Which company will be the best K-pop agency in 2023? The report presents the respective comebacks and debut line-ups of HYBE and “BIG 3” SM, JYP and YG in the first half of the year.
HYBE “Multi-Label” Expansion: the debut of two male bands from Pledis, KOZ
After the announcement of the BTS members’ conscription, HYBE will continue to expand its business structure and promote cross-industry cooperation.
NewJeans became pioneers by releasing their new EP “OMG” on January 2.
LE SSERAFIM is expected to contribute to the sharp growth of the company through its future activities.
This year HYBE intend to strengthen their line-up by launching 2 male groups-newcomers.
The first will be the brother group SEVENTEEN from Pledis, and the second will be represented by the label KOZ Entertainment, headed by Zico.
“Both groups consist of members who have their own production skills and outstanding skills, striving to take a leading position in the 5th generation.”
SM Entertainment Continues SMCU: SuperM, GOT the beat, NCT Tokyo Debut
SMU expansion from SM Entertainment will be felt in 2023.
Starting with the SMCU Palace concert, which took place on January 1, the company also announced the respective comebacks of two “K-pop Avengers”, SuperM and GOT the beat.
The group Girls on Top (GOT), which includes BoA, Taeyong and Hyeon from SNSD, Seulgi and Wendy from Red Velvet, as well as Karina and Winter, espa, will return with the song “Stamp on It” on January 16.
SuperM, consisting of SHINee’s Taemin, EXO’s Baekhyun and Kai, NCT’s Taen and Mark and WayV’s Lucas and Ten, is also expected to resume operations this year in time for Taemin’s demobilization in April.
SHINee and EXO are also planning to return this year after the respective members are discharged from the army.
It is known that SM will launch a new NCT Tokyo unit and another group of newcomers outside the large-scale NCT group.
“Localization” of JYP: NiziU, Project C, A2K, NMIXX and much more!
After the debut of the Japanese female group NiziU in 2022, JYP plans to debut with three new male groups, including the Chinese idol group Project C, as well as the male version of NiziU.
JYP LOUD, the preliminary debut team, is expected to officially launch in 2023.
America2Korea (A2K), the global debut project of a female group that will be active in North America, is also underway.
As for comebacks, TWICE are going to release their 12th mini-album “Our Youth” in March, having originally released a pre-release English single in January.
NMIXX will also return, as will Xdinary Heroes.
YG ‘Revenge Comeback’ G-Dragon, BLACKPINK Jisoo, Baby Monster
In recent years, YG has suffered due to disagreements and the departure of artists. Bad news poured in until the end of 2022, for example, about the departure of Ban Yedam and Mashiho (TREASURE), iKON, BIGBANG T.O.P, Taeyang and Daesong from the agency.
However, YG decided to take revenge by releasing K-pop icons and debuting a new female group in 2023.
G-Dragon from BIGBANG will finally release her solo album, and Jisu from BLACKPINK will officially debut as a soloist with the album.
YG will also make a winning move by launching a new girl group Baby Monster (BAEMON). The Newcomer will be the first female group introduced in seven years after BLACKPINK.
YG expressed confidence, stating that they had trained the selected participants for four years through a 1000:1 competition and selected the final elite participants among them.
