Also beginning the week off is ENHYPEN, who is back with their latest single, Blessed-Cursed. The new single is the title track from the newly released repackaged version of the group’s first studio album, once titled Dimension: Dilemma and now retitled as Dimension: Answer (both of which I will be fast-tracking/reviewing as one album review post this coming weekend!). Previously, the title track for Dimension: Dilemma was Tamed-Dashed, which was released back in October 2021.

Blessed-Cursed in a mix of hip-hop and rock. which is an interesting blend of styles. The electrifying rock was more so in the background, coming through underneath the trap elements. Both blended well with one another, brought on great energy and were a satisfying combination that ENHYPEN pulled off well. Naturally, I feel that the two genres do go hand-in-hand with one another, as intensity is something I associate with both genres of music. And no surprises here, I feel like this intensity was a common thread that pulled the two sides together to form Blessed-Cursed. It was quite a tense track to listen to, and for some reason I felt wrong to pause the song half way while listening to it. You could also feel the intensity in Blessed-Cursed via the vocals and rapping. I do wish that the ENHYPEN members were more ‘in-your-face’ with their delivery. They seemed to come to us in that direction, but as usual, I wanted more. Blessed-Cursed also ends in an unsatisfying manner, and I wished the song had better closure. Overall, I feel like Blessed-Cursed was a pleasant track, with a few minor improvements to make it even better. But I do feel like it is a bit safe. I wished Blessed-Cursed was more experimental. While staying safe seems to be the way to go with newer groups, I do feel like ENHYPEN’s in a position to try something new and stand out (with their success thus far and their company to back them up if it the experimentation were to backfire).

The music video goes back in time to the moment in which the world ticked over to the new century and millennium (i.e. the countdown between 1999 and 2000). Concept-wise, it was fun to see cinematography and outfits from that era. Only people in 1990s could pull off wide ankle pants like what we saw in the video, and make it not be a terrible look. Well, with a few exceptions – ENHYPEN now falls into that group. But other than that, the crispness of the quality of the video and the vibrant colours we did get (blue, white and red) are all definitely from a modern era. It was a good video overall that showed off visual and choreography. Fun fact: I found it funny that the concept went back to 1999/2000, given that none of the members were born then (the oldest member, Heeseung, was born in 2001).

The choreography for this comeback incorporates that intensity that I mentioned earlier in the review really well. It is a strong performance from the group, as always, but powerful in a subtle manner. I really like the various hand work in the performance, particularly the vibrating hand movements we saw when the members sing ‘Don’t Stop‘ in the pre-chorus.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 7.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10