IVE, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans, 3 top-notch rookie girl groups that conquered the domestic music scene at the same time as their debut last year, are now targeting overseas markets in earnest.
Starting with IVE, which debuted in December 2021, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans, which respectively debuted in May and July 2022, brought an unprecedented rookie girl group craze. It can be seen from the fact that all 3 teams became million sellers less than a year after their debut. IVE and NewJeans topped the music charts for every song they released. In particular, NewJeans set an all-time record of being at the top for 99 days in a row.
The popularity of the 3 teams has grown even more this year. IVE recorded cumulative sales of about 1.6 million copies with their first full-length album “I’ve IVE” released in April, while LE SSERAFIM reached 1.3 million copies with “UNFORGIVEN” released in May. With their second mini album “Get Up”, which was released last month, NewJeans recorded 1.65 million copies in the first week.
The 3 teams, which are alternately breaking their own records, are already receiving positive responses overseas. They will meet overseas fans in earnest from the second half of this year.
IVE was the first to knock on overseas markets. In September 2022, the Japanese version of their debut song “ELEVEN” was released. This year, they dropped their first Japanese mini album “WAVE” in May, including the Japanese version of “LOVE DIVE” in January. They also met foreign fans. Their first fan concert Asia tour, which was held from February to July, attracted more than 100,000 spectators.
Having directly experienced the enthusiastic response from overseas, IVE is embarking on their first world tour titled “SHOW WHAT I HAVE”. Starting from October 7th to 8th with performances at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul, they will then head overseas. While specific stops of the tour haven’t been disclosed yet, it is expected to be on a much larger scale than a fan concert.
Alongside their domestic activities, LE SSERAFIM has also been making efforts to expand internationally. Last December, the girl group released a Japanese version of their debut song “FEARLESS”, and last month, they unveiled an English version of “Eve, Psyche, & the Bluebeard’s wife”. Furthermore, on August 23rd, LE SSERAFIM will be releasing their second Japanese single album ‘UNFORGIVEN’.
Notably, on August 12th and 13th, LE SSERAFIM completed 2 dates of their 1st concert tour “FLAME RISES” at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul. Following that, the girl group will be performing in a total of 7 cities, including Nagoya (August 23-24), Tokyo (August 30-31), Osaka (September 6-7), Hong Kong (September 30), Jakarta (October 3), and Bangkok (October 7-8).
NewJeans, up until now, has not officially released songs overseas. However, their recent release, ‘Get Up,’ managed to top the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. Additionally, all three title tracks entered the main singles chart, Hot 100. They are the team that achieved the best results in the two major pop markets, the U.S. and the U.K., out of the Big 3.
As of now, there is no news about NewJeans’ overseas tour. With only 13 songs released so far, they still do not have enough songs for a concert. However, earlier this month, they were the first K-pop girl group to be invited to ‘Lollapalooza’ in Chicago, delivering an impressive performance and leading the crowd in a sing-along. Furthermore, they will heat up the overseas stage by performing at ‘Summer Sonic 2023,’ Japan’s representative summer festival, which will take place in Tokyo on the 19th.
