Hot Ahead: “Lemon Drop” ATEEZ's Hot Shot
Photos: KQ Entertainment
ATEEZ's latest mini-album, GOLDER HOUR: PART.3, was released on June 13, 2025. Announced in late May, this third installment continues the Golden Hour theme of self-discovery and emotional expression. While this new EP is short, it is thoughtful and showcases a sincere summer vibe, blending R&B, hip-hop, and pop.
ATEEZ – GOLDEN HOUR : PART.3 – TRACKLIST
“Lemon Drop”
“Masterpiece”
“Now This House Ain’t a Home”
“Castle”
“Bridge : The Edge of Reality”
Lollipops, Sweat, and Sun: “Lemon Drop,” the Music Video That Sticks to Your Skin
From the very first seconds, "Lemon Drop" makes summer pop like a tangy zest on the tongue. ATEEZ arrives with a music video as hot as a late afternoon on molten asphalt. Intense gazes, soaked shirts, and calibrated hip movements – tangy, sweet, and dangerously addictive – this new single is a shot of sensuality.
Musically, “Lemon Drop” plays on a mid-tempo groove with R&B accents, accompanied by synths and a discreetly percussive bass. The vocals flow fluidly: the rap lines (Hongjoong, Mingi) unfold a suave flow while the vocalists add a touch of sweetness. ATEEZ doesn't just perform, they captivate. In three minutes flat, they manage to condense warmth, sensuality, and elegance.
A key scene under tension
The music video, midway through its progression, reveals Hongjoong, left alone in a car, deliberately locked in by the other members of the group, as if to give him some privacy. The temperature rises – as the thermometer indicates – burning light, steamy windows, little or no movement – just him, captive of the heat and desire. And as he pants, his voice lets out: "Oh my God, let it go like it's too hot / This sour guy, it's a bit much." It's too intense, too acidic, too "Lemon Drop." A sensual moment, frozen yet bubbling.
The tension then rises in the elevator scene, like a fire growing in a confined space, a tension ready to explode. The atmosphere is electric, and the lyrics depict this buildup of contained excitement :“I can’t say it out loud, you’re too naughty / When glances ignite, it’s a parade in my head / I’m all worked up now…”
Finally, the video bursts into the pool scene, a true moment of release and freshness. Here, the mood is sensual but less suffocating. The shot of Jongho in the pool, wet shirt and intense gaze, is one of the clip’s powerful visual moments, revealing an unexpected side of him and inevitably impacting the fans.
A Perfectly Orchestrated Sensual Staging
The “Lemon Drop” video unfolds like a true sensory narrative, where each sequence conveys a phase of growing tension. It begins in a charming atmosphere: lingering glances, furtive gestures, sweet lips around a lollipop suggesting a kiss, a hand under the T-shirt like a caress, a fully unbuttoned shirt revealing a bare chest in a reclining position — a seduction game that sparks the first flames.
Then comes the closed car, where Hongjoong is deliberately isolated. The scene evokes a great intensity, a fever impossible to contain, almost imposed. The elevator extends this buildup: a sigh, bodies brushing against each other, glances catching fire, minds heating up. Everything feels tighter, denser, as if the tension has reached its peak.
Then, the release: the pool. The water, the night, the dance — a complete letting go of the body, a regained lightness. “Lemon Drop” thus traces a sensitive trajectory, filled with numerous suggestive allusions, from anticipation to surrender, through perfectly orchestrated sensuality and staging.
Edited by Cara Musashi