Record Store Day is just two months away, and on Monday (Feb. 5), superstars ATEEZ were announced as RSD’s first-ever K-pop Artist of the Year, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
To celebrate, Record Store Day will feature an exclusive vinyl release of ATEEZ’s Billboard 200 chart-topping album, titled THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL (X Ver.). The special vinyl will be distributed by indie K-pop record label hello82 — a division of KAI Media Group — and will be exclusively available at participating record stores on Record Store Day this spring.
The vinyl will feature a unique design plus two unreleased tracks on a bonus RSD-exclusive 7-inch vinyl. Additionally, each record will include at random one of eight collectible PhotoTickets of the ATEEZ members: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho.
“K-pop is a major part of the music industry, and it is exciting to be able to finally celebrate ATEEZ with their dedicated fanbase on Record Store Day. It’s also exciting to see them on the Coachella line-up this year and we are thrilled to honor them as our first K-pop Artist of the Year,” said Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz in a press statement.
THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL marked ATEEZ’s first Billboard 200 No. 1 album, and the fourth top 10-charting effort from the act, all posted consecutively. The group previously charted as high as No. 2 with its last entry, THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW, in July 2023.
Record Store Day, which globally celebrates of the culture of the record store, will take place on April 20.