EVNNE's energy and passion made us fall in love with them. Now, four months after their debut in September 2023, the septet - whose lineup includes Park Hanbin, Lee Jeonghyeon, Mun Junghyun, Park Jihoo (the youngest member), Yoo Seungeon, Ji Yunseo, and their leader, Keita - is back with a new album and a title track, Ugly, that portrays authenticity at a whole new level.
EVNNE, the acronym for EVENing's Newest Etoiles, has quickly risen to prominence as a dynamic 7-member South Korean project boy group. Formed from contestants of the reality survival show Boys Planet, EVNNE made their official debut on September 19, 2023, captivating audiences with their extended play "Target: Me" and its lead single "Trouble."
Their journey into the world of K-pop has been marked by resilience and a relentless pursuit of their dreams, and their music reflects their multifaceted personalities and experiences. If their debut EP, "Target: Me" introduced them to the world with a blend of charisma and energy, setting the stage for their unique sound and style, their latest release, the EP titled "Un: SEEN," truly showcases the group's versatility and growth.
"Un: SEEN" offers listeners a glimpse into both the "rascal" and "vulnerable" sides of EVNNE. These two contrasting concepts show the strong and rough side of the band and the inner side of these seven artists.
The lead track of the EP, "Ugly," embodies EVNNE's rebellious spirit and showcases their unique musicality. With its fusion of tech house elements and groovy R&B styles, "Ugly" invites listeners into EVNNE's world, where authenticity reigns supreme. Despite its seemingly negative title, the song celebrates the group's acceptance of their true selves, flaws and all.
In addition to "Ugly," the EP features four b-side tracks, each offering a glimpse into different facets of EVNNE's artistry. From the infectious energy of "Syrup" to the introspective lyrics of "Chase" and the celebratory vibes of "Festa," "Un: SEEN" is a testament to EVNNE's creativity and passion for music. EVNNE's involvement in the songwriting process further highlights their dedication to their craft. Members like Keita, Ji, and Lee contributed to the lyric writing of various tracks, infusing their personal experiences and emotions into their music.
Panorama.it spoke with them.
Hello boys. It's great to see you again. How have you been?
Ji Yunseo: Right after our debut album Target: ME promotion ended, we started preparing for our mini album Un: SEEN so we've been quite busy. Especially this time, we tried to show how much we've grown during our debut promotion, so we felt even busier.
In this album Un: SEEN, where did you get your inspiration? Why did you decide to focus on the members’ known side and their unknown side?
Park Hanbin: If the last album expressed EVNNE's "start," our main goal was to show how much we've grown since then. On the other hand, through the RASCAL version, we wanted to show you how much more we can enjoy the stage and how much more energy we can deliver to our fans, and through the VULNERABLE version, we wanted to show you how mature we are internally, including our mindset as artists.
Mun Junghyun: Just like the name of this album Un: SEENmeans, we wanted to show you our own challenges and the growth that we've achieved by overcoming them through our music and performance. Through this album, we wanted to reveal ourselves and hear that "EVNNE has grown a lot."
I’m curious about your title track, UGLY’s meaning and the message you wanted to deliver to the audience. How do you think this song expresses the message that someone’s ugly self should be accepted by themselves?
Yoo Seungeon: The word "UGLY" itself has a negative connotation. However, the song has the message of accepting your scarred self and your bad self as a part of yourself. Especially in this album and title song, we mention the word “scars" a lot. It’s a song that expresses acceptance of the scars that other people may think are “horrible” in EVNNE's bright way. Please show your love and support!
Ji Yunseo: When it comes to EVNNE's "scars," many people probably think that it’s when we fell from BOYS PLANET. Depending on who's watching, it might have seemed "UGLY," but I think we were able to become more mature and become EVNNE through the pain and frustration we experienced at the time, so I think the message of the song fits very well with EVNNE's story.
The members participated in various parts of the B-sides of this album, such as writing lyrics, composing music, writing the rap, and etc. I'm curious how the production process was.
Keita: I think we tried to capture a story that only EVNNE could tell. We worked on the album with great consideration so that the lyrics, expressions, and the overall atmosphere of the song could all be harmonized so that our own stories and emotions could be contained through the song.
Yoo Seungeon: We spent a lot of time working on this album. We also worked on music for our debut album, but this time, we added a new goal to show EVNNE's growth, so I remember working harder.
How do you think your participation in the music production process helped in relating to the overall theme and emotions of the album Un: SEEN?
Keita: I think the fact that we were able to incorporate our real stories and experiences into the songs and lyrics was huge. "Growth" and "Overcoming our scars and accepting ourselves" are very meaningful topics to EVNNE's current identity. I believe the message of Un: SEEN has reached more people who listen to our music because we participated in the music so that our thoughts and feelings can be conveyed properly.
How do you think you blended the members' individual unknown life experiences before debuting as EVNNE into Un: SEEN‘s theme and lyrics?
Park Jihoo: I don't think we've talked much about the path that EVNNE members have taken since . Through this album, we tried to capture our scars, such as our worries about the future we had at that time, and the story of how we started with energy again when we debuted as EVNNE.
When you compare this album with your debut one, Target: ME, how do you think EVNNE’s music has grown? Also what would be good for the fans to anticipate for this album?
Lee Jeonghyeon: You can expect EVNNE to show our growth as an artist through these songs. In this album, we worked hard to reflect our opinions better by actively participating in creating the music, and the stories we wanted to tell you through the lyrics and composition have become more diverse, so you can feel how much we have grown as artists.
Park Jihoo: I think we've grown a lot in terms of performance. You can see how much we've grown over the years in terms of dance and our stage manners. Please look forward to our various performances where the energy we give off on stage is communicated better!
Keita, Ji Yunseo, Lee Jeonghyeon, and Yoo Seungeon… you participated in this album, could you tell us if there was anything memorable about the production process?
Keita: In the case of "Festa", I was able to participate in composing as well as writing lyrics. What I kept thinking about while working on this song was our first fan meeting. I remember that we made a lot of efforts to express the atmosphere and emotions we felt during our fan meeting using the word “festival” in the song “Festa.”
Lee Jeonghyeon: We also wrote the lyrics for "SYRUP". As soon as we listened to the song, we tried to write lyrics so that listeners could feel the charms of EVNNE, as if they were attracted to sweet syrup. We tried to write lyrics with refreshing words so that you could fall in love with us even if it’s your first time listening to our music.
Yoo Seungeon: We put a lot of time into writing the lyrics for "Chase." We thought a lot about how to write lyrics that fit the melody of the song, and we were very happy when we heard that our lyrics were being used. I remember being especially excited to be able to share our lyrics and messages with ENNVE.
I wonder how your debut as EVNNE in September last year affected your mindset on music work, your relationship with your fans, and if anything has affected your mindset on future activities.
Ji Yunseo: The opportunity for us to debut as EVNNE was an opportunity that came because so many fans loved us. Our members also use that love as their driving force, and we are always working hard to make sure that our appreciation and love for ENNVE can be communicated through music or by communicating with our fans.
Mun Junghyun: I feel how much EVNNE is loved every time I meet our fans at the venue. Besides music performances, I was so happy and thankful to have such diverse opportunities through various events and fan meetings held in Korea and Japan. As such, I will continue to work hard to have a great time with more fans.
EVNNE's fandom is getting bigger, and I wonder how you plan to keep your identity and if you want to keep delivering meaningful messages through music.
Park Hanbin: As we did in this album, I think we can keep the unique energy and atmosphere of EVNNE and capture various messages by revealing our hidden inner sides little by little, so I hope you continue to give lots of love to EVNNE's music.
Park Jihoo: We talked about this a lot during our first album, but we want to grow into an all-rounder group where all the members can freely play any role. We have grown musically by trying various genres and directly participating in writing and composing. We are also growing in various ways through our own content, so please look forward to it!
If each member had to describe themselves in one word, which word would you use?
Keita: It's “energy.” I want to be the person with the most energy whenever I'm on stage.
Park Hanbin: I'm “happiness.” I think I give happiness and positive energy to many people, and I hope I can show you more of my happiness in the future.
Lee Jeonghyeon: I think it's “passion,” and I think I can express myself with passion because I'm passionate about everything and I value perfection.
Yoo Seungeon: I think it's “steadiness” because I tend to do what I want to do steadily and I'm good at doing what I started for a long time.
Ji Yunseo: I want to go with the word “sun”! That's because I want to be something grand, shining, and burning hot!
Mun Junghyun: I want to say “rainbow,” because just like rainbows are seven colors, I think I can adapt well to many concepts and show different charms and sides of myself.
Park Jihoo: I want to call myself a “map” because I think I can lead a lot of people on the right path.
