JYP Entertainment, Republic Records to launch first K-pop-style North American girl group

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JYP Entertainment, Republic Records to launch first K-pop-style North American girl group

Logo of JYP Entertainment [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]

Logo of JYP Entertainment [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]

 
JYP Entertainment and Republic Records will be launching the world’s first North American girl group created through the K-pop system, according to a joint statement by the two labels on Monday.
 
“We are going to find, identify and curate talent from America but by applying the JYP system in developing the supergroup, which is something we’ve never seen before,” said Republic Records’ CEO Monte Lipman in a video released on the official YouTube channels of the two companies on Monday.
 
The “K-pop system,” explained by founder and chairman of JYP Park Jin-young, is much like “a training system like that of an Olympic athlete that talented artists go through.”
 
In search of members for the upcoming global group, the labels will be holding the first round of auditions in North America, called America2Korea or A2K, in September.
 
A2K will be held across five cities in the United States: Atlanta on Sept. 10, Chicago on Sept. 14, New York on Sept. 17 and 18, Dallas on Sept. 20 and Los Angeles on Sept. 23 to 25.
 
Park will be sitting in on all of the auditions.  
 
Those who pass the first round of auditions will be invited to Los Angeles for the second round, in which participants will be narrowed down to the semi-finalists. Those who pass will train at JYP Entertainment in Korea and again be narrowed down to the final members. The group will debut in the United States, and all its music will be released under JYP Entertainment and Republic Records.
 
“A2K is the biggest project ever for me and for JYP Entertainment,” said Park.  
 
JYP Entertainment and Republic Records have worked together several times over the past few years.
 
In February, JYP Entertainment signed an expanded partnership with Republic Records to extend JYP’s K-pop groups ITZY and Stray Kids’ activities in the United States. The two companies initially signed a strategic partnership in 2020 that was focused on girl group Twice’s advance in the U.S. music industry.
 
In March, JYP Entertainment established JYP USA. It had mentioned previously that the branch will be responsible for launching JYP Entertainment's singers in the region as well as carrying out their promotional activities.
 
JYP is one of the four K-pop powerhouses in Korea, the others being SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and HYBE. Founded in 1997, the agency currently represents girl groups ITZY and Twice and boy bands Stray Kids and 2PM.
 
Republic Records is an American record label under Universal Music Group, the largest label in North America. It was founded in 1995. Republic Records houses an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning artists such as Ariana Grande, Bastille, Billy Porter, Post Malone, Jessie J and Taylor Swift.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
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