ENHYPEN

**Enhypen** (Korean: 엔하이픈; Japanese: エンハイプン), commonly stylized as ENHYPEN, is a South Korean boy band formed by Belift Lab, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Hybe Corporation. Formed through the 2020 survival competition show I-Land, the group is composed of seven members: Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki.

Enhypen debuted on November 30, 2020, with the extended play (EP) *Border: Day One*.

## Name

The group's name, Enhypen, was introduced through the live-broadcast of the final episode of *I-Land*. According to etymology, Enhypen derives its name from the symbol Hyphen (-), that creates new meanings including "Connection, Discovery, & Growth". Similar to how a hyphen connects different words to discover new meanings, Enhypen aims "to come together to connect, discover and grow together to create a new act."

## History

### Pre-debut: I-Land

In March 2019, Belift Lab was co-founded by South Korean entertainment agencies CJ E&M and Hybe Corporation, with plans of creating a new band in 2020. Auditions commenced the same month in Seoul, the United States, Taiwan, and Japan, among others, for male trainees born between 1997 and 2008. On May 8, 2020, television channel Mnet announced the survival competition series, *I-Land*, a joint venture of both companies that "follows the process of next generation K-pop artists being born." Enhypen was formed through *I-Land*, featuring 23 male trainees, some of whom were from Belift's auditions, while others transferred from Big Hit Music, formerly Big Hit Entertainment, all then had been training under Belift Lab. The show was aired weekly on Mnet from June 26 to September 18, 2020, and distributed internationally through Hybe Labels' YouTube channel. The show was split into two parts. 12 contestants from the first part made it to the second part of the series. On the final episode of the show, seven members were selected out of the nine final contestants, with six being chosen by global ranking and the last member by the producer's choice. The debut line-up of the group with seven members, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki, was announced via live television broadcast of the finale.

### 2020–present: Debut with *Border: Day One*, *Border: Carnival*, and Japanese debut

On October 22, 2020, a trailer titled "Choose-Chosen" was posted to Enhypen's YouTube channel, announcing the band's debut in November 2020. A second trailer titled "Dusk-Dawn" was released three days later, followed by a pair of concept mood boards on October 27. On October 28, Belift Lab announced that Enhypen will release their debut extended play, *Border: Day One* on November 30. On November 4, it was announced that album pre-orders had surpassed 150,000 copies in two days. Ahead of their debut, the group amassed a large following on social media platforms, garnering over one million followers simultaneously across TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and V Live. By November 21, pre-orders had surpassed 300,000 copies. The EP *Border: Day One* and the lead single "Given-Taken" were released on November 30, 2020, with a live showcase to promote it. On December 4, 2020, Enhypen officially made their debut on KBS' *Music Bank*, where the band performed "Given-Taken". The EP debuted at number two on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, having sold 318,528 copies in one day and becoming the highest-selling album by a K-pop group that debuted in 2020. It also charted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, with over 71,000 copies sold in Japan. Within two weeks of debut, the band won "Next Leader" award at the 2020 The Fact Music Awards. In February 2021, *Border: Day One* received a platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), giving the group their first certification in the country.

On March 25, 2021, Belift Lab announced that Enhypen will make their comeback at the end of April. A trailer titled "Intro : The Invitation" was released on April 5, announcing that their second extended play *Border: Carnival*. On April 8, it was announced that the album pre-orders had surpassed 370,000 copies in three days. Prior to its release day, album pre-orders had surpassed 450,000 copies. The EP was released in conjunction with its lead single "Drunk-Dazed" on April 26. On May 4, the group received their first ever music show win on SBS MTV's *The Show* with "Drunk-Dazed". This was soon followed by wins on *Show Champion* and *Music Bank*. *Border: Carnival* debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, becoming the band's first chart-topper in Japan, with over 83,000 copies sold. On May 25, *Border: Carnival* debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 Chart. In addition, Enhypen also ranked 18 on Billboard Artist 100 Chart.

On July 6, 2021, Enhypen will make their Japanese debut with the single "BORDER : 儚い" (also known as *Border: Hakanai* or *Border: Transient*), which includes an original Japanese song and the Japanese versions of "Given-Taken" and "Let Me In (20 Cube)".