This year is shaping up to be an incredible one for K-pop. Many big record labels have indicated that new bands would be released soon. BigHit Music, which is home to BTS and TXT, has already lined up a new roster for its next big boy band, while YG Entertainment is said to be working on its first female group since Blackpink debuted in 2016. That’s not all; SM Entertainment is also planning to launch a new NCT sub-unit in the US this year.
Because keeping up with everything that’s coming may be difficult, here are 6 K-pop groups debuting in 2022.
K-Pop Groups Debuting in 2022
Girls On Top
Girls On Top will gather with some of SM Entertainment’s most spectacular female singers to form a K-pop supergroup that will include a variety of members from the agency’s roster. The first sub-unit, GOT The Beat, debuted on January 1 with members BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon of Girls’ Generation, Seulgi and Wendy of Red Velvet, and Winter and Karina of aespa. The group finally released their single Step Back on streaming platforms on January 3 after playing it at SM Entertainment’s New Year’s Eve performance, SMTOWN LIVE 2022: SMCU EXPRESS@KWANGYA.
Kep1er
Kep1er is a Korean, Chinese, and Japanese multinational group with nine members. They debuted on January 3, 2022, with their EP First Impact, which includes their first single Wa Da Da, after being put together on the Mnet competition programme Girls Planet 999, which aired its conclusion in October 2021. Kep1er, which is named after the German scientist Johannes Kepler, consists of Yujin, Mashiro, Xiaoting, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Youngeun, and Yeseo.
H1-Key
Yel, Seoi, Riina, and Sitala make up H1-KEY, a four-member group that debuted on January 5 with their first single, Athletic Girl. Grandline Group, a subsidiary of the record company Grandline Entertainment, created them as the first K-pop artist.
NCT Hollywood
This year, SM Entertainment will launch NCT Hollywood, a new division of NCT centred in the United States. Its line-up will be chosen via the audition programme K-Pop Goes Hollywood, in which 21 eligible members will compete for a position in the group. Existing members of NCT will coach the contestants, according to a news statement from the agency. The show’s launch date, however, has yet to be announced.
Trainee A
BigHit Music is expected to introduce a new boy group in the second or third quarter of 2022, according to AllKPop. They’re currently known as Trainee A, and their current lineup consists of members Inhyuk, Jihoon, Leo, James, Sangwon, and JJ.
JYPn
JYPn, JYP Entertainment’s newest female group, will consist of seven members: Kyujin, Jiwoo, BAE, Jinni, Sullyoon, Haewon, and Lily. On December 9, the agency issued a teaser for JYPn, which depicted the females strolling with their backs to the camera. The screen stated, “COMING SOON.” They’ll make their debut in 2022, though no exact date has been established yet.
Also Read: Top 5 K-pop comeback in January 2022