EVNNE, reorganized as a five-member group, fired the starting shot announcing a new beginning.
EVNNE (Keita, Park Han-bin, Lee Jung Hyun, Moon Jeong-hyun, Park Ji-hoo) held a release showcase for their first single album (1st Single Album) "Backtalk (Backtalk)" on the 20th at Myunghwa Live Hall in Yeongdeungpo-dong 2-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
The group EVNNE, which was formed on season 1 of Mnet's 2023 hit audition program "Boys Planet," released a variety of songs over their two years and three months of activity including "How Can I Do," "HOT MESS," "Badder Love," "UGLY," and "TROUBLE," showcasing their presence. Beginning with a Seoul fan meeting in early January, the five-member new EVNNE consisting of Keita, Park Han-bin, Lee Jung Hyun, Moon Jeong-hyun, and Park Ji-hoo was reborn.
On reorganizing as a five-member group, EVNNE said the most changed part was, "The lineup adjustment made us five. While preparing among ourselves, we thought individual capabilities were important. We agreed to improve our skills enough to fill the stage. As our synergy improved, we're more excited about the future," "With fewer members as a five-member group, each person's role became more important. Instead of complacency, we talked about taking initiative," and "We thought a lot about what to put into the music to make EVNNE stronger. Our commitment to music deepened. Since many artists are making comebacks at the same time, we thought there was a lot to learn and will reflect that in our future music."
This album starts from the members' honest attitude of confronting their imperfect selves rather than pretending to be perfect. They take 'self diss,' in which they reveal their weaknesses and faults instead of hiding them, as the album's central theme, and unreservedly express sincerity without pretense. The concept photos also deeply capture the attitude of confronting themselves through two contrasting versions: "DRILL," which sharply probes weaknesses, and "PATINA," which reveals repeated challenges and the accumulation of time.
Moon Jeong-hyun said, "This album shows EVNNE's change and can be called a new start," and Park Ji-hoo explained, "I want to introduce it as an album that will determine our future direction and image." Keita said, "We thought a lot about how to show that we have become stronger as five, so we had many discussions from the album production stage to make a cool album. You will feel that this album sounds different from the start."
The title track "Backtalk (Backtalk)" is a digicore song that modernly reinterprets genre boundaries with arpeggio synths, distorted 808s, and trap rhythms. All members co-wrote the lyrics and conveyed a message of forging their own path without yielding despite others' views and criticism.
On the start of "Backtalk," EVNNE said, "Backtalk means talking back or talking behind someone's back, and it started from there. Since our theme is self diss, we began with the idea that, regardless of past events or actions, we will keep moving forward. That's how 'Backtalk' came about. It means that no matter what people say, we will speak our own words."
Lyrics such as "manipulation" and "excessive hate" are striking. It evokes memories of their appearance on "Boys Planet," and on this point EVNNE said, "We wanted to naturally reveal facts and show confidence. Although we started as a project group and a derivative group, we have become an official group, so we wanted to confidently address that past."
On the performance, Park Ji-hoo said, "The chorus part is very difficult; there is a move where you lift one leg and jump, and you also have to pay attention to your hands and engage your core, so it was difficult," and Moon Jeong-hyun said, "Because we tried a new style of song, the choreography was also new. It took some time to learn the moves since it was the first time, but how to express rhythm and tempo is important, so during comeback preparations we received a lot of training and did a lot of research."
The album includes the title track of the same name and "STAY." The song is an electroclash track with hyperpop elements that delivers a message of taking charge by believing in each other and creating change in our own way rather than waiting for a miracle, offering a glimpse of EVNNE's new musical direction. As is evident in the fact that all members poured their efforts into showing a firmer and more refined team color ahead of the five-member reorganization, both songs credit Keita, Park Han-bin, Lee Jung Hyun, Moon Jeong-hyun, and Park Ji-hoo as co-lyricists.
Lee Jung Hyun said, "I chose the theme of 'self diss' because I thought that for EVNNE to grow, we must acknowledge even the embarrassing and negative parts of the past and move forward," and Park Ji-hoo said, "In album production we decided to do things only we can do. When we thought about what only we could do, telling our story was something only we could do. So we chose self diss."
What is EVNNE's goal at this new starting line? Keita said, "We all wondered what we could create together, and we felt that there would be authenticity if we spoke honest feelings and sincerity that can be put into music. We will present better music going forward," and Park Han-bin said, "I hope EVNNE becomes a group with commanding focus on stage. We could show ourselves in various fields such as acting, entertainment, and MCing, but as singers our goal is to strongly display our stage appeal."
EVNNE's weapon is a story that only EVNNE can tell. Moon Jeong-hyun said, "Many artists are making comebacks, but our weapon is a theme we pondered a lot after reorganizing as five. That comes through in this title track. Our strength is that we can tell our own story. We worked hard on the lyrics to make people think, 'Would five people have thought to write the title track? Would they have expressed it this deeply?' so please watch our story and stage," and Park Han-bin said, "Since we chose digicore, which has not often been tried in K-pop, it should be a differentiator."
EVNNE's first single album "Backtalk (Backtalk)" will be released through various online music sites at 6 p.m. on the 20th.
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