E Entertainment
Interview
[HKP EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] E’LAST Unleashes A “ROAR” In The Music Scene With Their Latest Comeback
E’LAST approaches the end of their rookie era, impressing fans with their compelling and sleek mini-album, ROAR.
E’LAST debuted in June 2020 and has steadily been proving themselves as one of the rookie K-Pop groups to emerge as budding global stars. Since emerging into the music scene, the octet has delivered a single album and two mini-albums captivating worldwide listeners. They most recently made their comeback with their third EP, ROAR, and its gripping title track, “Creature”.
Their third mini-album, ROAR, continued the group’s pattern of topping their personal sales achievements release after release. The project surpassed 50,000 copies sold for first-week album sales according to Hanteo Chart data, a stark leap from their prior record of 16,000 sales with Dark Dream.
E’LAST’s growing success is an admirable feat, illustrative of their efforts to form a deep connection to their fanbase, ELRING. The group hosted their own Mnet reality series, E’LAST Superhero, showcasing their team synergy and shining a light on the members’ charismatic personalities. Furthermore, E’LAST consistently greets global fans across their SNS platforms with a variety of content including covers and vlogs.
Their immersive content is not limited to their promotional activities, but also extends into the foundations of their group–their music. With their conceptual worldview weaved into every project, E’LAST crafts a unique storyline surrounding oaths, betrayal, and emotional turmoil.
ROAR relates to the climax of their narrative, bringing fans to new territories in both story and sound. With their latest project, members Rano, Choi In, Seung Yeop, Baek Gyeul, Romin, Won Hyuk, Won Jun, and Ye Jun, demonstrate their growth over the past two years and embody polished performers ready to step into the next era of their careers.
In this exclusive interview with Hellokpop, we discuss their creative process for this mini-album and reminisce on their growth thus far.
Hellokpop (HKP): Hello, E’LAST! Thank you for speaking to Hellokpop! Please introduce yourselves to our readers.
E’LAST: Two, three. Return E’LAST!! Hello, we are E’LAST!! We debuted on June 9th, 2020 and recently made a comeback with our 3rd mini-album, ROAR!!
HKP: Can you tell us more about your new mini-album, ROAR? What was the preparation process like and what impression of E’LAST did you want listeners to take away from the album?
E’LAST: (Romin) — The styles of some songs in this album were different from those in our previous album. So, during the preparation of this album, we spent a lot of time practicing the details in expressing the songs before going into recording.
In addition, we prioritized practicing for our live performances of the title track, “Creature,” with the song’s powerful choreography. E’LAST’s third mini-album, ROAR, showcases the group’s diverse charms through its varied tracks.
HKP: Won Jun and Won Hyuk participated in writing some of the lyrics for tracks including “Let Me Free”, “Nightmare”, and “Poison”. Can you describe what you wanted to communicate in the lyrics and how the creative process was?
E’LAST: (Won Hyuk) — First of all, I tried hard to make it more mature than the songs I participated in writing for our previous album. I also made the rap part to be in a high vocal range, which I can do well.
(Won Jun) — I paid a lot of attention to utilizing my strong point, my deep voice, in the song makings. I have a great interest in writing lyrics, so I think I will give it another try again in our next album.
HKP: What song on ROAR do you think best represents you?
E’LAST: (Won Hyuk) — It’s “Poison.” The reason is that it’s the only song I can showcase both my vocal and rap skills in one song.
HKP: Your title track, “Creature”, delivers a more sleek image of E’LAST to your fans. Can you share what the music video filming was like and if there were any memorable moments on set?
E’LAST: (Won Jun) — What I remember most is that there were bugs when we were filming outdoors in the forest at night. I don’t really like bugs.
HKP: Can you elaborate on what you’d like fans to pay attention to in your latest project in regards to your storyline?
E’LAST: (Choi In) —It’s safe to say that this album, ROAR, is the most important part of the storyline as it deals with the climax of E’LAST’s concept storyline. One may lose track of time as they begin to follow along with the “Creature” music video’s narrative and try to figure out what is happening.
HKP: With three mini-albums under your belt since debuting, how do you think you have evolved the most as a group?
E’LAST: (Baek Gyeul) — As we continue to experience being on stage, I think all of our members are learning to be more relaxed, and we are showing improvements in many areas each time, visually and in our vocal and dancing skills.
HKP: Is there a particular concept or genre that you haven’t done before that you want to try out in the future?
E’LAST: (Baek Gyeul) — I wish to try a hip and funky concept like MONSTA X.
(Seung Yeop) — I want to try a musical-like concept.
HKP: Your prior single album, Dark Dream, showcased your growth as it broke your personal initial sales records, charted on various global charts, while the music video for the title track surpassed 10 million views. You’re seeing even more achievements with ROAR. How do you feel about your success so far? What are your goals for this comeback?
E’LAST: (Ye Jun) — As always, our achievements in this comeback were possible thanks to our precious fans. We were able to achieve our goal of performing in front of our fans during this comeback.
(Seung Yeop) — As the COVID-19 situation in South Korea is improving, our goal for this comeback is to meet ELRING as much as we can through optimal opportunities.
HKP: What can fans look forward to from you this year?
E’LAST: (Romin) — As the COVID-19 situation is getting better and we are slowly beginning to get back to our daily lives with ELRING, we hope ELRING looks forward to getting more of E’LAST in their daily lives.
HKP: Can you please share a message of love for global ELRING?
E’LAST: (Rano) — To ELRING all over the world, who never seize to send us endless love and support! We couldn’t have come this far without you. Thank you so much, and although there isn’t anything arranged yet, we will make sure to go and see you. So please wait for us!! Thank you and love you always, ELRING 🙂 ❤️
You can follow E’LAST on the following platforms: Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | TikTok
Our kind thanks to REELS Corporation and E Entertainment for this interview.
All photos and videos in this feature were provided by E Entertainment. This interview was conducted in Korean with questions translated by Hellokpop’s Jung Bae.
