Pledis Entertainment, home to K-pop group SEVENTEEN, has announced the upcoming debut of a brand-new boyband in early-January 2024.
READ MORE: SEVENTEEN – ‘Seventeenth Heaven’ review: an exuberant, celebratory festival
South Korean media outlet JTBC reported on November 7 that Pledis Entertainment is planning to debut their first boyband in nine years in early January 2024. The report claimed that the group will consist of five to six members, including some who are not native Korean.
Shortly after speculations surfaced, the company confirmed the news in an official statement to SPOTV News. “It is true that we are gearing up for the debut of a new Pledis boy group in the first quarter of 2024,” the company said, as translated by Soompi.
“Additional details regarding their debut are yet to be determined,” Pledis Entertainment added. “We will provide further information later and we ask for your continued interest.”
The upcoming boyband will mark the first time Pledis Entertainment has launched a new K-pop act since 2016, when they debuted the short-lived girl group PRISTIN. It’ll also be their first new all-male group since SEVENTEEN, who debuted in May 2015. The company is also home to fromis_9, who signed with the label in 2021 after leaving Off The Record.
In related news, SEVENTEEN recently released their 11th mini-album ‘Seventeenth Heaven’ last month on October 23, led by title track ‘God of Music’. Hours prior to the official release, album distributor YG Plus announced that the album had sold 5,206,718 units in pre-orders, making it the most pre-ordered record in K-pop history.
The previous record was set by Stray Kids earlier this year with the release of their studio album ‘5-Star’, which sold 5.13million copies in pre-orders. Notably, that album had broken a record that held by SEVENTEEN’s April mini-album ‘FML’.
In a live broadcast shortly after the release of ‘Seventeenth Heaven’, member Mingyu addressed fan concerns regarding line distribution on ‘God of Music’. “I’m satisfied,” he said of his lines on the song. “Because there are 13 members [in the group], there are certain albums and certain songs where I get more parts or other members get more parts. But that’s not important, to be honest.”
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