How romantic is an immortal vampire promising eternity to you? Between FATE and FATE PLUS, ENHYPEN traveled 23 cities across the world over a span of 14 months to strengthen the fate that connects them invisibly with ENGENE. While on tour, they also released the mini album ORANGE BLOOD, the studio album ROMANCE: UNTOLD, and a special album for the DARK MOON series. There’s nothing easy about working so hard, but as the boys sing, they “can take you anywhere” and everywhere—and in the end, they really did. Now that ENHYPEN has wrapped up their very first encore tour, we’re happy to bring you this behind-the-scenes report on the group’s concerts and their THE CITY experience, plus some words for ENGENE direct from the boys themselves.
1. Tour dates
The FATE PLUS tour kicked off with a series of performances in Seoul, including an additional night in response to overwhelming demand. HEESEUNG and JUNGWON expressed their gratitude for their fans, proud to have sold out all three shows thanks to the outpouring of love from ENGENE. “The difference between FATE and FATE PLUS was the tighter interaction between the artists and their fans,” Katie Yim, a member of the BELIFT LAB A&R team, says, highlighting the emphasis on ENHYPEN meeting even more of their fans in person. After the weekend in Seoul, the group moved onto the US leg of their tour, where they specifically played cities they weren’t able to visit during their previous MANIFESTO and FATE tours. They even performed at the Tacoma Dome in Seattle, JAY’s hometown. “It took me eight years to get back,” JAY said after an exhilarating performance. “The thing is, I’m not here alone—I’m standing here with my six brothers and beloved ENGENE to have my hometown concert here, and I never expected this would happen eight years ago. So, please trust yourself, and never give up. Your dreams can also come true!” Once the group had performed their last concert in the States, but before starting the Japanese leg, they added two more shows, this time in Jakarta. Clearly, the boys couldn’t forget the roars of the Indonesian ENGENE crowd when they were there earlier in the year for an awards show. “ENGENE in Indonesia were so full of energy the day we performed at Golden Disc,” JAKE says. “So I said to our label, ‘Oh, we definitely gotta bring FATE PLUS to Jakarta!’ And that’s how we ended up going there.” ENHYPEN went from being held back from seeing their fans due to COVID-19 to charging full speed ahead to meet them wherever fans are waiting. The group closed out their FATE PLUS tour with a series of performances in Japan. With 11 shows spread across Saitama, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Aichi, and Miyagi, they tied the tour up with a beautiful bow by beating their own record for the most performances during a Japanese tour.
2. SETLIST
If MANIFESTO, ENHYPEN’s first tour, served to tell the world exactly who they are, then FATE reaffirmed the idea that the group’s destiny is intertwined with ENGENE’s, while FATE PLUS took things even further as ENHYPEN took pains to make those fateful ties even tighter. The latest tour’s setlist was split into four sections—BLOODY CARNIVAL, SUMMER DREAM, AWAKE THE FATE, and the encore section, DESTINY—for a total of 27 songs, including performances of “Still Monster,” “One and Only,” “Fate,” “Sweet Venom,” and “Orange Flower (You Complete Me),” which were added in after the original FATE tour. According to Katie Yim from the BELIFT LAB A&R team, the set list was tailored to convey the striking extravagance of the group’s sound on a scale more grand and awe-inspiring than ever—living up to how ENHYPEN and ENGENE are “bound by the fate of blood” from start to finish. “That’s why we intentionally worked even more vampire gimmicks into this concert,” says Eum Hye Jeong, Lead Professional with the HYBE 360 Concert Directing Creative Studio 2. Even the storyline that ran through the concert, based on the cue sheet both the artists and the production team referred to, was highly immersive, Eum says, like how “the theme of ‘Let Me In (20 CUBE)’ is physical attraction, which moves into ‘Flicker,’ where it’s spiritual attraction.” In other words, “the lyrics link every last detail of the set list together. We were confident that even ballads and dance songs could be linked this way. To take one example of the way the sections split it up by theme, the opening section, BLOODY CARNIVAL, features a vampire gimmick, so you wouldn’t be singing about a regular boy with no powers here.” Another way FATE PLUS differed from the earlier FATE tour lay in the local touches made for the concert in each city, like the short solo performances each member of the group did. These had originally all been during the SUMMER DREAM section, where the boys were dressed in casual clothes inspired by school uniforms, but for their last night in Seoul, JAKE donned a suit and performed “Foreshadow” during the AWAKE THE FATE section instead. That change all began when JAKE approached the production team because he “wanted to impress ENGENE with ‘Foreshadow’” and “asked that the placement of the performance be reconsidered based on its tone and that of the outfit,” Eum reveals. “JAKE’s really ambitious about the songs and takes an interest in stage direction, so we know he puts a lot of thought into it. Naturally, I liked the idea of taking this song, which captures the theme of the album, and giving it more impact, so I agreed to working the scene in together. The last part of ‘Foreshadow’ is where they extend an invitation ‘to our world,’ so we felt it’d make a perfect fit for the third section where they’re inviting ENGENE to their vampire world.”
3. Behind the scenes
“I’d like to emphasize the dance break that followed the first song, ‘Drunk-Dazed,’” says Kim Kwangwon, director of BELIFT LAB’s Performance Directing team. “The FATE PLUS set list started out conceptual, so in order to draw fans even deeper into the performance, we created a dance break that used the concept behind the group members’ DARK MOON counterparts.” Traces of the DARK MOON universe were sprinkled throughout the FATE PLUS tour, including the krumping JAY did during the dance break, intended to highlight his incredible physical strength. In fact, the prerecorded video at the opening of the concert, the way the group takes to the stage, and that first dance break all tie back into the superpowers their characters possess in DARK MOON. SUNOO, whose ability is mind control, entered with a gold ranunculus in hand, a symbol of irresistible allure, while JAKE used his powers to set fire to SUNGHOON’s mask, who in turn transformed into a wolf. SUNGHOON and NI-KI’s dance duet showcased NI-KI’s shadow control, while the clock JUNGWON was holding was stopped on the eight, symbolizing a vampire’s immortality. “We used synths and strings to create an atmosphere that was at once majestic and ominous,” BELIFT LAB A&R team member Katie Yim explains, “and we decided to give the music on the prerecorded video a chord progression intentionally written to add a sense of the bizarre and make the video that much more conceptual.” HEESEUNG stabbing the cake with a blade in the ominous intro video was similarly designed to highlight his swordsmanship ability. Hints of ENHYPEN’s vampire universe extended beyond their performances to every aspect of the concert. “Their costumes ran the gamut from dressing like knights to outfits evocative of punk rock, school uniforms, and suits. It was another one of the tour's vampiric moments, portraying the members as timeless beings who remain unchanged despite traveling through time. It was also our way of visually portraying ENHYPEN’s concept of ‘fate,’” Lee Gunhee, head of BELIFT LAB’s VC team, notes. “We focused on visuals that emphasized a classic, refined vibe.”
For the same reason, explains Eum Hye Jeong, the stage was designed to resemble a coffin, complete with red LEDs standing in for a vampire’s eyes. “I believe pre-recorded videos and visualizers should convey a story with one unified narrative,” Eum says. “If you look closely at the visualizers, you can see that they’re connected together in an uninterrupted flow.” The video in the first section, for instance, sets up “Drunk-Dazed”—which acts as an invitation—outside a vampire’s castle, and then the second song, the ENHYPEN-only version of “Blockbuster,” takes place inside. The run of songs from “Let Me In (20 CUBE)” to “Still Monster” unfolds through a heart representing the ENHYPEN vampires—the same heart that went up in flames during the original FATE tour, except this time, it gets swallowed up by thorny roses and dies during “Still Monster,” a special addition for FATE PLUS. “Looking close, you can see the heart’s dead, but the roses are in full bloom, and the stems engulfing the heart turn to gold,” adding to the immersive experience and the wonder of the concert through storytelling. “The symbolism suggests that, no matter how much hardship wrings my heart and oppresses me, and even if my—ENHYPEN’s—heart dies, I’ll come running to you—ENGENE.”
The second section, SUMMER DREAM, marked a major shift, focusing on members of the group playing instruments and even included a surprise guest. The boys had two sets of outfits for the section: a unique, energetic rock star look, and school uniforms complete with emblems handcrafted by the VC team. “They were divided into two groups—the ‘TFW (That Feeling When)’ group and the ‘Just A Little Bit’ group—under HEESEUNG and JAY, who play instruments,” Katie Yim explains. Those two are always really interested in playing instruments, so we added that part in because they wanted to show their fans something new from them. Despite how busy they were, they worked really hard on it, including to help write and arrange their own intros,” showing yet another place where the ENHYPEN members put their time and thought into making the concert a true “gift” for ENGENE. Once “One and Only” was added to the set list—a collaboration with the Pokémon Company—the FATE PLUS was ready to welcome a surprise guest: Pikachu. “They’re people from Japan who specialize in exactly that,” director Kim Kwangwon explains, satisfying the curiosity of ENGENE everywhere. “They’re extremely busy people, but being the professionals they are, when we sent them a video of what we had in mind, they came and added in their own acting. We were just as beside ourselves seeing how cute they were onstage.”
“The highlight of the latest tour was the AWAKE THE FATE section,” says Katie Yim, “which most fully embodied the idea of doing the Danse Macabre for someone and the realization that you’re bound by the fate of blood.” The final section before the encore was hugely popular with ENGENE, made up of high-energy songs like “Chaconne,” “CRIMINAL LOVE,” and “Bite Me,” as well as a solo dance from NI-KI and even the song “Fate,” which wasn’t performed during the original FATE tour and was instead saved for later. “NI-KI came up with the final turn during his ‘Chaconne’ dance solo himself,” director Kim Kwangwon recalls proudly. “He’s got a lot of passion for dance, and he always provided us with ideas while we were developing the performances. It might seem like it’s outside of his usual style of dance since he likes hip hop so much, but he’s actually good at every style.” Kim says that not a single other dancer in the world who is NI-KI’s age can dance like he does. A little later in the section, the group’s performance of “Fate” mirrors the song’s lyrics about reflecting on one’s past selfishness and acknowledging that anything they have is solely thanks to others. Lee Gunhee reveals that the boys’ black suits with prominent red detailing were designed to mimic the process of clothes being stained with blood. “The idea was to convey all the heartbreaking things that come to mind when you hear the song,” director Kim adds. “Facial expressions and hand gestures are important in that song, and the group members made it an impressive performance by fully immersing themselves in it.”
4. ENHYPEN THE CITY
The concert isn’t the only event ENHYPEN brought to Jakarta: For a whole month, ENGENE got to enjoy THE CITY, a themed urban playground experience especially curated for fans. Taking the form of a festival for Southeast Asian fans who patiently waited for the arrival of their favorite artists, THE CITY included the NORAEBANG PARTY, RANDOM PLAY DANCE, and a fountain show. Of these, the most popular was the singalong NORAEBANG PARTY. “In Southeast Asia, K-pop fans actually use the Korean word noraebang directly, showing they’re fans of the culture,” Kim Sein and Yoon Sol, members of the HBS Brand Business Strategy team, explain. “So rather than use a different English term, we deliberately chose to use ‘NORAEBANG.’” They point to Southeast Asian K-pop fans’ love of group singalongs as the push behind their move to include it as a new event in THE CITY series. While the first NORAEBANG PARTY was indoors and limited to 250 people, ENGENE’s enthusiasm led to an expanded second party being held outdoors to accommodate 1,500 fans. The much bigger encore event still sold out in just 15 minutes. The encore NORAEBANG PARTY at Taman Mini, a theme park encapsulating all of Indonesia on a small scale, was an unforgettable part of the lineup of in-person events for ENHYPEN’s fans. ENGENE continued to sing along during the special fountain show set to “XO (Only If You Say Yes)” (English Ver.), “Brought The Heat Back,” and “Sweet Venom (English Ver.).” “We felt that, since the fountain show took place in the theme park, with the everyday visitors on top of ENGENE, that it was actually a good opportunity for people to get to know how passionate ENGENE is and who ENHYPEN is,” Kim Sein says. Capitalizing on the weekly car-free Sunday mornings, the RANDOM PLAY DANCE was held at eight a.m. on Jakarta’s Sudirman Street, where, despite the early hour, 830 ENGENE showed up to join in the fun. “The event was limited to 250 people and we blocked the area off for that, but 580 more people came to have fun just outside the barrier,” says Yoon Sol, recalling how much excitement was in the air.
SUNGHOON talked about THE CITY while onstage in Jakarta, saying, “We’re putting on THE CITY in Jakarta right now! I’ve seen videos of ENGENE having an absolute blast. I hope all of you have a great time enjoying THE CITY and that we do, too,” he said to his fans. “Getting to see ENGENE come out and express their gratitude directly to us staff members was amazing and moving. I want to extend another big thank you to our partners who helped prepare for and put on THE CITY. We’re really proud of how everything we worked on reached out to and made an impact on the fans and the artists, seeing as they gave shout-outs about THE CITY. Some of the fans said they’d been waiting years for ENHYPEN to come, and said thanks for not forgetting about them.” This latest ENHYPEN THE CITY event is an embodiment of ENHYPEN’s gratitude and sense of indebtedness to the fans who waited so patiently for the group to come to them, and lives up to the motto of FATE PLUS, which was about strengthening the already strong bond between ENHYPEN and ENGENE.
5. ENGENE
“When they’re practicing, the group members are constantly saying, ‘The fans will love this’—like it’s their catchphrase,” says performance director Kim Kwangwon, emphasizing ENHYPEN’s singular focus on their dedication to their fans. “‘CRIMINAL LOVE’ in particular demands a lot of energy during the set list, and even if it seems like they can’t go on with the incredibly intensive choreography, they always find the will to go on, saying, ‘But ENGENE’s gonna love it.’ And then they make it happen.” Despite their absolutely stuffed schedule, ENHYPEN manages to pull it all off thanks to their fans. “One area where the members have grown between FATE and FATE PLUS,” A&R team member Katie Yim says, “is that they’ve started thinking about what they can do while preparing to make the concert more enjoyable for their fans, from a greater variety of angles.” As a result, the group had a number of surprises ready for ENGENE on their FATE PLUS tour. The reason they performed the One Direction song “What Makes You Beautiful” on The Seasons: Lee Hyori’s Red Carpet, and the reason they added “Fate” to the set list, was all to give ENGENE the performances they wanted to see. “You’re the whole reason we’re here,” JUNGWON said in his closing remarks. “This is the real deal.” SUNGHOON, known for his typically stiff upper lip, unexpectedly cried during his final remarks on the last performance in Seoul during the tour. “I guess I don’t know myself all that well yet,” he said, catching ENGENE and the rest of the group off guard. “ENGENE, you’re the only ones to have ever gotten me to cry. Thank you so much for getting me to feel this. All I can say is, I love you, ENGENE!” SUNGHOON, a self-proclaimed fan of ENGENE who has said that “[he] wants to know everything ENGENE is up to because [he] loves them so much,” seems to have discovered yet another layer emotions within himself while connecting with his fans during the FATE PLUS tour. There’s no question about it—ENHYPEN and ENGENE were destined to be together!
6. +1
Bonus for all the ENGENE who came out for the FATE PLUS tour
JUNGWON: This tour reminded us just how much of a pick-me-up ENGENE gives us. I feel especially close with them while performing “SHOUT OUT.” We never had such a long tour before, and we never could’ve pulled it off if it hadn’t been for ENGENE. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this long journey. We’ll take everything you gave us and pay it all back, coming back to you with even bigger, better performances.
HEESEUNG: I was so happy we got to say hi to ENGENE again after FATE! I was so emotional while doing the encore with them. I realized once more, just how priceless the time we spend seeing and performing for ENGENE really is.
JAY: I was happy we got to meet ENGENE from so many different parts of the world during our FATE PLUS tour. Every second spent with our fans was pure bliss. Thank you for always being there for us.
JAKE: It was great getting to visit cities we couldn’t get to before and adding new songs in. I feel like we really grew a lot from doing this tour. The single happiest moment for me was hearing ENGENE sing “Polaroid Love” with us. Thank you for all the love and support, always! Stay tuned for our next tour, coming soon!
SUNGHOON: Thank you for your bottomless interest and love even during such a long tour. Nothing made me happier than being able to hear ENGENE cheering from backstage. I hope ENGENE will be able to hold onto their memory of the tour for a long time. I know I’ll cherish the time I got to spend performing all those songs for them. With this tour winding down, we’ll be back with one that’s even bigger and better in the future!
SUNOO: Every single moment of being with ENGENE filled me with happiness, and I couldn’t be more grateful. When we were touring in Japan and they sang “BLOSSOM” together, every single bad thought in my body left me. It was so moving. I know it isn’t easy for ENGENE to make it to all our concerts, so thank you so much for coming. I’ll keep working my hardest to repay everything you do for us. I hope I can share even more emotional moments with ENGENE on our future tours!
NI-KI: We got to see lots of ENGENE, which made this tour so full of tenderness and warmth. And I was so happy I got to stand on the Tokyo Dome stage as a member of ENHYPEN again. Thanks to all the ENGENE out there who joined us for FATE and FATE PLUS. My love for ENGENE has only grown. Hope you can join us for the next tour, too!
