Le Sserafim, Seventeen, Enhypen, TXT releases in May for BTS label Hybe

On May 2, new K-pop girl group Le Sserafim arrived on the scene with their first album Fearless. It is the first of several high-profile releases from acts under Hybe and its subsidiaries as the company continues to diversify talent.

Best known as the home of BTS, Hybe went public in October 2020. Since then, the company and related subsidiaries have spent much of the time growing rapidly to ensure the company's longevity.

Le Sserafim, a six-member team whose name is an anagram of "I am fearless", is the first girl group launched under Hybe's auspices since going public, and is managed by subsidiary Source Music, which Hybe acquired in 2019.

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Ahead of their debut with the single, also titled Fearless, there was a lot of anticipation and buzz around Hybe's first girl group, as well as its inclusion of two former members of popular, temporary girl group Iz*One, one of whom, Sakura Miyawaki, is formerly a high-profile member of J-pop girl group AKB48.

Hybe's next release this month is from boy band Tomorrow X Together, also known as TXT.

Active since 2019, TXT is the company's first boy band produced since BTS kicked off their career in 2013, and has rapidly garnered attention around the world.

The upcoming EP, Minisode 2: Thursday's Child, precedes their July tour, Act: Love Sick, which will see them perform in South Korea and cities across the United States.

Seventeen, a 13-member boy band under Hybe subsidiary Pledis Entertainment, will release their fourth album, Face the Sun, on May 27. The upcoming album has reportedly racked up over 1.7 million pre-order sales, and is on track to overtake their other releases.

Along with Korean releases, another Hybe boy band, Enhypen, will release the Japanese versions of previously released singles on May 3.

These upcoming Hybe releases precede an upcoming album from BTS, set to drop on June 10.

May is a busy month in general for K-pop acts, with other high-profile groups such as iKon, Astro, and AB6IX releasing new music, while soloists like Woodz, B.I, and Hyo are also dropping new tunes.

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This article was first published in South China Morning Post.