Countdown to the Debut of Hive's American Girl Group... "Transplanting the Legacy of K-pop to the USA"

The birth of a girl group produced by HYBE in the United States has entered its final countdown. On the 28th (local time), HYBE and Universal Music Group (UMG) held a global press conference for the global girl group audition project ‘The Debut: Dream Academy’ at the IGA Studio in California, USA, announcing that the full-scale audition competition would begin from that day. The project’s name carries the meaning that young people from around the world, sharing the same dream of becoming musicians, will challenge themselves together toward the goal of debuting.

From the 28th (local time), 20 trainees will compete for the final debut over 12 weeks (Photo by HYBE)

원본보기 아이콘

The press conference was broadcast live on video to the global media, attended by HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and Geffen Records Chairman John Janick, among others. Geffen Records is a label under UMG and a joint venture partner cooperating on the project with HYBE. It is unusual for Chairman Bang to appear directly at the press conference. Typically, general briefings such as IR (Investor Relations) meetings are conducted by CEO Park Ji-won. This shows how much special attention is being paid to this project. In fact, Chairman Bang has been leading the project on-site in the U.S., traveling back and forth for nearly two years.

Chairman Bang said, “For a long time, I wanted to nurture talents from various countries and create a global group in the K-pop style,” introducing Geffen Records as “the optimal partner with global capabilities for this purpose.” Chairman John Janick also said, “Supporting artists to develop and perform at their best is a common success factor for both HYBE and us,” adding, “I am excited to create the best global girl group together with HYBE.” Until now, only the fact that this project was underway had been known, and it had been shrouded in secrecy.

Over the two years of auditions, 120,000 people from around the world applied, and 20 participants remain in the final selection process. The competition ratio is 6000 to 1. They will compete for 12 weeks aiming for the final debut. Content showing three missions, evaluations, and elimination processes, as well as the ‘Live Finale’ selecting the final debut team, will be released through YouTube, Japan’s ABEMA, and Weverse. In particular, a documentary series covering the entire audition process is scheduled to air on Netflix next year. The final debut will be announced on November 18.

Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE (left), and John Janick, Chairman of Geffen Records (Photo by HYBE)

원본보기 아이콘

The background for pushing this project is Chairman Bang’s belief that not only K-pop itself but the K-pop production system must be globalized. The new goal is to discover local talents through the K-pop production system and achieve success. Chairman Bang said, “For K-pop to truly become the mainstream of the world, it must become ‘just pop’ without the K.” JYP is also conducting a project to select local American girl group members. The audition process is currently being introduced on YouTube, and the final members will be revealed soon.

The reason entertainment companies have started ‘local production’ in the U.S. is due to the market size and potential. The U.S. is the world’s largest music market, with sales reaching $26.3 billion (about 33 trillion KRW) last year. Also, since Fifth Harmony ceased activities in 2018, the lineage of North American girl groups has effectively been broken. Analysts say this is why both companies are focusing on girl groups. Lee Ki-hoon, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, “If successful, the maximum expected revenue per group is about 500 billion to 700 billion KRW, with operating profit around 50 billion KRW.”

HYBE plans to mobilize all resources for the success of this project. HYBE America, led by Scooter Braun, will play a key role in the project. They also plan to maximize the use of human and material networks accumulated through the global activities of their artists, including BTS. HYBE stated, “This project, which applies the K-pop production system from the rookie discovery stage for the first time in the U.S., the headquarters of the global music market, will be a monumental attempt not only in K-pop but also in the history of American and global pop,” adding, “It will be an opportunity to fully transplant the 30-year legacy of K-pop to the U.S.”

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.