YG Hid Them, HYBE Showed Them, and SM Raised Them [HT Spotlight]

In the second half of this year, three major K-pop agencies will release new idol groups side by side. A five-member boy group from YG Entertainment (hereinafter YG), global girl group SAINT SATINE jointly planned by HYBE and Geffen Records, and a new boy group from SM Entertainment (hereinafter SM). What is more interesting than their overlapping debut schedules is that the three companies’ methods of creating new artists are completely different.

YG’s method is simple. It does not show them. The five-member boy group currently preparing for a September debut has not yet revealed the members’ faces or names. The only information so far is what Executive Producer YANG HYUN SUK revealed through the official blog in April, saying, “I plan to introduce a new boy group in September. The number of members is five.” As this will be YG’s first boy group in six years since TREASURE debuted in August 2020, expectations are high, but YG is not rushing. Revealing a completed team at a completed timing is the grammar YG has upheld for decades. Choosing an elite five-member lineup, unlike TREASURE’s large-member system, is also in the same context. It is a strategy of maximizing each individual’s level of completion before revealing them all at once.

SM is taking the completely opposite route. Through its ‘SM NEXT 3.0’ strategy announcement in January, SM officially stated, “One boy group is scheduled to debut this year, and members of the male trainee team SMTR25 may also be included.” SMTR25 is a publicly revealed trainee team made up of 15 members, and it has steadily created points of contact with fans through the reality variety show ‘Reply High School.’ Its first fan meeting, held last month at Olympic Hall in Seoul Olympic Park, saw around 74,000 people access ticket reservations as soon as sales opened, and all seats sold out even before the team’s debut. The final debut member lineup and specific schedule have not yet been revealed, but the fandom has already been firmly built. It is the most complete form of the SM 3.0 strategy, which pre-builds a fandom at the trainee stage before converting it into a debut.

HYBE and Geffen Records are different again. The birth process of SAINT SATINE was revealed from the very beginning through the audition program ‘World Scout: The Final Piece.’ In the final episode, which aired on Japanese OTT platform ABEMA on the 12th, SAKURA, 16, who broke through competition of 14,000 to 1, was selected as the final member, completing the four-member team with EMILY from the U.S., LEXI from Sweden, and SAMARA from Brazil. It is the second global girl group from HYBE-Geffen Records, which produced KATSEYE through the preceding audition program ‘The Debut: Dream Academy.’ Even before debut, fans watched the entire audition process and built emotional connections with each member. This means a global fandom had already formed before the debut stage even opened.

The three methods are different, but they have one thing in common. All three are creating structures that secure fans even before debut. YG preempts the market through a thorough veil and the accumulation of anticipation, HYBE through the public release of the audition process, and SM through variety shows and fan meetings, each in its own way. A structure where fans emerge before the music is even heard is now the standard of the K-pop rookie market.

Of course, a pre-debut fandom does not guarantee post-debut success. It is still unknown whether the heat of SMTR25’s fan meeting will fully carry over to the debut team, whether SAINT SATINE can truly build a global fandom that follows in KATSEYE’s footsteps, or whether YG’s veil strategy will remain effective after a six-year gap. In the end, fandom must be proven through music and performances. The moment the three teams take the stage in the second half of the year, the real game will begin.