JYP to Create First K-pop Latin Girl Group: Launches ‘L2K’ Audition

On the 18th, JYP announced, “We have established a local subsidiary, ‘JYP Latin America,’ and are advancing into the Latin American music market.” In the third quarter of 2024, they plan to launch a subsidiary in the Latin American music market, expanding tour areas and new business opportunities for their artists, while also creating a communication channel with local fans.

Additionally, JYP unveiled their vision with the launch of their first major project and audition program, ‘L2K’ (LatinAmerica2Korea), stating, “We will introduce a Latin girl group based on the K-pop system.” To achieve this, they are pursuing a strategic partnership with Universal Music Latino, a Latin label under Universal Music Group. The synergy created by the fusion of K-pop energy and the passionate creativity of Latin music is expected to attract global music fans’ attention.

In relation to this, Billboard reported on the same day, highlighting the establishment of ‘JYP Latin America’ and stating, “JYP Entertainment will launch a Latin subsidiary focused on developing the Latin music market and Latin artists.” It emphasized that through ‘L2K’ and the strategic partnership with Universal Music Latino, they aim to create a unique global Latin girl group that retains the authentic essence of Latin music while undergoing JYP’s training system.

Since establishing JYP USA in 2022, JYP has expanded the tour areas of their artists like TWICE, Stray Kids, and ITZY, developed new business models based in North America, and increased strategic collaborations. In 2023, they launched the audition program ‘A2K’ (America2Korea) in collaboration with Republic Records, a label under Universal Music that Billboard named the number one label in the U.S., to create a North American girl group based on K-pop.

‘A2K,’ judged directly by JYP’s chief producer Park Jin-young, began with auditions in five major North American cities (Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Dallas, and LA), followed by an LA boot camp and final stages in Korea. The program showcased the dreams, potential, and growth of North American girls, achieving about 65.75 million cumulative views and an average of 2.98 million views per episode, leading to the debut of the girl group VCHA. This momentum is expected to carry over to ‘L2K,’ generating significant interest and anticipation in Latin America.