Iconic K-Pop Group Missing From SM Entertainment's "30th Anniversary Brand Film"

Celebrating 30 years in business, SM Entertainment released a “brand film” on its SMTOWN YouTube channel.

52491f680e5fffe47df4679ae65079fa386fa302 — SM Entertainment | *Insight*

Honoring the artists who have debuted under the 1995-founded K-Pop powerhouse, from H.O.T. through RIIZE, the video left fans emotional, reminiscing through the eras.

30 years together. May this voice, this movement, this culture last forever. SM Entertainment is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Thank you to all the fans and artists who have been with us in every moment of this 30-year journey. And to everyone’s invaluable support and love, SM was able to create a new culture and play a leading role in K-POP. We look forward to the dreams and stories we will continue to write together and express our sincere gratitude to all.

— SM Entertainment

Some fans, though, noticed that the video was not as all-inclusive as it could have been. An online post pointed out the “missing groups,” like M.I.L.K., Black Beat, ISAK N JIYEON, and Zhang Liyin, from the brand film…

sePeqd — Black Beat | *SM Entertainment*

…with 天上智喜 The Grace, in particular, raising a lot of questions.

The four-membered girl group was produced and debuted in 2005 as the “female version of TVXQ.” Their 2007 album track “One More Time, OK?” was an unprecedented concept in early K-Pop—and it was received well, becoming 天上智喜 The Grace’s one and only track to win #1 on a music show.

Given how popular the group, and member Stephanie was at the time for her dancing skills, fans asked, “Where’s 天上智喜 The Grace?”

Screenshot 2024-10-22 at 4.38.45 PM — | *theqoo*

“Shouldn’t 天上智喜 The Grace have gotten a spot in this video…? If I remember correctly, the group promoted for a good while.”
“Even before debuting as 天上智喜 The Grace, Dana was a soloist and Lina was a part of ISAK N JIYEON. Sunday even promoted in Japan. This is not fair.”
“天上智喜 The Grace was active for quite a while. This is doing them so dirty… The members even had solo and unit promotions, and activities in Japan, too.”
“This is not fair to 天上智喜 The Grace. And aren’t Black Beat members now working at SM Entertainment?”
“The video does seem to focus on the most successful groups. 天上智喜 The Grace might have been active for a long time, but the group doesn’t necessarily have any mega-hits or memorable members.”

On the other hand, some fans agreed with SM Entertainment’s decision to not include the mentioned groups.

Screenshot 2024-10-22 at 4.37.19 PM — | *theqoo*

“I think groups that had smaller fan bases were excluded.”
“If they were going to highlight the artists, they should have highlighted every single one.”
“The video is missing J-MIN, too. She’s still signed with SM Entertainment, in fact.”
“I don’t know, I kind of get why they weren’t included.”
“Sure, it would have been nice to include 天上智喜 The Grace. But I also understand why they weren’t included.”
“天上智喜 The Grace should’ve been in this.”

Watch the brand film here: