Major South Korean entertainment companies are preparing to launch new groups in the wake of BTS’s hiatus and Blackpink’s recent contract renewal, which is expected to result in a break. Industry experts believe that these young artists will drive growth in the industry, thanks to the rapidly forming fandom for K-pop newcomers.
HYBE is leading the charge in introducing new talent. In addition to BTS, several members of SEVENTEEN, such as S.Coups and Jeonghan, are approaching their military enlistment. Pledis Entertainment, a subsidiary of HYBE, released a pre-release track by their new six-member boy group, ‘TWS’, called ‘Oh My Mai: 7s’, on Jan. 2, 2024. TWS is Pledis’s first new group since SEVENTEEN’s debut nine years ago.
HYBE, the South Korean entertainment company, is planning to debut a new girl group named ‘I’LL-IT’. The six-member group was formed through JTBC’s audition program ‘R U NEXT’ last year. Belift Lab, the company that owns I’LL-IT, was acquired by HYBE from CJ ENM in Aug. 2023.
JYP Entertainment, another South Korean entertainment company, is set to officially debut VCHA, a six-member multinational girl group, on Jan. 26.
In addition to this, a five-member Chinese boy group named ‘Project C’ and a seven-member Japanese boy group named ‘NEXZ’ are also expected to debut locally. NEXZ was formed through a joint audition project with Sony Music. Furthermore, a new domestic group called ‘LOUD’ is also likely to debut in the second quarter.
SM Entertainment is planning to introduce a new NCT unit, called NCT New Team, in the first half of this year. The group consists of six members and will be active in Japan. It was formed through a debut survival show and conducted a pre-debut tour across nine Japanese cities last year. SM is also preparing to reveal its first new girl group since Aespa in the coming months.
The securities industry is anticipating that these younger groups will lead the growth of the entertainment sector. The time it takes for new artists to achieve sales of one million albums is reducing.
In fact, third-generation groups like Blackpink, BTS, and TWICE took thousands of days to hit the initial million, whereas fourth-generation groups like Aespa and Tomorrow X Together (TXT) achieved it in around 1000 days according to the Daeshin Securities Research Center. NewJeans notably recorded a million sales in just 17 days after their debut.
