Boy band EVNNE, now at a new starting point after a major shake-up, is unafraid to call itself “losers,” as the five members open a new chapter of their career with their most authentic selves yet.

“We wanted to tell our honest story,” said member Lee Jeong-hyeon during a press showcase for its single “Backtalk,” held at Myunghwa Live Hall in western Seoul on Monday.


“For EVNNE to grow further, we thought that we should acknowledge moments in our past that may feel embarrassing or negative,” he said.

That is why the “self diss,” as the members call it, became a defining theme of “Backtalk,” the title track of its latest single, in which all five members are credited for writing lyrics.

EVNNE, pronounced as “even,” was formed as a project group — typically created through audition or reality programs with relatively short contract periods — with seven contestants from Mnet’s 2023 audition program “Boys Planet.”

While the winners of the program debuted as ZeroBaseOne, EVNNE was made up of seven contestants who did not make the final lineup: Lee, Keita, Park Han-bin, Mun Jung-hyun, Park Ji-hoo, Ji Yun-seo and Yoo Seung-eon.

But Ji and Yoo, both managed by YH Entertainment, left the group in January, leaving the remaining five members to begin anew. Yoo, in particular, is set to debut in YH’s upcoming rookie group AND2BLE, which includes members who left ZeroBaseOne in March.

Now down to five members, EVNNE is continuing as a full-fledged act, the first-ever transition of such a kind in the industry for a group originally launched as a project act.

Relaunching as a quintet, the members believed it was time to present their authentic selves at this critical turning point in their careers.

“We decided to continue on as EVNNE out of our shared love for the team, as well as the love and support from our fans,” said Mun, adding that the group still keeps in touch with Yoo and congratulated him ahead of his debut as AND2BLE.

The group’s first new release as a quintet features two songs: the title track “Backtalk” and “Stay.”

In its latest hip-hop-leaning lead single, “Backtalk,” the members wrote candidly, with lines such as “Me, a loser, who was eliminated,” and “I’m no longer afraid / I have nothing to lose now.”

“Rather than being confined by our past or weaknesses, we thought embracing and confronting them was much cooler,” shared Mun. “We believed expressing ourselves honestly and proudly owning our weaknesses was the right way to tell our story through this single.”

Downsizing inevitably means greater responsibility for each member — a challenge the group is taking in stride, with members saying they have promised to provide stronger support to one another.

“I’m so grateful that we can continue on as EVNNE — it feels like a miracle,” said Lee. “What we discussed while preparing for this single was that we should support one another and take the initiative to cover for each other.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]