I hope you're ok with people yapping about Ateez/Mingi?
I don't think his first Fix Off project was meant to be a solo debut and 'it didn't work out for some reason', because it was very firmly marketed as a present for Atiny and as something that Mingi felt like he had to do for himself, to get it off his chest and finally be free of all that weight he'd been carrying with him since debut, much like Youth
(the songs were very personal and not really the way Mingi likes to present himself to the public, you know? They were truly Fix Off, there was none of the drag king persona he embodies on stage, and although it was all beautiful, it would be a weird choice as a solo debut for such a powerful rapper known for his booming voice and presence)
And actually so far all of Mingi's projects were marketed as presents for Atiny, or late/early Mingi birthday merch, the marketing was always very self contained as something that Mingi did 'just for Atiny' (like every other members' merch, songs included) + he himself barely publicized, both before and after it came out
(Autobahn seemed more likely as a solo debut, music wise it's very Mingi, but he choose to share the spotlight with another artist and again it was not marketed as a solo activity, but as a follow-up of his present to Atiny and as 'Mingi merch')
Maybe it was KQ pulling the brakes on a solo career thinking they wouldn't be able to support it?
Or maybe they were testing the waters to see how the general public would react to Mingi solo activities
(I'm also thinking about Royal, Ateez's second collab with Be:First, completely written and produced by Mingi, that one day KQ released without even telling him... I'm sure they monitored our reactions and saw how we now consider it a hidden gem that deserved its own publicity run)
If this is an official solo launch, it might be due to contract renegotiations, but maybe it simply came as a natural result of KQ seeing how the public reacted and thinking, ok we can work with this, especially after Mingi's solo appearances on Dingo and at EDC Korea (which Mingi seems to have achieved through his own connections, not through KQ)
Mingi is the only one in Ateez with his own team, selected by him, so I think we all knew it would lead to this eventually 😎
... and now it's time to bring down the mood: I'm kinda wondering if the real catalyst is enlistment? HJ and SH will soon have to enlist, so Ateez continuing their activities as a group of 6 + solo careers is how KQ chose to handle it to maintain maximum exposure until the others have to go as well... which means that we can expect more solo debuts to come; it would also make sense for the members to try and go solo now, in the couple of years before they have to enlist, rather than after, in like 3-4 years
(... tbh KQ doesn't strike me as ready to handle more solo artists 😒 they barely publicize SoHyang 😒 and even Eden and Maddox pretty much exist only in the context of Ateez... so I don't know if we'll ever have an "official" start to anyone's solo career, they'll probably continue with their true and tested method of "buy our merch that we made just for you", and then send the members to various events - unlike with Mingi who had to do it himself. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a full solo concert or let alone tour for Jongho to be announced, is what I'm saying 😂 he's my bias and god knows he deserves it + imagine how good a Korean tour would do? Considering how appreciated his voice is by Koreans of every age? Or maybe a joint tour with SoHyang? 😭 the possibilities!!... but I really expect nothing from KQ)
First ask! You popped my cherry haha. And its about my confirmed bias. Yaaaaayyyyyy! Strap in for a slightly long one.
This is absolutely perfect for a discussion about this Mingi solo debut that I've been itching to have and other possible debuts. ✨️So thank you for this✨️. Straight to solo career management, I do not think that KQ knows how to navigate it because they'd never done it before their current soloists. Now there's 8 more people to try and do that again. They will need to recruit people who have experience in navigating soloists. They need to pull a Billy Beane and resolve that what they had been doing is not working out well and need to pivot in innovative ways (juggling lots of books lately, one being Moneyball).
Now, when I discovered the Ateez Presents playlist, Mingi's releases up until Autobahn, had a clear intention that he was already cultivating an identity separated from Ateez sound. All that he has released has been from him and his team. No covers. I know that I previously stated that I wouldn't have guessed that he'd be the first to solo debut, HOWEVER it was right there (hindsight ikr). A few tinys have noted that MG does not shy away from asking his network about things so I wouldn't put it past him to have asked for views on when and how to approach a solo debut.
Desire project #1: MG already had an identity that's vulnerability and an outlet exorcize certain feelings or memories. I think we're on the same track on this point. I actually really liked that sound (re Tunnel and Autobahn). I'm all for subverting expectations and these previous songs would still play into the "I'm cute" lovable chick side of MG. IDK maybe i just like vulnerable men so I would have gobbled it up. And if he did any show performance, I would have suggested Tunnel as a pairing to his lead track. A real showing of he's a nice time, party, party yeah to he can also get deep. Target general audience might vary as well as how he wants to be perceived as a solo artist. The album as a whole does embrace that duality.
To me, that last minute rollout on streaming for Desire project #1 suggested a breakdown somewhere in the process between MG and KQ. I can't let go of this. Lack of promo for Atz Presents is one thing but just dropping the project that way left a lot to be desired. So much so that the first official mention of FixOff:Origin surprised me, in a good way. I agree that Autobahn had solo debut potential at the time; an official single release could have worked. Maybe a mini album was always the plan. Who knows.
Sidenote: it helps that MG is part of KQ's successful group, is proactive and has some leverage because solo careers seem, from my not-in-the-know and speculative position, to wither in that place. Circles back to inexperience in doing this whole thing particularly soloists.
From how MG has spoken about FixOff:Origin, it's a solo debut that he find satisfactory. He's exploring new sounds and probably still has aforementioned vulnerability within the songs just packaged differently. I'm very slow to adapt in general so changes in what I prefer take time to adapt to. He was definitely able to do the album in the way that he wanted which makes me wonder about the inclusion of original Roar ver which he had mentioned in passing that he didn't want it in Desire project #1 but was in there anyway in the form of the two remixes. I think it might have been intended for Origin because its complements the vibe of Nova.
Before the release of Origin, I wondered what the rest of the rollout would be like. Maybe there's still more that will come out. Interestingly, on youtube, the Dinero mv is under the Ateez Present playlist. So there's no separate corner designated for this project's visuals. There's certain things that can be done to enable easy access and it would be good to consider those non-atiny who would not know where to find more MG solo related things.
Before this gets too long, to touch on other solo debuts, Jongho might be gearing for one with his own studio and all. The looming enlistment will definitely be driving some of this. Having 8 people, 5 of which are age mates, they can't put off solo career ground work off any longer. Maybe there might be units coming out bc KQ might malfunction trying to navigate 8 soloists lol. Though, units might not be feasible because that is not how they have prepped us. Yes, The World: Will units happened but it was not intended to be long term (unlike SVT and BTS vocal and rap line tracks).
As we've seen with the IYF solos, they have different sounds so proper solo stuff will be interesting from the point of how they leverage the existing fanbase. To draw from my other life as a Mixer, JADE has been the exemplary ex-group soloist (albeit post indefinite hiatus) who reached beyond the largely female and queer fanbase into the crowd that also enjoys theatrics and camp.