K-pop boy band ENHYPEN made their comeback to the music scene with the release of their fourth mini-album “Dark Blood,” which sold more than one million copies in just six hours.
“Dark Blood” came just about 10 months after ENHYPEN released their third mini-album “Manifesto: Day 1” in July last year.
ENHYPEN at their media showcase for "Dark Blood" held in Seoul on May 22 (Belift Lab)
Based on data from Korea’s Hanteo Chart, “Dark Blood” sold a total of 1,108,337 copies by midnight of May 22, or six hours after its release.
In comparison, “Manifesto: Day 1” sold a total of 768,603 copies on the first day of release on July 4 last year.
Before the album came out, ENHYPEN held a media showcase in Seoul on May 22 where they talked about the album and career.
“Whenever we make a comeback, our determination is to create an album that surpasses our previous work and to grow further as artists,” said Sunghoon.
ENHYPEN's Sunghoon (Belift Lab)
ENHYPEN's Jungwon (Belift Lab)
ENHYPEN's Heeseung (Belift Lab)
ENHYPEN's Jay (Belift Lab)
Jungwon said, “It’s already been two-and-a-half years since we debuted. This time we are back with a renewed determination to showcase even greater professionalism.”
“We have been away for 10 months and I know our ENGENEs are eagerly waiting for us so we made a lot of effort to prepare for this album,” according to Sunoo.
Jungwon explained that “Dark Blood is the first album of the Blood series, which talks about the connection between a boy and his destiny.”
“Dark Blood” is fronted by “Bite Me,” a catchy pop track about a boy, who after reuniting with the one he is destined to be with, recognizes their fate to be bound by blood.
Heeseung took part in the studio directing and Ni-Ki contributed in the development of the song’s choreography.
“Dark Blood” also contains the songs “Fate” (renaissance-style pop), “Sacrifice (Eat Me Up)” (alternative R&B), “Chaconne” (soul/hip-hop), “Bills” (emo hip-hop), and “Karma” (funk hip-hop).
ENHYPEN's Sunoo (Belift Lab)
ENHYPEN's Jake (Belift Lab)
ENHYPEN's Ni-ki (Belift Lab)
“Dark Blood” marked the longest time of release between albums since ENHYPEN’s debut. Jungwon said, “We had our first world tour since our debut and we were invited to end-of-the year ceremonies. It’s been a very meaningful year.”
Jay added, “Through the world tour, we could grow in various aspects including our attitude on stage, performance skills and fan interaction. I learned a lot. Also the fact that we were the first fourth generation K-pop group to hold a concert at a dome worked as a motivation to run towards our new goal.”
About the choreography for “Bite Me,” Ni-ki said, “During our world tour, we received a demo of ‘Bite Me’ and I thought it would be wonderful if the choreography I created could be part of the song. So I worked on the choreo in my hotel room and later filmed it.”
About their goals in the promotion for “Dark Blood,” Sunoo said, “We aim to enter the music charts this time.”
