K-Media Discuss Whether HYBE’s First Girl Group Survival Program Will Create A New Sensation

Who’s excited for the new show?
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Danielle Song
Danielle Song

With HYBE LABELS launching a survival program for the debut of a new girl group, attention is focused on whether this girl group will be able to succeed among current girl groups. HYBE, which dominated the fourth generation girl group market with the success of NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM, many are curious as to whether they will once again solidify its position as the “K-Pop dinosaur” by putting the new girl group in the ranks of success.

They recently announced the launch of R U Next? a survival program for a new girl group. The final debut group selected through the program will work as a next-generation girl group of HYBE and BELIFT LAB.

For this show, 22 trainees will be participating from HYBE. They will receive training within HYBE’s curriculum and go through seven missions to determine the final debut members. Although the final number of debutants or the evaluation method has not yet been disclosed, the fact that HYBE’s new girl group will debut through an open survival show is raising expectations from global K-Pop fans.

In particular, as HYBE and its affiliate label, BELIFT LAB, have made significant achievements in the global music market through ENHYPEN, which was previously selected through Mnet’s I-LAND, a boy group debut survival show, fans are curious as to whether the new girl group will be able to follow the footsteps of ENHYPEN.

The show also released profile videos and photos of the 22 contestants before its first broadcast and had K-Pop fans begin building their own fandoms by discovering the past careers and photos of the participating trainees. As the fate of an open survival program ultimately depends on the topicality and popularity of the contestants, the show is on a successful start.

During the show’s press conference, Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung, the MC, compared the show’s contestants to “wild horses” and stated, “It was nice to see the honest interactions of loving and encouraging one another and even being jealous of each other. The public’s mixed evaluation can save or kill a character’s personality, but the original appearance of someone cannot be hidden.”

In the past, due to the limitations of fandoms, girl-group survival programs were less influential and topical than boy-group programs, but with the recent growth of domestic and international fandoms centered on fourth-generation girl groups, such concerns have been reduced. This is why expectations are gathering for another top-level rookie group to be born following ENHYPEN.

The show took the first step towards selecting members through the first broadcast aired on June 30. Many are interested to see whether HYBE, which has succeeded in the K-Pop market, will achieve satisfactory results with the new girl group survival and successfully launch a new girl group.

Source: hankook ilbo
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