ATEEZ Break Through at Home as San's 'BAD' Dance Conquers Short-Form Feeds

ATEEZ, long regarded as a top-tier K-pop act abroad but comparatively under the radar with mainstream domestic audiences, is finally building a foothold at home—propelled by short-form video. The turning point has been the runaway online response to a dance move performed by member San (born Choi San) in the group’s new single “BAD.”
“BAD” is the title track of the group’s 14th mini-album, “Golden Hour: Part 5,” released on June 26. Built on a Brazilian funk foundation, the song pairs an aggressive rhythm with an equally forceful performance. The clip that caught fire centered on the track’s back half, where San delivers a striking chest-popping movement that spread rapidly across short-form platforms.
This is not San’s first viral moment. During promotions for “Ice on My Teeth” in November 2024, his sharp, suited choreography earned him the fan nickname “Northern Grand Duke,” a nod to the aristocratic lords of Korean romance-fantasy web novels. For “BAD,” appearing with a sun-kissed look against a Latin-inflected beat, he picked up a companion title: “Southern Grand Duke.” Scenes of San in a gold shirt in the music video and in a sleeveless outfit on music-show stages circulated widely, spawning a flood of parodies and reaction clips.

On Instagram and TikTok, users posted playful skits—freezing mid-chore, letting a glass of water overflow—while watching his performance. Crucially, the videos reached well beyond ATEEZ’s existing fan base: even viewers in their 30s and 40s, typically distant from idol content, joined in, carrying the clips through recommendation algorithms into the mainstream.
The buzz translated into measurable results. On South Korea’s Melon platform, “BAD” reached No. 64 on the July 11 daily chart—the group’s first-ever entry into Melon’s Top 100. For a group that had grown chiefly through its overseas fandom, it marked a first genuine showing on a domestic pop chart.
Debuting in 2018 as an eight-member boy group, ATEEZ built its following primarily in international markets. Their eighth mini-album, released in July 2022, became their first to crack the Billboard 200’s top 10, and the group has since sent nine consecutive albums into that upper tier through their 14th mini. Last year, “Lemon Drop” and “In Your Fantasy” also landed on the Hot 100 singles chart. Abroad, ATEEZ is frequently named alongside BTS and Stray Kids as a flagship K-pop boy group, and the “BAD” music video even features Hollywood actor Chase Infiniti—seen in the 2025 film “One Battle After Another”—who has spoken about being a fan.
The moment has prompted talk of a possible revival of the “beast idol” archetype—the hyper-masculine boy-group image once embodied by acts like 2PM and MONSTA X. Against a recent wave of bright, boyish concepts, ATEEZ’s emphasis on masculinity and physicality has struck audiences as refreshing. Whether the “BAD” wave will durably cement the group’s domestic standing remains to be seen, but as a case of an overseas-first act winning home-market visibility through short-form video, it may prove a template others follow.