Time to review the debut single of a newly debuted group. EVNEE is a seven-member male group currently being managed by Jellyfish Entertainment (the home of two current members of VIXX, VERIVERY and formerly gugudan). The lineup consists of trainees who participated in Boys Planet earlier on in the year who did not make it in the final lineup of ZEROBASEONE – Keita (placed 12th in Boys Planet), Park Han-bin (11th), Lee Jeong-hyeon (15th), Ji Yun-seo (41st), Yoo Seung-eon (16th), Mun Jung-hyun (29th) and Park Ji-hoo (33rd). Originally announced as BLIT, the group ended up being renamed EVNNE and debuted last month with the single TROUBLE.

TROUBLE caught my attention thanks for its Baltimore Club style that it had going throughout the track. It made for a bold instrumentation, particularly when it came to the chorus. And with boldness comes a memorable appeal, which TROUBLE definitely had in my opinion. I liked how they allowed the synth to be standalone in the first half of the chorus, giving it time to grow on you. Then they follow it up with a rhythmic chant that adds to the appeal of TROUBLE. I would have liked the final chorus to somehow be a bit more bombastic to give TROUBLE a more satisfying end, rather than a repeat of what we got in choruses that came before. That was a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Other than the instrumentation, EVNNE does showcase a good execution of vocals and rapping. There wasn’t anything mind-blowing or grand from this department, but I did like the dragged out rap-speak delivery in the bridge of TROUBLE and the filtered rapping that leads into the final chorus. However, with the dragged out rap-speak delivery, I wished the instrumentation here was dynamic and not stripped back as it were, just so the song’s momentum (which was pretty good ahead of the bridge) wasn’t disrupted and a more dynamic backing would have made this part of TROUBLE excel further. As a track that kicks off their careers, TROUBLE makes a good case for EVNNE and I hope their subsequent releases go up and further than TROUBLE.

The music video shows the members causing trouble, fitting for the title and messaging they have behind the lyrics. First up is a series of explosion at an old building, which leads to the group becoming wanted. Secondly, they are seen driving away (which I presume they are doing to evade the authorities). Then, whilst covering the other members driving away on the news, Keita (the newsreader) stops working and steps away from his job. From there, the group hangs out and have fun with each other. The scenes in which we see the group play cards and hang out in the dark shows a more charismatic and playful side of the group, representing the side of the song that speaks to the members’ charm and innocence. I did think the group could have been more wild in the music video, but what we got is fine. However, I did think the start of the video could have started off with a breaking news type of announcement, rather than just silence.

The choreography is the best part of this debut. EVNEE really showcase their performance potential via their dynamic routine for TROUBLE. The swing of the raised legs at the start of the routine (iconic potential!), the swinging motion of their bodies towards the end of the instrumental part of the chorus and the ear muff like hand motion at the start of the chorus or end the performance were all really cool aspects of the choreography.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10