Competition in the K-pop music industry is expected to become intense this year with the debut of many rookies from HYBE, YG, SM, and JYP.
The second half of 2023 will witness fierce competition among K-pop rookie groups, most notably from Big4 entertainment companies including HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG.
After BOYNEXTDOOR that recently debuted in May, HYBE continues to plan for one or two more rookie groups this year. However, detailed information about these new groups is still kept secret at the moment. HYBE’s sublabel Pledis Entertainment is set to debut a boy group later this year. This is going to be Pledis first boy group in 8 years after SEVENTEEN.
After BLACKPINK, YG is ready to launch another girl group, BABYMONSTER. The group consists of 3 Korean members, 2 Thai members, and 2 Japanese members. Yang Hyun Suk is confident that BABYMONSTER embodies “the kids with YG’s DNA” and is expected to have an official debut this autumn.
Earlier this year, all 7 members of BABYMONSTER showcased their talents in YG’s own survival reality show. The group’s appeal helped their YouTube channel gain 2 million subscribers in just 129 days.
SM also has ambitious plans to debut 3 new groups this year. Specifically, a new sub-unit of NCT, NCT Tokyo will be launched with its base in Japan. NCT Tokyo is the final addition to NCT’s diverse lineup.
Sungchan and Shotaro, who recently left NCT, are also set to debut again in a new boy group along with other trainees. This boy group is said to include members from Korea and America. SM is also preparing a new girl group, but there is no exact debut date yet.
Not falling behind their rival companies, JYP is also planning to debut a new boy group. However, many believe that this plan may be difficult to carry out this year.
Source: K14.
