Exclusive: EVNNE Opens Up About Self-Dissing, Picking Digicore Genre For Comeback, And More!
EVNNE shared their experiences with self-dissing, selecting a new genre for their comeback, and working together on songwriting.
On April 20, 2026, EVNNE stepped into a new era as a permanent five-member group with the launch of their single album Backtalk. We sat down with Keita, Park Han-bin, Lee Jeong-hyun, Moon Jeong-hyeon, and Park Ji-hoo for an exclusive chat where they shared their experiences with self-dissing, selecting a new genre for their comeback, and working together on songwriting. Read on!
1. In ‘Backtalk’, you openly talk about being eliminated on Boys Planet, facing criticism, and even referring to yourselves as losers. How did writing these lyrics help you deal with those memories?
KEITA: One of the themes of this album is definitely ‘self-diss’, but if you look deeper into it, the message is really about accepting that our past and our scars are also parts of who we are and moving forward. There are some pretty intense lines like “Eliminated, now I’m a loser,” but there are also lyrics like “That blue-haired kid is now fabulous” and “Keep looking, we’re one of a kind,” which show how we were able to overcome painful memories and grow from them. I hope people will pay attention to both sides of that story.
LEE JEONGHYEON: At the same time, incorporating those painful memories into our lyrics made me feel proud because it truly felt like we filled this album with our own stories. By writing stories that only EVNNE has experienced and only EVNNE could tell, I became even more immersed in the album-making process and was able to better understand the message we wanted to deliver through “Backtalk”.
2. I read you all pitched this hip-hop and digicore vibe for the comeback. With so many different trends in K-pop right now, what inspired you to move in this direction instead of sticking to something safer?
KEITA: Digicore is a genre I’ve wanted to try at least once for a long time. The sound itself is incredibly appealing, and because it’s not commonly used in K-pop, I’ve always been interested in it. We felt that the album’s message and EVNNE’s direction moving forward matched well with the hip-hop energy and vibe of digicore, so we actively recommended going in that direction.
3. Since all five of you co-wrote every lyric on Backtalk, what was the songwriting process like? Did you sit down together, share personal feelings, or argue over some parts?
PARK HANBIN: Once we decided that all of us would participate in writing lyrics for this album, we gathered together and held a lyric-writing session. We spent around 10 hours writing lyrics, exchanging ideas, reviewing each other’s work, and staying focused on lyric writing until dawn. Through that process, we were able to reflect together on the message we wanted to deliver through this album and the journey we’ve been through so far, which helped us grow even closer as a team.
KEITA: I wouldn’t say we had arguments, but after we finished writing the lyrics, I recorded the guide versions for the songs. Since the lyrics kept getting revised until the very end, I had to keep re-recording the guides, and I remember ending up with around seven different guide versions.
First Published: May 22, 2026 6:22 PM
