Zico, SEVENTEEN & NewJeans To Make Grand Comebacks Despite HYBE & Min Hee-jin Dispute

On April 22nd, HYBE conducted an audit as they suspected ADOR’s executives, including CEO Min Hee-jin, were trying to make the label become independent from the corporation. They demanded a shareholders’ meeting and sent a letter to Min Hee-jin asking for her resignation. HYBE currently holds 80% shares in ADOR while CEO Min Hee-jin owns 18%. However, Min Hee-jin denied the allegation of attempting to take over management rights and accused ILLIT, a new girl group from another HYBE label Belift Lab, of copying her group New Jeans. 

HYBE is operating under a multi-label system in which each label independently creates its own music to pursue diversity. Amid the confusion due to the internal conflict within HYBE, K-pop fans are worrying about its impact on artists from other labels. In fact, HYBE has continuously announced their artists’ comebacks despite the unpleasant situation currently.

First of all, Zico, a singer and producer of HYBE’s label KOZ Entertainment, will resume activities as a singer with his digital single “SPOT!” featuring BLACKPINK’s Jennie. Having established his presence as a producer, Zico is in charge of the overall production of the boy group BOYNEXTDOOR that KOZ introduced last year. Therefore, “SPOT!” is his first comeback in one year and nine months since the release of his 4th mini album “Grown Ass Kid” in July 2022.

“SPOT! (feat. JENNIE)” is a hip-hop song with Zico’s vibe, and top star Jennie joined hands with Zico as a featuring artist. The collaboration between Zico, known for his rhythmic and sophisticated rap, and Jennie, who owns an attractive voice tone, is arousing keen interest. Earlier on April 21st, Zico’s official YouTube channel posted the new song recording studio making video and it immediately became viral by topping the Korean YouTube Trending Chart for two days (April 22nd and 23rd).

Next, SEVENTEEN will release their best album “17 IS RIGHT HERE” on the 29th and make their official comeback. This album is a compilation of SEVENTEEN’s past-present-future that includes 20 title songs from Korean albums and 8 Japanese album title tracks. Among the new songs, “MAESTRO” is the group’s title song while the three units also have their own songs, such as “LALALI”, “Spell” and “Cheers to youth”. “Adore U (Inst.)”, a new version of their debut song, will also be included in this best album.

The music video for the group’s title song “MAESTRO” will be introduced first, then other music videos for the unit songs will be released sequentially. Starting with hip-hop team’s “LALALI” on May 10th, performance team’s music video for “Spell” is scheduled on May 17th and fans will be able to enjoy vocal team’s “Cheers to youth” MV on May 24th. This is the first time in seven years that SEVENTEEN has music videos for unit songs. Prior to their comeback, SEVENTEEN will hold “SEVENTEEN TOUR ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN TO SEOUL” at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul on the 27th and 28th of April. 

Finally, NewJeans will return to the K-pop race with the double single “How Sweet” on May 24th. Their new album will have four tracks, including the title track of the same name “How Sweet”, “Bubble Gum” and the instrumental versions of the two songs. This is the group’s first comeback in Korea after 9 months and pre-orders for the album will begin on April 26th.

On June 21st, NewJeans will also make their official Japan debut with a double single, including the two tracks “Supernatural” and “Right Now”. In particular, they will release “Right Now” first as a commercial CM song in Korea and Japan this May. Although this is a Japanese single, the group will also distribute the album in Korea and globally. Along with their Japan debut, Newjeans will also enter Tokyo Dome. They will hold their second fanmeeting “Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome” on the 26th and 27th of June. The group plans to release new music in the second half of this year and hold a world tour in 2025.