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Ateez drops OT8 concept photo for Fever Part 3 album, Atinys experience ‘deja vu’

Ateez drop a bright concept photo for 'Fever Part 3' which has Atinys making wild fan theories as they see callbacks to several previous albums

Atinys brace yourselves because a new era has officially begun. The second half of 2021 has already been wild with Ateez collaborating with the likes of Rain, Monsta X, Brave Girls, Kim Jongkook and now Pentatonix. And it doesn’t look like they will be resting anytime soon. They have officially dropped a schedule for the release of their upcoming album 'Fever Part 3'. But the album is causing deja vu amongst fans.

Ateez dropped a group photo for the album on August 24 and it feels extra special for various reasons. First of all, this is their first OT8 comeback since their ‘Inception’/’Thanxx’ era in 2020. In November 2020, Mingi had to go on a hiatus for health reasons and hence could not join his members for the explosive ‘Fireworks’ comeback nor the survival show ‘Kingdom’. However, we can see him and San who recently recovered from Covid-19 looking healthy and well in the concept photo for 'Fever Part 3'.

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Ateez drop a bright concept photo 

Additionally, the concept photo is unusually bright and cheery which is strange since the summer is almost over. Not only that, it seems like a call back to their previous summery comeback ‘Wave’/’Illusion’. The set-up also looks similar to the very first concept photo of ‘Fireworks’ which fans knew was everything except bright and cheerful.

Ateez first dropped hints of 'Fever Part 3' on August 21 with a photo of a broken hourglass which plays an important role in their storylines. The caption said, “Over The New World’ which seems that Ateez has finally succeeded in their journey that they have set out on since their debut. However, the broken glass hints at something sinister. Then the next day, they released a lyric poster with the words ‘Deja Vu’ which fans believe could be the hook or the chorus of the title track.

And it looks like ‘Deja Vu’ ties in with the words on the group concept photo - ‘Eternal Sunshine’. It is a reference to the 2004 Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet film ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. In it, there is a technology that can erase someone’s memories. And while the memories are gone, if similar events that happened in the erased memories happen again, the person feels like they’re experiencing deja vu.

This has led to fans making an array of theories. Some believe that Ateez finally crossed over from the fake world to the real world but lost their memories. Many also noticed that the boys’ hair colors and styles are pretty similar to their previous eras. Hongjoong’s orange hair is reminiscent of his red hair in the ‘Wave’ era while Yeosang is sporting Wooyoung’s streaked bangs from ‘Fireworks’. Wooyoung also has blue hair which Yunho had in the ‘Wave’ era. While the Ateez storyline hasn’t clearly been explained by the boys, all that we know is that we are in for a ride.

They released a second darker concept photo few hours later titled 'Deja Vu'. The album and the music video for the title track will be released on September 13 at 6 pm KST (5 am ET).

'I know you get deja vu'

Surprised Atinys ended up trending phrases like ‘Bright Concept’, ‘Ateez Eternal Sunshine’ and ‘#ATEEZISCOMING’ as the first concept photo for ‘Fever Part 3’ isn’t as straightforward as it looks. Many skeptical fans posted, “I know you get deja vu” because theyre tricking us again into thinking it’s a bright concept,” and “It’s funny how no one actually believes it’s gonna be a bright concept and everyone is now waiting for the dark one ateez really did that to us.”

Fans were also impressed with Hongjoong’s creativity, “Do y’all see the way Hongjoong’s mind works? Like he’s so talented . I can’t even explain how smart he is.. all these concept ideas which are interlinked.. the way he produces his music. I’m so proud of him.” Some joked as to what the next concept photo would look like, “Then the Next concept photos be looking like this.” One fan also wondered what would happen if there was no underlying darkness this comeback, “Imagine if this time they really come out with bright concept. San’s words saying “Atiny is fool” is now ringing in my head.”