by New idol groups that will shine in 2022 are pouring in. Hive, the agency of the group BTS, and large agencies such as SM, YG, and JYP Entertainment are waiting for new groups to sortie.
The opening ceremony was held by Starship Entertainment, which produced SISTAR, MONSTA X, and Cosmic Girls. The main character is the girl group IVE, which officially debuted on the 1st. IZ*ONE’s Eugene and Wonyoung, formed through the Mnet ‘Produce 101’ series, are leading the team with careers. There was a reason for Ive’s confidence in raising the title of a ‘complete group.’ Its debut album ‘ELEVEN’ sold more than 150,000 copies in the Initial Chodong, recording the highest Initial Chodong sales among all-girl groups. In addition, within two weeks of their debut, they won 5 awards on music shows with their splendid performances and are also doing well in domestic music charts and music charts in Japan and China.
JYP also joined. The six-member boy band, Xdinary Heroes, officially debuted on the 6th with the digital single ‘Happy Death Day. This is the first band released by JYP in 6 years after DAY6. The team achieved 12th place on the US Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart with ‘Happy Death Day’ within eight days of their debut.
A new JYP girl group that continues the genealogy of Wonder Girls, Miss A, Twice and ITZY will also be born in February next year. Genie, Jiu, Gyujin, Seohyun, BAE, Haewon, and Lily are a 7-member girl group. Although the group name has not been decided yet, the limited-edition debut single ‘Blind Package’ sold in July has exceeded 60,000 pre-orders. It has proven the interest of global fans.
Hive, which had been relatively weak in the girl group market, plans to fill the void created by the girlfriend’s breakup with three groups. First, a girl group debut is scheduled that includes Miyawaki Sakura and Kim Chae-won, who worked as IZone in Source Music, a label affiliated with Hive, and Heo Yun-jin, a former Producer 48 member. Min Hee-jin, who was in charge of branding for Girls’ Generation, SHINee, and EXO, also established an independent label ADOR to introduce a new girl group. The so-called ‘Min Hee-jin girl group’ plans a ‘Min Hee-jin girl group’ centered on the members selected through the ‘Plus Global Audition’ in 2019. I am discovering new girl groups.
YG is also expected to launch a girl group in six years since Black Pink for the first time. There is an opinion that the team name will be ‘Baby Monsters,’ a trademark registered by YG at the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Although it is a teen girl group composed of members aged 15 to 16 on average, they are known to have received YG-style high-intensity training for an average of 4 to 5 years.
SM is preparing a Hollywood team to target the American market with a new variation of NCT. NCT Hollywood plans to work in partnership with the American production company MGM. Members are selected through auditions, of which 21 participants undergo training at SM headquarters in Seoul. Those who are finally selected through the training will be active in the United States as NCT Hollywood members. Previously, JYP successfully led Niju’s activities in Japan like a local project, so much attention was paid to SM’s NCT Hollywood.
Cube Entertainment is also releasing a new boy group. It’s been six years since the Pentagon. Although specific members and team names are not yet known, it is drawing attention from the music industry as it is an agency that has produced 4minute, BEAST, BTOB, and (G)I-DLE.
Kep1er, born through Mnet’s ‘Girls Planet,’ which can be said to be one’s junior, also starts full-fledged activities. It is a multinational group consisting of nine members from three countries, Korea, China, and Japan. Next year, they will officially debut on January 3 with their debut album ‘FIRST IMPACT.’
Interpark Music Plus will release the 7-member boy group TRENDZ on January 5 next year. Before the team name was confirmed, they made a mark by showing cover videos and various vlogs of BTS and NCT on the YouTube channel under the name Interboyz. Recently, the profile of all members of Habit, Leon, Yunwoo, Korea, Rael, Eunil, and Yechan was released through the SNS channel, officially announcing the start of Trend magazine.
