Following its merger with Ithaca Holdings, BTS’ agency HYBE Corporation unveiled plans for the next two years. Are those new groups we see?
For those who don’t know, BTS’ label, Big Hit Entertainment, rebranded itself into the larger parent company HYBE Corporation last month. HYBE now brings together all of what was formerly Big Hit Entertainment’s ventures under one roof, presenting itself as an entertainment and lifestyle platform than just a label.
Big Hit Entertainment itself, the company that managed BTS, has now been renamed to Big Hit Music and brought under HYBE Labels, which also contains other subsidiaries acquired by Big Hit over the years. These include Source Music (home to GFRIEND), Pledis Entertainment (SEVENTEEN, NU’EST), Belift Lab, Hybe Labels Japan and KOZ Entertainment (owned by ZICO).
On April 2nd, HYBE also acquired a 100% stake in Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which has artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande on the roster.
Now, the company has unveiled its plans for the next two years, further sending the anticipation soaring.
First off, keeping in line with the stream of online auditions that Big Hit Entertainment has been organizing, the company reportedly has plans to debut a Japanese group (slated for a mid-2021 debut) and another boy group in 2022. If all goes to plan, BTS and TXT are looking at two more label-mates.
Other labels under HYBE also have similar plans.
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Source Music, home to GFRIEND — whose release ‘MAGO’ featured on numerous Best K-pop Tracks of 2020 lists — plans to add another girl group to their roster within this year. Seventeen and NU’EST‘s agency Pledis Entertainment, on the other hand, will join HYBE in debuting a boy group next year.
The most interesting, however, is HYBE’s new project with Universal Music Group in 2022. Any details about the same are being kept under wraps, with HYBE’s presentation only disclosing that the project would have “localized Americans” (the members, that is, will promote in South Korea). Whether this is a new group or a team-up is yet to be seen, but it sure has got us waiting with baited breaths.
You can read more about this topic over at the Asia Pop Observer.
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