Written by Megan B/Ember, founder of Tinytown News (Twitter/X, TikTok)
Here’s my review of ATEEZ’s In Your Fantasy stop at Tacoma on July 30, 2025, which included winning the ATINY dance challenge, attending soundcheck, the concert itself, and sendoff!
I feel beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to see ATEEZ in concert for the second time, having experienced my first K-Pop concert ever last year with their Towards the Light : Will to Power stop in Tacoma. While the concert in 2024 itself was phenomenal, there were definitely some hiccups in the actual production of the event, given that those of us in the VIP sections spent 7+ hours out in the sun while waiting to be let inside (leading to the worst sunburn of my life). While I didn’t attend sendoff last year, I also heard that it wasn’t properly planned either and not every ATINY got the kinds of interactions they’d hoped for.
I’m happy to say that it seems those in charge of handling the logistics of the event learned from last year and made helpful changes to the In Your Fantasy concert at Tacoma Dome this year! With assigned seating for the VIP section rather than general admission, we were able to get to the venue at a more reasonable time (around 1pm compared to 9am last year) and could step into the shade if needed since we didn’t need to worry about keeping our place in line. Unfortunately I did get there too late to get the merch I was hoping for, but ATINY Zone had a short line and I pulled Mingi and Yeosang photocards!
I was also able to get tons of freebies from some kind fellow ATINYs this year! Literally every fan I met was so sweet and warm-hearted, it really solidified my belief that ATEEZ attracts people who are like-minded to them.
And oh, the creativity that so many ATINYs had in their outfits! From rocking the OG pirate aesthetic to plenty of black and red “In Your Fantasy”-inspired ensembles, basically every era of ATEEZ was represented in the rainbow of styles I came across at the event. I myself went with a “fallen angel” concept, complete with horns, wings, and a tail that were all crafted in about three days leading up to the event (I really wish I’d thought of my outfit idea sooner!).
If you saw me at the venue, please feel free to reach out! I love connecting with people who love ATEEZ as much as I do 💗
The night before the concert, I was ecstatic to learn that I was one of the winners for the ATINY dance challenge hosted by KQ Entertainment! Me and my fellow dance crew member (check out my K-Pop dance cover team, Kumiho Dance Krew!) both were part of about a dozen fans who were able to dance together to “In Your Fantasy” at Tacoma Dome before the concert, which has since been shared on the official ATEEZ TikTok account. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and had so much fun dancing with other ATINYs! If you want more details about the process, please let me know.
After that, it was time to go into the Dome. I had managed to snag an ATINY VIP ticket, which is the second-tier level after Ultimate, with a seat at the barricade on the left side of the main stage. As I expected, I had to empty my water bottle before going inside, and then I even had to toss that before going to my seat since, according to security, sometimes people throw bottles on the stage?? I also didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to exit the venue and re-enter later, which meant the lunch/dinner I’d prepped for myself that was in my car went uneaten and I was really hungry and dehydrated by the time everything was over. My own fault for not preparing better, but hopefully others can learn from my mistake! I did, at least, think to bring my phone charger, so I was able to find an outlet inside and charge my phone for a bit between soundcheck and the main concert.
At 5:30, soundcheck began. Seeing the eight ATEEZ members stroll onstage in their casual fits was just as endearing this year as last — I love the more intimate and lowkey feeling of the soundcheck, with the guys playfully interacting with fans without fancy lighting or flashy outfits while still flexing their vocal skills. For our stop, they included “Ice on My Teeth”, “Now This House Ain’t a Home”, and “Lemon Drop” for the soundcheck, mixing choreo with strolling around the main and extended stage to meet as many ATINYs as possible. My personal favorite interaction was when Jongho saw my sign (see below).
This part of the event went by so quickly, but if you’re debating trying to get tickets in the future that include soundcheck, I really encourage it! It’s such a nice glimpse of the ATEEZ members in a more relaxed setting before the main event, and you can really tell just how much they love their fans with how they make an effort to make eye contact and gestures with as many as possible.
And then there’s the concert itself. What can be said about ATEEZ’s phenomenal stage presence that hasn’t been said before? Their electrifying opening with “BOUNCY” set the stage for what was unsurprisingly an incredible night (paired with a live band, which was a wonderful addition to the show). It was followed by the sizzling “Fireworks (I’m The One)”, and they rounded out the first part of the concert with a newly added song to this year’s tour, “Blind”. I’m so happy that they added some beloved B-sides to this year’s concerts, particularly because “Blind” and “Man on Fire” are some of my favorite ATEEZ songs in general. Before the setlist was announced, I was desperately hoping they would not only perform these two tracks, but also add choreography to them… Which of course we now know they did, and the performer in me can’t wait to learn them myself!
After member introductions and the aforementioned “Man on Fire” performance (which I absolutely adored), the main new addition to this tour began — the member solos. Yunho’s “Slide To Me” is such a perfect, jazzy song that allows him to really showcase his main dancer status. Even amongst the talented dancers of BBT, Yunho still shone brightly in a simple yet elegant black suit that showed off his sharp lines and pinpoint accuracy that only comes with years of hard work and dedication to the craft. He’s definitely a role model for me when it comes to dancing! And of course his vocals were as smooth as butter too.
Following Yunho was Seonghwa’s solo stage for “Skin”. I think the best word to describe this performance — and really, Seonghwa as a whole — is “ethereal”. As he explained later on, his intention for this song was to express himself as a snake shedding its skin, and it’s so fascinating to watch the dance with that context. His sinuous movements, the rolling curves of his body, even the way he stared intently at the audience perfectly portrayed a beautiful serpent. All of ATEEZ’s members are incredible actors, but Seonghwa takes it to another level with how much he commits to his stage persona, and “Skin” was such a treat to see in person. I’m in awe of the artist that Seonghwa is.
A brief break from the solos followed Seonghwa’s performance with yet another new addition to this year’s tour, “We Know”. A more low-key but still powerful song, it was a great lead into Yeosang’s “Legacy”, a solo that is particularly praised among fans (and for great reason). There’s plenty of controversy over the line distribution in ATEEZ’s songs (which I won’t get into here), so being able to see Yeosang freely showcasing just how easily he can work the stage on his own was truly something to experience. “Legacy” is a song of epic proportions, and Yeosang deserves to be proud of such a stunning masterpiece.
The end of “Legacy” led right into “Guerrilla”, with Yeosang dramatically hoisting a smoking bottle into the air and bringing our attention back to the main stage where the other members joined him. An absolute staple of ATEEZ’s discography, “Guerrilla” is a whole experience in and of itself. The energy of the song is unmatched, and though this was my second time experiencing a “Break the Wall” chant, it was no less exciting and thrilling than last time.
After a brief VCR break, things took a turn to the slower side with the introduction of Wooyoung’s romantic “Sagittarius”. One of my personal favorite of the eight solos, Wooyoung captivated me and everyone else with his fluid dancing and siren-esque vocals. I’m also just a sucker for anything celestial-themed, so when Woo disappeared momentarily to only reappear on a raised podium with a galaxy of stars shining behind him for the final chorus, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get emotional. Even now listening to “Sagittarius”, I have a whole new love and adoration for this sweet melody.
And then Jongho’s solo. Like last year, ATEEZ’s maknae stole my heart throughout the concert, but it was particularly during “To Be Your Light” that I was just mesmerized by his voice. Similar to “Sagittarius”, there’s something about “To Be Your Light” that hits me right in an emotional spot, and made this part of the entire concert one of my favorites. Jongho starting the song with a breathtaking a capella was a perfect artistic choice to prove, for the millionth time, why Jongho is known as one of the best vocalists in K-Pop.
Following this solo with “Turbulence” was basically a triple-punch to the feelings for me. Since its release, it has been one of my absolute favorite ATEEZ songs (along with another I’ll mention later); there’s nothing like driving on a warm summer night with the windows down and “Turbulence” playing, and if it’s something you haven’t done before, I highly recommend it. Having a live band version of the song was a euphoric experience, and one that I’ll keep in my heart for a long time.
Following another talking break, ATEEZ took to the stage again as a whole group for their recent title track “Lemon Drop”. This performance was simply an extremely fun time, allowing the members to get playful with each other throughout the dance that they clearly enjoy performing. Another B-side, “Shaboom”, followed, and though it was once met with some divisive opinions among fans, I don’t think anyone could watch the members goofing around singing “swag your body shaboom” and not have a great time. One of my favorite parts of the concert happened at the end of this song, when Hongjoong fell to his knees on stage right in front of me and went wild with the band!
Rounding out this trio of songs was San’s solo “Creep”. As a San bias (though I adore all of the members), this was a performance I was particularly excited for. I had already learned some of the choreography for the song prior to this concert, and getting to see it in person, and not just watch it through a screen for learning purposes, was as thrilling as I expected! San is my inspiration as a performer, and I admire his style of wearing simple outfits that let his dancing abilities take center stage. Not gonna lie, one of my dreams (however distant) is to get to perform with him someday, so my motivation to become a better dancer has been reignited after seeing him live!
The B-side “Outlaw” followed another VCR break, which was made even more fun with the cage-like props the members were “trapped” in for the entirety of the song. Then, it was the captain’s turn to make the stage his with “NO1”. The DJ set was such a fun and unique idea to bring to Hongjoong’s performance, and really showed yet again how multi-talented ATEEZ’s leader is. It seems like he can do just about anything he puts his mind to! During one part of the song he even came down onto the audience’s level and interacted with some fans. I’ll never regret making this silly little guy my role model.
And Mingi!! “Roar” is another one of my favorites of the solos (it might be my favorite, I’m still debating), and the rapper opened the high-energy roast with a brief rendition of “AUTOBAHN”. After hyping up the crowd and getting us to chant for him, Mingi rushed from the main stage to the outer one and, surrounded by BBT, proved why he’s known for his charisma while performing. You simply can’t resist barking along with him in this hypnotic track. And when he made the now well-known biting gesture hinting at a particular person’s plagiarism, the audience went wild.
“Roar” wrapped up the solo stages and led into another talking portion, which are honestly some of my favorite parts of the concert! We get to see the members be silly and light-hearted while catching their breath, and some of the most entertaining interactions happen during them. Following the talk were three back-to-back title track hits: “Work”, “Ice on My Teeth”, and their latest single “In Your Fantasy”. All of them were an absolute joy to watch, and it was a great energetic period of the concert before things started to settle down towards the end.
A VCR with a “Castle” singalong was a cute and interactive concept to include while the members changed outfits backstage, before they erupted back with a burst of excitement with the beginning notes of “Say My Name” — my other favorite ATEEZ song of all time. I went absolutely wild for this part of what was a medley of other songs, screaming “ATEEZ PRESENT” along with the rest of the crowd (that will never get old!). The other songs in the medley for our stop were “THANXX”, “Fever”, “The Leaders”, and “Crazy Form”, and it was a blast once again interacting with each of the members as they bounced around stage to entertain us.
Finally, of course, things had to start coming to a close. The cool-down period started with “Now This House Ain’t a Home”, followed by the equally emotional “Enough”. Both of these songs mean a lot to so many ATINYs, and ATEEZ’s choice to include tracks that may not be as well-known to general audiences but have a deep love among fans is something I really admire about them. The fact that they even have songs addressing topics such as broken homes is just another reason why they’ve become my favorite musical artist and why I enjoy them as people. You’ll never be able to convince me all eight of them aren’t wonderful guys.
After teasing us for a little while, ATEEZ made one last return to the stage with their classic hit, “The Real”. It was the perfect song to end the night on — I always love seeing how much fun the members have when performing it! The end of a concert is such a bittersweet feeling, but as the members left the stage for the final time and the lights slowly came back on in the stadium, I knew I still had sendoff to look forward to, and I was filled with excitement and nervousness. I’d never experienced a sendoff before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and after hearing about how poorly things went last year, I just hoped I would get the opportunity to interact with each of the members at least a little bit. I also worried that even if I did get the opportunity, I might freeze up and not know what to say or just stumble over my words!
After going to assigned locations to sit in the stadium based on our ticket level (Ultimate ticketers lined up in one section of the Dome, while ATINY ticketers went to another), we were randomly chosen by row (with Ultimate going first) to enter the room where we would meet ATEEZ. Thankfully the room this year was bigger than the last, so there were only two rows deep around the barricade and I was in the second row. Starting with Yunho (followed by, in order, Jongho, San, Seonghwa, Mingi, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Hongjoong), each member made their way around the room with a manager and signed, as far as I could tell, everything that was requested of them. They didn’t have time to talk to every fan, but they really seemed to be doing as well as they could in the short time they had. Seonghwa, sadly, was still recovering from an illness, but he was determined to participate in the sendoff, so he came out while wearing a mask. Such a sweetheart!
I was able to interact with five of the eight members (San, Seonghwa, Mingi, Yeosang, and Hongjoong), and I did manage to get all eight signatures on my tarot cards, which was my goal! Our interactions were brief, but I really enjoyed the experience, and I was pleased that I didn’t have any trouble forgetting how to talk around them. Seeing them up close, they really are just (very talented, very handsome) dudes, and I felt like I could have easily just chatted with them like friends for a while if I’d had the opportunity. They just put me at ease, which I feel like is a skill in itself. You can see my sendoff experience below!
Overall, while the ATINY VIP ticket was very expensive, for someone who has been as inspired and motivated by ATEEZ’s members and adores them as much as I do, it was absolutely worth the splurge. Being able to have front-row seats to see who I believe to be the top performers in the industry, getting to experience the joy and casual atmosphere of soundcheck, and having the opportunity to meet them up close during sendoff were all just an absolute delight, and I really hope that I get the opportunity to experience it again soon.
I hope you enjoyed reading my review of the Tacoma stop for ATEEZ’s In Your Fantasy world tour! If you have any other questions about the experience, don’t hesitate to comment or reach out to me 🙂 Thank you ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment for giving me such a wonderful night full of memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life 🫶
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