Since their debut in late 2020, ENHYPEN have been heralded as the next big thing in K-pop. Formed by Belift Lab — a joint venture between entertainment companies HYBE (home of BTS and TXT) and CJ ENM (KCON producer) — the guys have had a strong backing and big shoes to follow. But they've consistently lived up to the hype.

ENHYPEN's first two album series, BORDER and DIMENSION, saw the seven-member group achieve record-breaking sales and grow their fanbase rapidly — even selling a million copies of their debut studio album, DIMENSION: DILEMMA, last year. 

Now that their spot is cemented, the septet are exploring the world on their own terms with their third mini album, MANIFESTO: DAY 1. Released on July 4, the project explores diverse genres like Chicago drill, pop rock, alt rock, and old school hip-hop. 

From the start, ENHYPEN have aimed to be the voice of their generation through their lyrics and messages. But at their core, they're just seven young boys who love music. This is palpable as GRAMMY.com sat with them via Zoom, where Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki excitedly discuss their involvement in creating MANIFESTO: DAY 1 and their upcoming fall tour.

In just a 30-minute conversation, it was clear that ENHYPEN are enjoying the ride they're on together. They laugh at each other's jokes and finish each other's sentences — and combining that chemistry with their sonic connection on MANIFESTO: DAY 1, all of their success makes perfect sense.

You just wrapped up your first trilogy of albums, which means the end of your introduction to the music world. What lessons are you taking away from the last two years of being rookies? What impression do you hope listeners have?

Jungwon: K-pop has been popular for a while so, not only us, but also the public grows as well, and their expectations get really high. I think we tend to work even harder to live up to those high expectations. 

We constantly think about how we can bring in something new, something fresh to the public. We're trying to bring as many new genres as possible and try as many genres as possible. For this album, theme-wise, it's called a manifesto. We're declaring a lot of our own stories in this album as well.

MANIFESTO: DAY 1 is a step forward as you guys mature as a group. Have you gotten to challenge yourselves with the making of this album? What can we expect to change about the group going forward?

Heeseung: For this album, we have tried this new genre called Chicago drill, and it's also our first time trying rap. I don't know how that's gonna be received. Jake also participated in writing the lyrics. Some of the members took part in making the cover designs, so we were directly involved in the album-making process. I'm sure ENGENE will love this album. 

As you mentioned you guys are showcasing your rapping skills on "Future Perfect". Why was this the right time to add this new layer to your music, and what do you think it adds to the song?

Ni-ki: "Future Perfect" is a song that declares "we will take the leap forward, come along with us" to everyone in our generation. So, we tried many new different things for this album, you know, the rapping and also performance-wise. We worked really hard to show an improved version of ourselves.

Jake, you participated in songwriting for "SHOUT OUT." What can you say about your involvement in this song? And what would you like to write about in the future?

Jake: When we first got the song, they told us that it was going to be a song that we can really connect with our fans and perform with our fans, like sing-along together. So in my mind, I had to kind of imagine what I would feel and what I would experience when we go on a tour or perform to our fans in person. 

It's pretty fun writing the lyrics. And also, when I heard that my lyrics got chosen for this song, I was really excited and really honored to be a part of the song.

What is enticing about some of the genres that you've tried this time? 

Heeseung: We actually enjoy listening to different genres of music and each member has very different styles in music as well. We prepared something very new to show that we have grown this much. 

For the title track, we're speaking to our peers in our generation. For the track "ParadoXXX Invasion," we are actually taking a jab at adults, so we're kind of delivering these strong messages through our music. I think the process of listening to them, practicing them and making our own music is very attractive. When we listen to the final result, it's, you know, very attractive.

Are there any genres that you haven't tried yet that you'd like to try? What genre best showcases ENHYPEN's style?

Jake (pointing at Heeseung): He wants to try slow jams.

Heeseung: A cappella too.

Jake: I like jazz!

Heeseung: Gospel! Or like Brian McKnight. Do you know Brian McKnight?

Yeah!

Heeseung: I want to do that style.

Jay: We're still on a journey to find our unique color. We're trying many different genres for that journey. Usually, for our title tracks, we convey these very strong images through our title tracks but, also, at the same time, for every album we have these soft-pop vibes like "TFW" and "Polaroid Love" for B-side tracks. I think we're really working hard and really trying to bring as many different genres as possible.

Jungwon: We used to do hip-hop and refreshing concepts like before. Now that we did Chicago drill, it's something very new and unfamiliar to us. I can't even imagine what we're going to do next. Something very new. 

Jay: Maybe opera.

Do you each have a favorite track on this album?

Jake: For me it has to be "SHOUT OUT."

Jungwon: "SHOUT OUT"? Me too!

Jake: Oh really? Let's go!

Sunghoon: "Future Perfect."

Ni-ki: "Future Perfect."

SUNOO: "TFW."

Heeseung: "ParadoXXX Invasion" and "SHOUT OUT."

Jay: My favorite is "SHOUT OUT."

You guys are gearing up for your first U.S. tour this fall. What cities would you hope to perform at and what are you nervous or excited about regarding the tour?

Sunoo: It's actually our first time going on a tour — we have never toured before. So we want to go to many different regions. We're planning to go to six cities in the U.S. this time. We participated in KPOP.FLEX [festival in] Germany not long ago, and we received so much energy from the fans in person, so we hope that we can receive as much good energy through this tour as well.

What are your future goals as a group? What do you think fans should take note of when they listen to this new album?

Jake: Our goal was always the same from the beginning. It was to meet our fans in person more often and show our fans what we can do on stage. As a group, we want to always grow in terms of music and performing, and in general, we always want to grow and become the best version of ourselves.

Jungwon: It is the most important thing to meet our fans and bond with our fans in person. I also hope that our music reaches not only our fans, but the public — the audience will enjoy listening to the music, and I think that will be really great.

What sets ENHYPEN apart from other 4th gen Kpop acts? Is there a message in your music that resonates with you most?

Sunghoon: I think our strength is doing music that our peers can really relate to. I hope that we can continue to be artists that can declare the thoughts and ideas of our peers on their behalf.

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