When photo of Moon Seo-yoon, 22, the eldest granddaughter of Shinsegae Group chairwoman Lee Myung-hee and daughter of Shinsegae president Chung Yoo-kyung, with girl group trainees from The Black Label, was released online, Shinsegae’s response was to “ask YG.” However, this was incorrect. Although The Black Label started as a subsidiary of YG Entertainment, its shareholding structure has since been significantly diluted. This year marks the first time they will be in direct competition.
Who will be the “father” of Blackpink’s sister group? This year, the K-pop industry’s most significant focus is the girl group battle between YG Entertainment executive producer Yang Hyun-suk and Teddy (Park Hong-jun), who were once part of the same family. Yang Hyun-suk’s girl group, BabyMonster, and Teddy’s first girl group will face off directly in the first half of this year.
Teddy, once a leading producer and composer for YG, debuted in 1998 with the group 1TYM under YangGoon Entertainment, the predecessor of YG. They became highly popular with their authentic American hip-hop, a rarity in the music industry then, and released five albums before officially disbanding in 2006.
1TYM’s success was mainly due to Teddy’s producing skills. Recognizing his talent, Yang entrusted the production of most YG albums to Teddy after 1TYM disbanded. He was behind the creation of groups such as 2NE1, BigBang, and Blackpink. 2NE1 referred to Yang as “boss” and Teddy as “papa.” Yang openly declared Teddy his successor, with Teddy establishing the foundation of YG with his support.
However, the relationship began to part ways when Teddy established The Black Label in 2016. Initially a subsidiary under YG, it has since worked towards becoming an independent entertainment agency through share restructuring since 2020. YG currently owns 21.59% of The Black Label shares. While The Black Label operates out of YG’s former building in Hapjeong-dong, Seoul, they plan to move to their new building in Hannam-dong in the first half of this year. An official from The Black Label said, “YG owns shares in The Black Label, but we are completely independent in terms of management and artist issues. We are only tied as an affiliated company, with significantly diluted shares, making us essentially a separate entity.”
In this situation, the girl groups produced by Yang Hyun-suk and Teddy are set to face off against each other. The first to debut is Yang Hyun-suk’s BabyMonster. Having debuted in November last year with the digital single “Batter Up,” they are set to commence full-scale activities with their first mini-album in April. BabyMonster is the only YG group that Teddy did not participate in producing. It is also the first girl group for which Yang Hyun-suk, as the executive producer, has overseen the entire production process from start to finish.
The Black Label is poised to debut a new girl group in the first half of this year. The lineup is notably prominent, featuring considerable repute. Within this highly-anticipated group of trainees is Moon Seo-yoon, actress and model Ella Gross, dubbed “Little Jenny,” and K-pop choreographer Bailey Sok. Upon their debut, they are set to contend with BabyMonster for the title of “succesor” or “little sister” to Blackpink.
An audition competition between Yang Hyun-suk and Teddy will commence. YG is organizing an open audition in collaboration with Japanese music label avex, marking the first joint audition in eight years since 2016. The two labels will host ten rounds of large-scale auditions in seven major cities in Japan, starting with Sapporo.
Teddy will join as the master producer of Mnet’s audition program “I-LAND 2,” confirmed to be air in the first half of this year, aiming to form a new girl group. Partnering with HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk for the first season, Mnet is working with Teddy for the sequel. The girl group set to debut through the program will be under CJ ENM’s WakeOne Entertainment, home to many idols, including boy band ZeroBaseOne.
YG’s current artists include Blackpink, Winner, AKMU, Treasure, and Eun Ji-won. In the case of Blackpink, they have extended their contract for group activities but not individual activities.
Taeyang from BigBang, Zion.T, Jeon Somi, and actor Park Bo-gum are affiliated with Teddy’s label. Loren, the son of Naver founder Lee Hae-jin, is also an artist under the label. Should Moon Seo-yoon officially make her debut, they will become part of the same artistic family. “There are quite a few trainees from the family whom everyone would recognize by name at major agencies these days,” said an official from an entertainment agency. “The training system in Korea is akin to an overseas boarding school program, providing a spectrum of services from language tutoring to psychiatric counseling.” BTS’s label HYBE launched an in-house medical clinic staffed by professional doctors last month.
The Black Label is preparing to be listed. The company is currently valued at 1 trillion won ($750 million). YG’s market capitalization stood at 80.84 billion won ($607 million) as of Feb. 21. Only three other companies in the entertainment industry—HYBE, JYP, and SM Entertainment—are worth more than 1 trillion won.
Whether Teddy’s label will secure a place on the list will hinge on the performance of the new girl group set to debut in the first half of this year. Yang Hyun-suk and Teddy are going head-to-head: who will the public be more enthusiastic about?
This article was originally published on Feb. 24, 2024.
