[INTERVIEW] EVNNE Discusses Their Latest EP and What Youth Means To Them

The Seoul Story had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with South Korean boy group EVNNE, who returned with their fourth mini-album, [HOT MESS]. Members KEITA, HANBIN, JEONGHYEON, SEUNGEON, YUNSEO, JUNGHYUN & JIHOO discuss their latest comeback, who the messiest member is, and their favourite memory together as a group.

Q: You are coming back with a fresh and dynamic concept that would fit well with the summer season. Why did you choose to use it now, and how do you want your fans to feel from it?

JIHOO: We are definitely back with a new concept. For our last album, we were all about the visuals, like finding the best angle for us, but this album is quite different. The theme and mindset are more like, “No worries, as long as we have fun together everything’s fine”. So, enjoying the music and stage with our fans is the whole point of this album.

Q: Would you say this album is a HOT MESS of emotions? Is this album a HOT MESS of genres, or does it stick to a particular sound?

YUNSEO: Our album concept captures EVNNE’s positivity of having fun even in messy and chaotic situations, making even those situations intriguing and attractive. I think our album covers multiple genres rather than just one. We were able to express music of various genres in a fun way with our own unique colors.

Q: What was a moment you spent preparing for HOT MESS you felt most proud of another member? Is there someone you’d like to give some special praise to?

YUNSEO: I felt proud of SEUNGEON. We spent a lot of time together since our trainees days, and we were both passionately learning and working hard on songwriting and composing. In our upcoming album, he was, for the first time, in charge of the full lyrics for the song Youth! It’s such a cool achievement and I want to congratulate him on that. The song delivers a beautiful story about youth and essentially EVNNE, so seeing his progress and work makes me incredibly proud. I truly want to give him a big round of applause for his hard work!

Q: What song on the EP do you think fans will be most surprised by and why?

JUNGHYUN: I think our title song HOT MESS will surprise our fans the most. I don’t think we released any title track quite like this, so it’s something new they would find. I think it goes really well with our style, so I hope our fans find it surprising!

Q: While all of EVNNE really shone brightly with this concept, who do you think suited the concept of HOT MESS the best?

JEONGHYEON: I would say HANBIN fits the concept of this album the most because this song has to bring out our cheeky and playful side. I think he did a wonderful job with great expressions, especially his facial expressions
KEITA: How about a handshake, you two? (HANBIN and JEONGHYEON proceed to a handshake)

Q: While preparing for this album, how have you grown as a group?

HANBIN: I would say that our expressions have become freer and more bold, and our stage presence has gotten stronger especially while touring. I think we definitely improved a lot as a group and noticed our own growth.

Q: You have a song on the album called Youth. What is one memory as EVNNE that you think truly defines what youth is?

KEITA: Jeju Island!
JIHOO: Yes, I think it’s when we all traveled to Jeju Island. On the first night, we had a barbeque and went out to see the ocean together, and I think that really pictured youth for us. That was very fun.
SEUNGEON: Another memorable moment was the time we were preparing for our debut, which we all were passionate about, and working towards one goal.

Q: You got the chance to tour and perform your songs for fans overseas last year. Is there a song that earned a new meaning after performing it on tour?

JIHOO: I think our song Festa was the most meaningful song to me. We were able to build a deeper connection with our fans because it brought our fans to sing along and have fun with us when we were performing. I think this song allowed us to get closer to our fans.

Q: How did meeting international ENNVE fans for the first time influence the message you wanted to send to fans with this comeback?

SEUNGEON: After seeing a lot of international fans during our tour, we were encouraged to study foreign languages. Performing so many stages and having more stage experience helped us prepare our title track and album more naturally and gain more confidence in expressing the song.

Q: Your new title track is called HOT MESS. While living in the dorms, who is the messiest, and who is the cleanest?

JIHOO: I think YUNSEO is the tidiest member of us.
JEONGHYEON: I think the rest are the same.
KEITA: Everyone else is messy.
SEUNGEON: YUNSEO and six messy guys.

Q: If you could learn a new skill by tomorrow, what would it be and why?

JUNGHYUN: I want to learn KEITA’s songwriting and composition skills. I recently got interested and started composing, and since KEITA is good at composing, I would love to gain that ability.

Q: The determination in EVNNE is undeniable. How do you stay focused and remain passionate about reaching your group goals? How do you remind yourselves to keep going despite the hardships?

SEUNGEON: I think we are always motivated and determined, all thanks to our fans who believe in, support, and love us. Because it has been a long time since we made a comeback, we were even more passionate about working on this album. All of our members participated a lot in producing the album as we are interested in composing and writing lyrics. In addition, we are trying new things that we’ve never done before, so our music video was pretty experimental and we hope you look forward to it.

Q: How do you envision EVNNE’s revolution in the coming years?

YUNSEO: I think we would individually have different goals and visions in the coming years, but as EVNNE, I think one common dream for our future is continuing to have fun on stage and keep making music together. For now, that would apply to our comeback that the seven of us would love to focus on. We are always eager to learn more and improve ourselves, so please look forward to our growth over the years as well.

Check out EVNNE’s latest single ‘Hot Mess’ here!

About EVNNE

EVNNE is a seven-member South Korean boy group managed by Jellyfish Entertainment. The members include KEITA, PARK HANBIN, LEE JEONGHYEON, YOO SEUNGEON, JI YUNSEO, MUN JUNGHYUN, and PARK JIHOO, all of whom have already been recognized for their talents through music survival shows, most notably, Mnet’s popular K-Pop Survival program, BOYS PLANET. The group name EVNNE, which stands for “Evening’s Newest Étoiles,” holds the members’ wishes to shine higher and brighter than anybody else and to have all eyes on them.

Stay Connected with EVNNE
X (Twitter) | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

The Seoul Story would like to thank Jellyfish Entertainment and EVNNE for the interview opportunity!

The Seoul Story – Connecting K-Pop Fans Since 2011 
WEBSITE | TWITTER | LIKE US | WATCH US