After reorganizing into a six-member group, ENHYPEN returned with a new album seven months later and called it the best album of their career.
ENHYPEN(Jeongwon, Jay, Jake, Seonghun, Sunwoo, Niki) held a press conference for the release of mini album 8, 'THE SIN : BLISS', on the 20th at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
ENHYPEN's comeback comes seven months after the release of mini album 7 'THE SIN : VANISH' (THE SIN : VANISH) in January. Earlier, ENHYPEN achieved their fourth double million seller with the mini album 7 and proved their global popularity by entering the U.S. Billboard main album chart, the Billboard 200, for 10 consecutive weeks.
Niki said, "I'm happy to be back after seven months and to be able to show a new side of ourselves. Please show a lot of interest in our upcoming stages," and Jake said, "We are making a fresh comeback with many cool, energetic songs." Seonghun said, "I want to show this comeback to fans as soon as possible. We returned with a Brazilian punk genre that has a strong addictive quality; please listen to it a lot," and Jeongwon said, "Thank you for waiting for seven months. As this is an album we prepared diligently, we will work hard during promotions." Sunwoo said, "Following mini album 7, we started the world tour and met many fans. We prepared this album hard, so please give us lots of interest and love," and Jay said, "This album was prepared while we were on the world tour and handling schedules. I believe this is ENHYPEN's best album of our career. We will make sure to repay those who waited for us."
This comeback draws attention as the first activity in a six-member formation since member Heeseung (currently performing under the name Evan) withdrew in March. Jeongwon said, "In any situation, I always prioritized the stage and performance. Starting with the Seoul concert and continuing the world tour, we were able to gain a lot of energy from the fans. We realized the fans felt the same way, and that allowed us to prepare diligently for the comeback," adding, "This is our first album after becoming six members, and what we've always focused on is the result of the work. From the recording stage, we thought more about how to make the result come out better rather than the number of members. We concentrated on that part in our preparation."
Starting with their 2020 debut album 'BORDER : DAY ONE', ENHYPEN has solidly built a dark fantasy narrative, and mini album 8 'THE SIN : BLISS' expands ENHYPEN's unique vampire concept. The album captures the process of lovers who chose to flee realizing that "being together itself is bliss" in six songs and four narrations, for a total of 10 tracks.
Regarding the second installment of the 'THE SIN' series, which is motivated by 'sin', Seonghun introduced the album, saying, "The previous album depicted a vampire beginning to flee with their lover, and this time it contains the story of realizing that although there are many hardships during the escape, being together itself is a blessing. It is an album in which you can feel love deepening for each other amid crisis." Jay explained, "Following the previous work, this album is also a concept album organically connecting narrative, lyrics and sound. If you listen in order according to the characteristics, I think you will feel more immersion."
Jay said, "As performers, we talk a lot about music, performance and content for each of our albums, and unusually for this album we all agreed that the quality is so good and there is the least amount of regret in every aspect. So I think this is the most satisfying album of our career."
The title track 'Bloody Paradise' is a Brazilian punk dance song that depicts as paradise the situation of lovers who look only at each other amid a crisis of chase and escape. Dynamic yet precise performances are added over primitive rhythms, delivering intense catharsis.
Seonghun said, "When we heard it, we felt it was different from the songs we've done so far. We previously released a remix of a past album's title track and challenged the Brazilian punk genre then. It's a genre we've enjoyed listening to, and receiving it as a title track felt fresh and fun. If I were to compare it to food, it's like the tteokbokki you eat at a restaurant. If you listen with that in mind, I think you'll enjoy it more." Jake added, "Except for Seonghun, it's a genre most of us tried for the first time, so overall it felt different. We saw it as an opportunity to show a new side of ourselves."
Jay said, "When we first decided to do Brazilian punk, I thought the genre had potential and was excited. We thought a lot about what only we can provide through this genre. I think the concept album I mentioned earlier is the keyword, and fitting the response of 'a group that puts this much effort into concept' to ENHYPEN, we will present Brazilian punk in our own color."
With acts such as Big Bang and Stray Kids preparing comebacks, ENHYPEN's determination is also different. Jeongwon said, "As a player working in K-pop and a big fan myself, it's an honor to be active at the same time as senior artists. There will likely be a lot for many K-pop fans to enjoy, so we will also work hard," adding, "I think our distinction is that there are many mediums that handle ENHYPEN's own world view. If you listen to the tracks in order, you'll receive an immersion like watching a musical."
This album includes 'Two Fools', 'Breaking news', 'Stuck', 'Bad For You', 'Remnants of love', 'Bloody Paradise', 'Final moment', 'Checkmate', 'Highlight' and 'Hidden truth'. JULiA LEWiS, who produced Bad Bunny's Grammy-winning album track 'EL CLÚB', participated in producing three songs including the title track, 'Stuck' and 'Highlight'. Gaeko of Dynamic Duo contributed as a lyricist to the title track again following mini album 7, further solidifying the narrative and emotional line of the 'THE SIN' series.
Notably, actor Park Jeongmin narrated three pieces—'Remnants of love', 'Final moment' and 'Hidden truth'—and announcer Kim Suji participated in the 'Breaking news' track. All narrations were produced in Korean as well as English, Japanese and Chinese versions so that global fans can enjoy the album's story more vividly.
Jake said, "Having achieved good results over the past few months, I'm looking forward to the comeback. Our goal is to finish the year well, and since this is an album by six members, it's a confident and exciting album. Personally, since we're returning with good songs, I expect good results on streaming charts and the Billboard charts. I hope you'll look forward to ENHYPEN not only this time but going forward."
ENHYPEN's mini album 8, 'THE SIN : BLISS', will be released through various music sites at 1 p.m. on the 21st. The music video for the title track 'Bloody Paradise' will be released at 12 a.m. on the 22nd.
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