the gap in enhypens musicality is hard to ignore- coming from a hardcore engene.
i think we can all start off by acknowledging that heeseung stands out in enhypen.
imo, kpop is one of the most structured and heavily produced music industries. it’s literally how the system is designed. idols train for years, and when they debut, MOST of their music, concepts, parts, and choreography are assigned to them. creative control usually comes much later in their careers, not at the start. (yes there are exceptions e.g skz and cortis who mostly self produce👏 rare gems)
compared to that, western artists are generally more involved in their music and creative direction from earlier on. they’re more likely to build their own sound, contribute to songwriting, and shape their artistic identity themselves (even though labels are still involved, obviously).
and in enhypen’s case, it’s so obvious that heeseung stands out in terms of musical talent, background, and skill- and the gap is pretty big (jay is probably the next closest). yes, we’ve seen other members write/compose (jw - 100 broken hearts, jay - sweet venom, jake - shoutout, sleep tight etc..), but it’s minimal. heeseung has clearly done the most, with 30+ credits to his name.
you can literally hear it in “dial tragedy” (SUCH a banger). and it’s not just that he can compose/produce music, he can play the piano/keyboard (played moonstruck live on tour + while singing w the members) and guitar, use composing softwares, understand technical equipment, and he even has perfect pitch… like wow.
vocally, he’s also the strongest by far. he consistently gets the most lines and does most (if not all) of the adlibs (+ he always sings them live). compared to the others, the difference is honestly quite big.
with all that being said, i’m so excited for his solo debut. i feel like his solo work will be self-produced with the majority of credits going to him, which already puts him ahead of SOME soloists who don’t even write their own music after debuting solo, and puts him closer to that artist driven lane you see more often in western pop (like the weeknd, who heeseung himself likes).
and btw, i’m not even a heeseung bias 🐈 i genuinely love all the members. i’ve just always been a bit critical of how overproduced kpop can feel sometimes, especially when idols with average vocal ability get overhyped. enhypen is actually the only kpop group i listen to rn because their discography is peak and the members are all-rounders. i mostly listen to western pop/rnb/rap, and enhypen’s music and vibe is one of the few groups that matches that level for me, which probably explains their strong international fanbase.
and there are specific examples i thought of that really highlight the gap; during the dark blood comeback weverse live, when they were singing chaconne, heeseung was the only one properly taking the high part, while the others stayed in a lower, safer range. and another time (i think during a tour ment with no backing track), when they were all singing together, heeseung was the only one consistently hitting the correct higher octave while the others flattened it.
i KNOW this sounds like hate, but i’m just using these examples to show how much he excels. and it also makes sense why he said in his letter that he didn’t want to “outshine” the members, because realistically, he could.
the others just don’t feel ready yet to carry a full solo album or stage in the same way. heeseung already has that aura 🌞 if you’ve seen his “can’t feel my face - the weeknd” cover, you’ll know exactly what i mean. it really shows.
this has been on my mind even before heeseungs departure so if anyone could share their take too- id be happyyy!!
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
titsay
izzy806
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind