ENHYPEN Connects with Chicago ENGENE
ENHYPEN is the first boy band created by the South Korean label BELIFT LAB and consists of members Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and NI-KI. According to BELIFT, “The name ENHYPEN is inspired by the ‘hyphen(-)’ that connects one word to another. ENHYPEN means that seven different boys connect to discover one another and grow together.”
ENHYPEN set out on a mission to share and create that same special connection with their fans, ENGENE, during their Fate Plus World Tour at the Rosemont Allstate Arena on May 1st in Chicago.
Photo Courtesy of BELIFT LAB
With the crowd’s palpable anticipation and ear piercing screams, the members appeared on stage one-by-one adorned in princely attire. The camera focused on every member's arrival, each holding props such as a golden flower, a gleaming bow, and even a red envelope that burst into flames — feeding into the theatrics and further setting the scene. They opened with an explosive production of one of their top streamed tracks “Drunk-Dazed” and ended the song with a highly technical dance break that led into “Blockbuster.”
All of the boys took turns greeting Chicago ENGENES with Sunghoon mentioning how glad they were to keep their promise of returning quickly. Jungwon emphasized how much they missed Chicago, and Jake agreed stating, “ENHYPEN and ENGENE always connect!” What followed was an impressive six-song stretch of intense dancing and high level performances, only breaking for a short thirty-second outfit change. This break changed the concept from their fairytale-esque performances of “Let Me In,” “Flicker,” “Fever,” and “Still Monster,” to some of their more hip hop style tracks including “Future Perfect” and “Blessed-Cursed.”
Photo Courtesy of BELIFT LAB
The group slowed down the pace with two unit focused songs. “TFW” included Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jake, and featured Jay accompanying on acoustic guitar. After a beautiful piano solo from Heeseung, NI-KI and Jungwon kicked off “Just A Little Bit” before being rejoined by the other members. Even though these were more stripped back performances, the audience’s energy was incredible as they sang along loudly and fiercely cheering for the boys’ solos. This led to remarks like, “You guys are crazy tonight, you’re trying to keep us here right?,” and “The energy here tonight is really different!”
Photo Courtesy of BELIFT LAB
ENHYPEN made sure to return the energy given to them by their fans through some fun fan-focused sections. While performing “Tamed-Dashed,” they tossed a rugby ball to one lucky fan, and afterwards made sure to find the fan that caught the signed rugby ball and congratulate them. They spent the duration of the songs “Polaroid Love” and “10 Months” walking around the stage interacting with their fans and posing for photos. Sunoo remarked afterwards how cool it was being able to get close to all the fans.
In another fun segment, the members picked bold fans from the crowd to have a dance battle with as the intro for “Go Big or Go Home.” This led to laughing fits for both the fans and the band members. A big ‘crowd favorite’ moment was when six giant Pikachu’s came toddling out on stage to dance along to “One and Only.” This surprise was only topped by a song that Sunghoon says they all prepared as a gift — a cover of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Photo Courtesy of BELIFT LAB
ENHYPEN ended their three-hour long concert by switching to a dark vampire concept for some of their newer hits “Chaconne,” "Criminal Love,” “Bills,” and “Bite Me.”
They each took turns explaining how much their fans meant to them and how much they enjoyed Chicago. Sunghoon shared, “I feel like, as I do more stages in front of our ENGENE, it makes me realize how much ENGENE and ENHYPEN truly are one. Every year for the past three years, we’ve been coming back to Chicago, and you always exceed my expectations.” When it was Sunoo’s turn to talk about his feelings, the screams from the crowd were so loud that they had to pause the speeches, and Jay had to step in and gesture for the crowd to settle before all the cheering finally died down. Sunoo expressed his shock at the volume of cheers he received and his love and gratitude for the fans.
NI-KI shared that he had bought a special pair of Nike Jordans specifically for the Chicago concert, but even though he had regrettably forgotten them in Korea, he really loves Chicago. Jake gave some words of wisdom to end the concert saying, “There has to be an end for something new and better.” Heeseung added they would always work to make the connection between ENHYPEN and ENGENE stronger with Jungwon promising that they will always continue to perform if ENGENE is beside them.