After Big Hit Entertainment rebranded into HYBE in 2021, the entertainment-lifestyle giant has shared annual updates with the public to share the company’s upcoming path and more into the philosophies guiding them for the next 12 months.
At the 2022 HYBE Briefing With the Community, several top music executives across the company and label partners including founder Bang Si-Hyuk, HYBE CEO Jiwon Park, SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, Big Machine Label Group President & CEO Scott Borchetta, HYBE Labels America VP Daniel Kwon, Interscope Geffen A&M VP of A&R Marketing Charlie Christie and more spoke to where the company was heading. Various HYBE employees, creatives and artists like also shared their experiences in the past year with an emphasis on “coevolution” and learning from one another’s businesses.
“HYBE has to continue creating the best content for fans who are waiting for new releases from their artists,” Bang shared of HYBE’s “ground rule” in quality content before sending a special message to BTS and their fans that “BTS was our starting and driving force and ARMY made all of this possible.”
From BTS to a slew of new artists on their way, HYBE artists are all housed across different labels at the corporation currently consisting of BIGHIT MUSIC, BELIFT LAB, Source Music, PLEDIS Entertainment, KOZ Entertainment, ADOR, HYBE Labels Japan, and HYBE America. With new albums, world tours and debuts on the way, we’ve broken down the big moments on the calendar and what you can expect for the forthcoming months from HYBE.
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December 2: RM Solo Album ‘Indigo’
Image Credit: Courtesy of BIGHIT Less than 24 hours after the HYBE Briefing confirmed RM’s solo album was next up in BTS’ line of solo music, BIGHIT MUSIC announced new details about the forthcoming LP.
The label shared that RM’s forthcoming Indigo album will arrive on Dec. 2. According to a press release, “Indigo recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary. The album will present a different charm of RM with various featured artists.”
The album will be supported by BIGHIT MUSIC as well as Geffen Records and InGrooves.
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December 7: &TEAM Debut
Image Credit: Billboard JAPAN / Photo: ©HYBE LABELS JAPAN HYBE’s first-ever artist based in Japan will come via new boy band &TEAM. The multinational, nine-member team was created from the singing competition &Audition – The Howling that featured guest appearances from HYBE artists (like BTS, Zico, SEVENTEEN and ENHYPEN). At the same time, top executives in the company (including Bang Si-Hyuk and Scooter Braun) acted as special advisors and producers in the show.
HYBE CEO Jiwon Park shared during the Briefing that &TEAM will aim “toward the global stage” while based in Japan.
&TEAM will come via HYBE Labels Japan. The label previewed what’s to come in the band’s “Debut Trailer” in early November.
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December 19: NewJeans Single
Image Credit: Courtesy of HYBE One of HYBE’s breakout new artists in 2022, NewJeans were confirmed to release new music and content in the new year. The girl group quickly followed the news with more information, sharing they’d drop a pre-release buzz single on Dec. 19.
The anticipation for this new song will high after NewJeans topped the charts in Korea with “Attention” while “Hype Boy” became a viral dance trend in addition to a hit single. Both tracks entered the top half of the Billboard Global 200 as well.
NewJeans comes via HYBE Label ADOR and is supported by Geffen Records and InGrooves in the U.S.
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2022/2023: Hwang Minhyun Solo Album
In March, one of HYBE’s longest-running artists NU’EST (who debuted in 2012 under PLEDIS Entertainment, now a part of the HYBE Labels) announced their disbandment with members Baekho and Hwang Minhyun of the boy band staying under the company for solo careers. The Briefing shared that Minhyun is currently preparing an album, which will be his first full-fledged solo project.
The timeline wasn’t explicitly clear, but only shared that it follows fellow former NU’EST member Baekho, who released his debut solo album in October.
In addition to his time in NU’EST, Minhyun was a member of the temporary but extremely popular boy band Wanna One from 2017 through 2018, and has shared solo songs like “Universe.”
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January 2: NewJeans ‘OMG’ EP
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hybe After the new song in December, NewJeans will release their OMG project just after New Year’s Day. Labeled a “single album,” OMG will likely have three new songs or less, given NewJeans’ first EP included four new songs.
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January 2023: TOMORROW X TOGETHER EP
Image Credit: Courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC TOMORROW X TOGETHER will start 2023 hot with a new EP (or “mini-album,” as it was described in the Briefing) for January. According to a recent press release, TXT will “once again excite the fans with alluring lyrics and a tantalizing melody” on their new music. This will be the group’s fifth mini album to date.
This EP will drop via BIGHIT MUSIC and Republic Records to follow up the quintet’s steady climb up the Billboard 200 after the boy band hit a new peak of No. 4 on the albums chart with their Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child in May. Read more about the EP here.
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First Half of 2023: SEVENTEEN Album
Image Credit: Courtesy of PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT SEVENTEEN will drop a new album in the first half of 2023 ,according to the Briefing. The 13-member boy band earned their first Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 this year, with their Face the Sun and Sector 17 albums peaking at Nos. 7 and 4, respectively.
The top-selling act at HYBE behind BTS, Face the Sun surpassed more than two million in global album sales in its first week, which made SEVENTEEN the second artist after BTS to reach such a milestone.
SEVENTEEN is under HYBE Labels’ PLEDIS Entertainment and supported by Geffen Records and InGrooves.
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First Half of 2023: ENHYPEN Comeback
Image Credit: Courtesy of BELIFT LAB After ENHYPEN wraps their “Manifesto” world tour, scheduled through early February 2023, HYBE shared that the boy band will return with new music.
Earlier this year, ENHYPEN scored their first Top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Manifesto: Day 1, which came via HYBE Label BELFIT LAB with Geffen Records and InGrooves support.
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First Half of 2023: fromis_9 Album
The girl group under PLEDIS Entertainment, fromis_9 is confirmed to release a new album in the first half of 2023. This will be the act’s first release as eight members since Jang Gyuri exited the group in July.
Since joining PLEDIS and HYBE, fromis_9 has seen exponential growth in their global album sales and recognition in the K-pop scene. fromis_9 previously reflected with Billboard on their first year under HYBE saying, “We feel very confident now that we’re once again working together with [PLEDIS Entertainment founder] Han Sung Soo, who has been our producer since our debut. We’re also glad that we can introduce our colors variated through diverse genres and concepts.”
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First Half of 2023: New BELIFT Lab Artist
HYBE Labels’ BELIFT LAB is currently only home to ENHYPEN, but the boy band will soon have another artist on its roster. HYBE CEO Park Jiwon shared, “We are accelerating preparations for BELFT LAB’s second artist debut. We’re planning our production to go on-air in the first half of next year.”
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2023: LE SSERAFIM Asia & North America Tour
Image Credit: Courtesy of SOURCE MUSIC Another new breakout act for HYBE in 2022, girl group LE SSERAFIM will tour across Asia and North America soon. The plan makes sense with the group consisting of members who grew up in South Korea, Japan, and the U.S.
LE SSERAFIM also made their debut on the Billboard 200 this year with their sophomore EP ANTIFRAGILE hitting No. 14. The group comes via Source Music with support from Geffen Records and InGrooves.
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Ongoing: BTS Solo Activities
In addition to revealing that RM’s solo album was on its way, HYBE CEO Park Jiwon shared that the seven BTS members would continue focusing on themselves for the time being. “BTS, as previously announced, will concentrate on individual activities for the time being,” Park said of RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. “A variety of solo activities are planned for each member. We ask for your attention and support in BTS’ journey ahead.”
Such activities will likely continue beyond music as the past months have seen Jin signing on as the face of and filming a commercial for ramen brand Jin Ramyun, while RM will host a new Korean variety show launching in December.
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TBD: New PLEDIS Entertainment Boy Band
It’s already been seven years since PLEDIS Entertainment unleashed SEVENTEEN to the world in 2015 and the label is gearing up for another boy band. After PLEDIS struck gold with SEVENTEEN and NU’EST, anticipation is high to see what the label can do with the support of the HYBE Labels system.
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TBD: HYBE x Geffen Records Girl Group
Image Credit: Courtesy of HYBE x Geffen While it wasn’t included in CEO Park’s lookahead announcement, a portion of the Briefing shared insight into the forthcoming girl group being put together by HYBE and Geffen Records. Executives from HYBE America and Geffen Interscope A&M spoke about the project that has yet to set a timeline.
“The contestants are from all over the world,” shared a HYBE Labels America’s Training & Development Team representative of the 100,000-plus contestants that auditioned. “The girls are from dozens of different countries. They have different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, nationalities, and I do feel that every girl has her own unique story.”
“A lot of things that I wish I can share right now,” HYBE Labels America VP Daniel Kwon said. “But in due time we’ll make sure we’re making those announcements thoughtfully at the right moment.”