HYBE vs SM vs JYP vs YG, Big 4 of the K-pop Industry’s Year-End Throne Battle

The Big 4 of K-pop are preparing for a year-end showdown

Artists under HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are all making comebacks simultaneously, entering a fierce battle as 2023 approaches its end.

HYBE: Will they prove their success DNA in boy groups?

HYBE has dominated the autumn market with BTS Jungkook’s solo album and SEVENTEEN’s comeback.

Jungkook received the Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for his song “Seven,” which sold over 1 million units in the US. He also achieved success by winning Best Song and Best K-pop categories at the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards.

His first solo album, “Golden,” released on November 3rd, became a double million-seller on Hanteo within 5 hours of release. He continues to enjoy immense popularity as a soloist, setting new streaming records for K-pop solo artists on Spotify.

SEVENTEEN’s 11th mini-album, “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN,” set a new K-pop record with first-week sales of 5.09 million copies and debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200, the main album chart. Riding this momentum, HYBE is introducing new boy groups in succession.

First, &TEAM is releasing their first full-length album, “First Howling: Now,” on November 15th. &TEAM has demonstrated a strong identity by actively performing in Korea and Japan.

ENHYPEN is releasing their 5th mini-album, “Orange Blood,” on November 17th. ENHYPEN’s “Bite Me,” released in May, accumulated over 134 million streams on Spotify, securing the title of the K-pop boy group with the most streams this year.

SM: Leveraging the Power of Girl Groups to Showcase Planning Expertise

SM is releasing aespa’s new mini album on November 10th and Red Velvet’s new full album on November 13th. It is unusual for SM to make comebacks with two girl groups around the same time. This move is seen as a testament to the efficiency of SM’s multi-label system, which they adopted after the launch of SM 3.0.

What’s drawing the most attention is the concepts of aespa and Red Velvet. aespa’s 4th mini-album “Drama” strengthens their warrior image based on the “metaverse” worldview. The title track, “Drama,” is a hip-hop dance song with a drum source and sleek synths, featuring confident and bold lyrics, emphasizing that all stories start from them.

Red Velvet, the “concept queen,” is releasing their 3rd full album, “Chill Kill,” on November 13th, adding a horror touch to their mysterious world. With strong vocals and a variety of genres, the album showcases the essence of “Velvet music.”

SM 걸그룹 두 팀이 사흘 만에 컴백하는데, 에스파는 사이버펑크 퓨처리즘 콘셉트를 수용하고, 레드벨벳은 클래식하면서도 신비로운 느낌을 발산해 SM의 파격적인 기획력을 엿볼 수 있다.

JYP의 글로벌 전략

JYP에서는스트레이 키즈가 선두를 달리고 있습니다. 스트레이 키즈는 새 앨범 ‘Rock-Star’의 타이틀곡으로 ‘LALALALA’를 선곡해 에너제틱한 비트와 빠른 템포로 활기찬 연말 분위기를 자아냈다.

스트레이 키즈는 4세대 보이그룹 최초로 일본 돔 투어를 전석 매진시키며 성공적으로 마무리하며 ‘오디너리(Oddinary)’, ‘맥시던트(Maxident)’, ‘5-Star’로 3연속 빌보드 200 1위를 달성하며 ‘5-Star’로 꼽힌다. 전 세계적으로 가장 핫한 K팝 보이그룹. 그들의 다가오는 컴백은 그들의 경력을 새로운 차원으로 끌어올릴 것을 약속합니다.

JYP의 K팝 현지화 전략의 일환으로 일본 걸그룹 NiziU가 활발한 국내 활동을 펼치고 있으며, 오는 7월 글로벌 걸그룹 론칭 프로젝트 ‘A2K’의 데뷔를 앞두고 있다.

YG: 블랙핑크가 남긴 공백을 메울 것인가?

오랫동안 수수께끼에 싸여 있던 신인 걸그룹 YG가 드디어 론칭합니다BABYMONSTER. 지난달 YG는 베이비몬스터의 11월 데뷔를 발표했다. 베이비몬스터의 데뷔를 위해 YG 사내 프로듀서들은 해외 유명 작곡가들과 수차례 협업해 강렬한 분위기의 완성도 높은 곡들을 데뷔곡으로 선정했다.