In recent years, Enhypen has risen to immense popularity, bringing significant recognition to the Korean pop music scene. Once unfamiliar, their name is now a label that is recognized by fans worldwide.
In 2020, Belift Lab under the company HYBE began a survival show—where contestants compete against each other in terms of dance and vocals to earn a spot to debut in the new boy group of the show—known as “I-Land”. Through the show, they determined the final line-up of the next boy group that would debut under Hybe. Seven final members were selected for the official debut of Enhypen: Heeseung Lee, Jungwon Yang, Sunghoon Park, Riki Nishimura (NI-KI), Sunoo Kim, Jake Sim, and Jay Park. Their fans are known as “Engenes”, and Enhypen’s -hyphen means to always be connected.
So far, Enhypen has released 13 albums. Their most popular albums amongst fans include, but are not limited to: “Dark Blood”, “Orange Blood”, and “Romance: Untold”. Even outside these comebacks, most songs have reached those who don’t listen to K-pop, such as “Polaroid Love”, which gained significant popularity during the pandemic in 2020 and even began a trend on social media. For its debut album, “Border: Day One”, Enhypen is considered one of the most successful debuts in the K-pop industry due to how quickly it gained popularity.
“‘Given-Taken’ is probably my favorite debut song out of all the groups I’ve listened to, and I don’t even listen to Enhypen,” Freshman Xiaoxiao Lu says, adding that, “It caught my attention when I heard a clip of it and to this day, even though its been like 4 years, I’m still keeping it on my playlist.”
Additionally, Enhypen is the ambassador for many well-known brands; they are the newest brand ambassador for Prada and the first global ambassadors for Dr.Jart+. Each individual member has been selected to be ambassadors for separate brands, such as collaborations with Kolon Sport, Ami Paris, Bench, Balenciaga, Dior, Bulgari, TiffanyAndCo, and more. It’s important to remember that being chosen as the face of such renowned brands is no easy feat.
“Enhypen is the only K-pop group I’ve been obsessed with, and they’ve taken up so much of my life. Whenever I look for comfort or happiness, I turn to them, and they’ve inspired me so much; their performances left a big impact on me,” said freshman Valerie Lam, adding that, “They’re the reason I want to be a dancer and they’re always my motivation, their talent and passion is always shown onstage through every performance they’ve done.”
Even now, it’s difficult to find Enhypen albums in stores due to how quickly they often sell out. With each comeback and new albums release, it is challenging to purchase them, as most Engenes quickly buy them out online and in stores. For “Romance: Untold”, their albums almost immediately sold out at many Target locations in Pasadena, Azusa, and Rosemead.
“I wanted to try and buy the Incepto version of the album, so I went to a Target in Duarte. I couldn’t find it, so I tried about six or seven other Targets, but the workers just told me that they were all out of stock. It would’ve been easier to buy online, but before I even thought about it, it was sold out on most platforms,” said Lam.
9From their exceptional discography, it’s hard to skip any Enhypen song because each member harmonizes well with one another, and not to mention, their vampire concepts are interesting. In terms of choreography, Enhypen is one of the best 4th generation groups in dance as they have the “4th Generation Dance Prodigy” NI-KI, who is considered the best dancer of the industry by other idols such as Yeonjun Choi. During Enhypen’s Fate Encore Tour, the ticket prices skyrocketed due to the demand of Engenes who wanted to see them; prices were able to increase past a thousand dollars.
“I remember buying an album at the Santa Anita Mall, in the store called ‘K+Pop’, and it cost me around $36.85 for just one. It actually hurt my wallet, because I didn’t expect it to be so much, seeing as the other groups were only around $20-30,” said Lu.
Enhypen has albums that have ranked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200; “Romance: Untold” is their current highest-ranking comeback, sitting in second place.
“I can’t help but watch [their performances] with awe. I’m proud of how much they’ve achieved so far and I realized they’ve grown so much that it’s so easy to find Engenes around me. I always see their impact in the K-pop industry as their popularity keeps rising. Their efforts are never unnoticed, and you can always see how they dedicate all of their time to doing what they love. I’m always forever grateful for them and I’ll always be rooting for them as an Engene!” Lam says.
Even now, Enhypen continues to grow to make Engenes proud.
