Roundtable Interview: EVNNE Shows Off Their Goofy Spirit While Spilling on Their “HOT MESS”
EVNNE has jumped into 2025 with insane energy mixed with adorable cuteness that can’t help bring a goofy smile to your face. The septet made up of Keita, Park Hanbin, Lee Jeonghyeon, Yoo Seungeon, Ji Yunseo, Mun Junghyun, and Park Jihoo has come back with a new album, including a hopelessly fun title track of the same name titled “HOT MESS.” The song is only really messy in name, as the spirited pop song punches it up with a rock edge and exciting breaks that make the song a party. The video is filled with bright expressions, a punchy, repetitive earworm chorus that you find yourself singing along to, whether you want to or not. If you need another song on your 2025 workout resolution list, this is it! The rest of the album continues to satisfy with the songs that balance the hyped up tempo with more pop upbeat tunes mixed with a bit of hip-hop, great vocals, and thoughtful melodies that lift the spirit.
Before its release, EVNNE met with a circle of the hottest K-Pop media crews around, including us of course, to answer our questions and to spill about who they are, their comeback concept, the work behind the album, and how they support each other. Let’s dig a bit deeper into the layers of EVNNE.
EVNNE: Let us introduce ourselves first. Hello, we are EVNNE!
*Q: REGARDING YOUR UPCOMING EP HOT MESS, HOW DID THE MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO ITS CREATION? HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN "HOT MESS" IN ONE WORD?
PARK JIHOO: I would say fireworks. Boom!
LEE JEONGHYEON: Why?
PJ: Whenever I listen to "HOT MESS," I think it really delivers that popping and explosive feeling. As for the choreography, I feel like the chorus dance part will be slightly different for every stage, so it would have unexpected details and elements that would be fun to watch out for.
*Q: HOT MESS IS A LOT BRIGHTER AND COLOURFUL COMPARED TO EVNNE'S PAST COMEBACKS, HAVE ANY OF THE MEMBERS BEEN WAITING TO SHOW THIS CONCEPT AND HOW DID EVERYONE FIND IT?
LJ: Our fans really love our goofy and playful side, like joking with each other, so I'm so glad that we are finally releasing an album and title track that can truly convey our nature and characteristics. We're definitely looking forward to sharing that.
*Q: YOUR NEW ALBUM IS ALL ABOUT FINDING JOY IN MESSY SITUATIONS. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER WHERE YOU HAD TO APPLY THIS MINDSET TO A SITUATION YOU'VE FACED?
JI YUNSEO: Every day, every time.
PJ: I have one. One time, we thought we were going to miss the cue because the platform we were standing on to rise above the stage moved slower than everyone was expecting, so when we did get on stage, we were a little confused at first. But we just got into it because the song already started, and we instantly decided to give it a go. Eventually, we had so much fun on that stage like any other performance.
Q: THE EXCITEMENT FOR "HOT MESS" IS GROWING. CAN YOU LET US KNOW WHAT PART OF COMEBACK PREPARATIONS HAVE BEEN THE MOST EXCITING SO FAR?
LJ: Every moment of preparing this album has been super fun and we enjoyed every part of it, but I think the most memorable moment would be when we filmed the music video.
*Q: WHILE I THINK ALL OF EVNNE REALLY SHONE BRIGHTLY WITH THIS CONCEPT, WHO DO YOU THINK SUITED THE CONCEPT OF “HOT MESS” THE BEST?
LJ: 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?
PARK 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: WITH FOUR MINI-ALBUMS, YOUR DISCOGRAPHY IS ALREADY QUITE DIVERSE, IS THERE A STYLE OF MUSIC YOU WERE WAITING TO EXPLORE AND FINALLY GOT THE CHANCE TO DO FOR THIS COMEBACK?
JY: Something we are always aiming for when performing on stage is having fun on stage, as we always talk about it amongst ourselves before going on stage. I think one of the biggest elements and keywords for this comeback is having fun with joy, which allows us to pursue the music and performances we've always strived to do.
*Q: WHAT SONG ON THE EP DO YOU THINK FANS WILL BE MOST SURPRISED BY AND WHY?
MUN 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: WAS THERE A PARTICULAR MOMENT DURING THE CREATION OF THIS ALBUM THAT YOU'LL NEVER FORGET?
YOO SEUNGEON: This album is very memorable to me because I participated in writing the lyrics for the title song for the first time, as well as for the B-side track in the album. It's very meaningful to know that my own story and lyrics that I wrote can be delivered to our fans, so I cannot wait to share them.
Q: THE "SPLATTER" CONCEPT PHOTOS FOR YOUR COMEBACK ARE QUITE ARTISTIC. HOW DO YOU EXPRESS YOUR ARTISTIC SIDES?
PJ: I always think about different ways to express my inner artist, and one way is definitely songwriting and composing. I also generally enjoy making something new with our members.
*Q: YOUR NEW TITLE TRACK IS CALLED "HOT MESS." WHILE LIVING IN THE DORMS, WHO IS THE MESSIEST, AND WHO IS THE CLEANEST?
PJ: I think Yunseo is the tidiest member of us.
LJ: I think the rest are the same.
K: Everyone else is messy.
YS: Yunseo and six messy guys.
*Q: IF YOU COULD LEARN A NEW SKILL BY TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
MJ: 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: 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?
JY: Our album "HOT MESS" 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: WHICH SONG FROM THE NEW ALBUM WOULD YOU SAY DESCRIBES THE MEMBERS' PERSONALITIES THE BEST?
PH: I think "CROWN" suits us the most. It is a very powerful and bold song, so I think it fits our characteristics that we want to portray well.
*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 AT THIS OPPORTUNITY?
JY: 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: 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?
YS: 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?
JY: 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.
*Q: SINCE IT'S THE NEW YEAR, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN 2025 AS A GROUP?
YS: Since we are making a comeback after eight months, we hope to win first place on a music show again, and we also want to appear on variety shows together as a group.
IN CONCLUSION
EVNNE: This has been EVNNE! Thank you~
With that the roundtable came to an end. Since then, the repeating chorus of “I’m a mess,” has been an earworm in our ears. With 2025 barely started, the new freshly released album has been gaining momentum and we hope that their aspirations for 2025 translate into reality. More than anything, we love that EVNNE is having a blast with this new release. We hope that EVNNE brings their mess stateside soon as we’re dying to see the new tracks performed live.
*Questions asked by fellow media collegues.
Thank you to Jellyfish Entertainment, Helix Publicity, fellow media colleagues and most of all to EVNNE for your great answers!