ENHYPEN

South Korean boy band Enhypen aim to connect (as the “hyphen” of the group’s name suggests) with their conceptual brand of smooth R&B-dance-pop, as on their debut EP, 2020′s Border: Day One. That set’s follow-up, Border: Carnival, appeared the following year and went straight to number one in Korea and on the U.S. World chart. All this paved the way for the group’s full-length debut, DIMENSION: DILEMMA, which arrived later in 2021 and again topped the Korean charts and hit number 11 on the Billboard 200. 2022′s Manifesto: Day 1 and 2023′s Dark Blood extended their chart dominance.
Enhypen was the first product of the newly formed Belift Lab, a joint venture between entertainment giants CJ E&M and Big Hit. The group was formed, like many of their peers, via a reality-survival show, in this case I-Land, which aired between June and September 2020. The show’s seven winners, who went on to form Enhypen, were Heeseung, U.S.-born Jay, Australia-born Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, leader Jungwon, and Japan-born Ni-ki. Like all K-pop stars, their act was characterized by high production values, top-drawer singing, and tight, ultra-professional “point” choreography. The group’s name — and concept of “connection, discovery, and growth” — was based on the hyphen, which connects words together. Enhypen were teased by a series of cinematic trailer videos, creating huge hype that pre-sold 300,000 copies of their debut mini-album, Border: Day One. Released in November 2020 in two versions, “Dusk” and “Dawn,” it entered the Korean chart at number four, selling a further 95,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead track was the smooth, eerie “Given-Taken,” showcasing a vaguely gothic, vampiric concept in slick R&B-dance-pop.
After their debut was certified platinum, Enhypen released a sequel, Border: Carnival, in April 2021. The set became their first to top the charts in both Korea and the U.S. Later that year, the group issued their debut album, DIMENSION: DILEMMA, which also topped the Korean charts. A repackaged version, DIMENSION: ANSWER — which added three new songs — arrived in January 2022. That July, they released their third EP, Manifesto: Day 1, featuring the single “Future Perfect (Pass the Mic).” The album reached number six on the Billboard 200 and hit number one on the World Albums chart. The crew closed the year by branching into the Japanese market with the full-length Sadame.
Enhypen’s first offering for 2023 arrived in May in the form of Dark Blood. The chart-topping EP featured a more ominous, theatrical sound to pair with their vampire-themed web series, Dark Moon: The Blood Altar. ~ John D. Buchanan