It’s that point of yr once more! Whereas December is full of year-end countdowns, I like to have a look again at a few of Ok-pop’s greatest companies throughout November. Earlier than studying (particularly for those who’re new to the weblog), it’s useful to know that my grading focuses most closely on music releases and the way comebacks are managed and delivered to followers. Scandals and non-musical elements can actually influence an company’s grade, however the greatest standards will at all times be the music itself. Following SM Leisure, YG Leisure and JYP Leisure‘s evaluation, it’s time to dive into HYBE Company.
As typical, the ideas beneath are my very own and aren’t aware of any insider info. There might be loads of subjective critique.
The Good
The much less instantly an artist was concerned with HYBE, the stronger their 2024 work tended to be. I’m speaking primarily about subsidiaries Pledis and KOZ Leisure, and much more particularly about TWS and BOYNEXTDOOR. These two teams have outlined the yr for me, releasing nice music that thrives on distinct id and a transparent imaginative and prescient. These two elements are usually not as frequent as you could suppose in Ok-pop in the intervening time, and needs to be celebrated.
TWS had a killer debut yr with regular promotion, wonderful releases and a genuinely huge hit. Plot Twist will go down as one in all 2024’s most iconic tracks – a uncommon feat for a rookie boy group. In the meantime, BOYNEXTDOOR have continued to develop their very own quirky catalog. They’re genuinely probably the most idiosyncratic idol teams working in the present day and I see this deal with individuality paying off in the long term. Their mentor and agency-head Zico additionally launched a strong single this yr, managing to get BLACKPINK’s Jennie on the observe with him.
Talking of subsidiary companies, there’s little question that Seventeen had a powerful yr. I haven’t been a fan of most of their 2024 music, however they’re legitimately the most important Ok-pop group on the planet proper now, spawning an analogous fever as BTS did earlier than they went on hiatus. It’s nearly intimidating how standard they’re. Pledis Leisure should simply be thrilled. The subsidiary’s solely woman group fromis_9 additionally discovered sudden success with their most up-to-date album. Supersonic has exceeded expectations.
With most of BTS at the moment serving within the army, Huge Hit’s fortunes rested largely on TXT. The group continued to promote effectively in 2024. Neatly, Huge Hit additionally pre-planned hiatus-era tracks from a few of BTS’s members and is now efficiently navigating post-enlistment work with Jin. Thus far, so good… no less than commercially.
Shifting onto BeLift Lab, this subsidiary noticed positive factors in 2024. ENHYPEN at the moment are outselling different teams on HYBE’s roster and have performed a very good job reaching out to international markets. ILLIT was an out-of-the-gate success, with debut observe Magnetic using excessive on the charts all yr lengthy.
HYBE’s different woman teams continued to chug alongside. NewJeans nonetheless loved a ton of success regardless of a raft of behind-the-scenes points and LE SSERAFIM made worldwide positive factors with some high-profile performances overseas. World group Katseye additionally look like doing effectively, paving the best way for a brand new sort of Ok-pop-adjacent profession.
In the meantime, over in Japan boy group &TEAM are shaping as much as be a strong drive. Their gross sales nonetheless lag behind the nation’s greatest male acts, however the music has typically been robust.
On a non-musical degree, HYBE does an incredible job selling its artists. As a fan, it’s good to have a lot materials to freely watch on YouTube. The truth that lots of its artists have their very own weekly present is insane and retains their hype going even between comebacks. You possibly can undoubtedly really feel the funds of a giant company.
The Unhealthy
Whereas a lot of my favourite music of 2024 got here from HYBE artists, the company as a complete was a giant previous mess. As you already know, scandals don’t issue closely into my grades, however it’s unimaginable to disregard the a number of messes HYBE discovered itself on this yr.
Mess one was the NewJeans/Min Hee-jin scandal, which noticed the NewJeans artistic director combating with HYBE in a sprawling energy battle too huge to recount right here. Suffice it to say, this battle may very effectively sideline or fully dissolve one of many trade’s hottest woman teams relying on how issues end up. On the very least, it’s put a stain on many various entities and clearly affected the trajectory of the company. It even pitted HYBE’s artists towards each other, with a transparent NewJeans vs. ILLIT sentiment taking maintain.
Mess two spawned from mess one, involving a leaked inner audit from HYBE’s “Weekly Music Business Report.” This included derogatory feedback about different companies and idols, revealing a toxicity that raised severe considerations concerning the tradition inside HYBE and the company’s energy inside the trade. It wasn’t an excellent look for a corporation that many have accused of working as a monopoly. Above all else, it was merely a gross and cynical peek backstage and made followers query how a lot of HYBE’s success was really natural.
Musically, HYBE was most answerable for the “beige” music development I’ve been complaining about for a lot of the yr. Other than teams like TWS and BOYNEXTDOOR, who’ve particular, distinctive musical views, a lot of the company’s artists launched watered-down, truncated music that was factory-designed to offend nobody. However whenever you search to not offend, you turn into unable to thrill. I by no means would have anticipated Ok-pop to embrace an “easy-listening” expertise, however lots of HYBE’s 2024 singles really feel designed to fill area on a playlist and exist comfortably within the background.
NewJeans and ILLIT launched flat, repetitive music that sadly went on to affect all the Ok-pop trade. TXT and ENHYPEN had been drained of a lot of their musical character, delivering shadows of former glories. Even BTS members fell into an grownup up to date realm far faraway from the visionary work of their previous. In the meantime, LE SSERAFIM sought to copy international tendencies however eliminated most of the idiosyncrasies that make these tendencies so pleasing. Two-minute songs missing a bridge turned normalized. Manufacturing smoothed over vocalists’ particular person quirks. Music credit typically revealed dozens of cooks within the kitchen, making it unimaginable for the music to harness a particular perspective. Even veterans Seventeen, who had an extremely profitable yr, discovered themselves mired in ho-hum materials.
General, it’s tough to grade such a sprawling company. I nearly wish to dole out totally different grades to totally different divisions of the corporate. There are components that may get an “A+” and lots of components that may earn an “F.” When all the pieces’s mixed collectively, it evens out within the center for me.
What I’d prefer to see in 2025:
- No extra beige! Give us music with coloration, chew and distinctive concepts
- Much less mess, extra innovation
- Much less deal with worldwide tendencies
- Some type of decision for NewJeans
- Profitable runs for TWS and BOYNEXTDOOR, my favourite acts from the HYBE roster in the intervening time
Earlier years: 2023 // 2022 // 2021 // 2020 // 2019 // 2018 // 2017