast on KBS2’s drama ‘Imitation’. In the same year, they won a Bonsang at the Seoul Music Awards and The Fact Music Awards. Starting from that year, ATEEZ always won Artist of the Year Award. Recently, they got their first Daesang on Korean Grand Music Awards (2024) as Grand Honor’s Choice. 

Meanwhile, Stray Kids also received numerous awards throughout their journey. The group received their first music show award at Show Champion for their song ‘Miroh’ in 2019. Before that, the group proved that they are a rookie monster by receiving Rookie of the Year or Best New Artist on award shows such as Asia Artist Awards, Genie Music Awards, MAMA Awards, and Seoul Music Awards among others. In 2020, they won the MTV Europe Music Awards as Best Korean Act. The same year, they released their first studio album Go Live with its title track ‘God’s Menu’ which is loved by many people. It became the group’s best-selling album, and this was certified as a platinum album by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) It is also the first time where they got certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2021, they received their first Daesang (Performance of the Year) at the Asia Artist Awards. Currently, they bring home a total of six Daesangs from different awards shows. In 2023, Stray Kids released their album 5-Star, which exceeded 5.13 million pre-orders, making history as the first K-Pop group to exceed five million pre-orders. Stray Kids is also known as a ‘self-producing’ idol group. Aside from their group awards, their producer sub-unit, 3RACHA, also received a Best Creator Award at last year’s AAA.

Moreover, starting from their debut, The Boyz already brought home various awards. They won Rookie Awards or Best New Male Artist on Asia Artists Awards, Melon Music Awards, Soribada Best K-Music Awards among others. This is a big achievement because a group can only win rookie awards once in their lifetime. The following year, they got their first music show win on SBS’s The Show with their song ‘Bloom Bloom’. In 2020, The Boyz also started to bring home Artist of the Year or Bonsang yearly. They also participated in Mnet’s competition show ‘Road to Kingdom’ where they had to compete with other 6 boy groups. The Boyz won first place on that show. Aside from music, some of the members also dive into their acting careers. Hyunjae, Younghoon, Haknyeon, and Sunwoo started to be cast in various Korean dramas. 

Above all, the three groups expanded their fanbase in Korea when they joined MNET’s show ‘Kingdom: Legendary War’ wherein six popular boy groups competed against each other. In this show, ATEEZ, Stray Kids, and The Boyz showcase their talents—rap, sing, dance. It is more like a friendly competition between the groups. During 2020 MAMA, the three groups made a legendary collaboration with their dance representatives The Boyz’s Juyeon, Stray Kids’ Hyunjin, and ATEEZ’s San with a ‘Triangular Fight’. Even though they’re rivals on stage, they formed a friendship along with other boy groups who participated in the show. In one of The Boyz Kevin’s live, he mentioned that he became close to ATEEZ’s Wooyoung and Stray Kids’ Han during the show. After the show, Stray Kids’ Bang Chan and ATEEZ’s San also went on a separate live broadcast and mentioned how many friendships they made during Kingdom. Nowadays, you can still see the closeness of the three groups through behind the scene videos during awards/festival shows or through TikTok collaborations. One of the strongest friendships is between Stray Kids’ Changbin and ATEEZ’s Wooyoung, fans even consider them as a married couple.

We can’t really deny that ATEEZ, Stray Kids, The Boyz are one of the best 4th gen groups—or K-Pop groups in general. Their hard work on and off stage really paid off. They might be called ‘ZZZ’, but you should never sleep with these three boy groups. They recently or will be making their comeback, let’s show our support to our ATEEZ, STRAY KIDS, THE BOYZ!

Who’s your ‘ZZZ’ bias? Drop a comment below!