HYBE: Expectations vs Reality

i think better. They will hate them more if it’s a carbon copy of BTS. I’m happy that Enhypen is being real instead of trying to force themselves to be goofy all the time. I honestly dont get the obsession with variety shows. I want them to be more mysterious or somehow elusive than act like a comediane . 😂

For Reality, you didn't put Stage Presence? Personally I feel like Le Sserafim is probably going to end up being known for it at least. I don't follow TXT/Enhypen so I can't speak for them but that's not one of their strong points too?

im not sure about the boy group, but Le Sserafim is top tier when comes to performing and stage presence. So maybe that's their strong point?

For the 4th gen GG, LSRF -> NMIXX -> Kep1er -> IVE in term of stage presence.

Quote from LovenRose

• Awkward on variety shows? (Enhypen were soo awkward when starting out and I remember similar critic of TXT)

Every time I hear this take I imagine that those people are following a newly debuted group for the first time. They're rookies, they're not used to the camera yet and there is also that feeling of nervousness to do well. After some experience they get used to it. It's completely normal.

So your expections is literally Trainee A, They are debuting in Q4 or Q1 2023

Idk about hybe but i just wanna say that lesserafim are great performers to watch; they have a combination of both charisma and charms as well as visuals and skills, which makes their performances very enjoyable and visually appealing, and honestly you can’t ask for much more than that

No company wants to debut same types of groups or have one type of group. It makes sense to create groups different from each other to avoid competition between your groups. Sm is known for vocals but nct is more rap focused than exo. Same with aespa compared to rv their concept, dance and singing style do not overlap with rv. Hybe didn't want to create another bts style group that will anger armys against the new group. They went for a very different image. Trainee a is more in bts style that is after 2 boy groups debut and bts being nearly 10 year old. Similar we can see treasure is different to winner. While ikon was different from winner even though both are yg groups. Blackpink and 2ne1 may be similar but by the time blackpink debut happened, 2ne1 was long inactive so there was no overlap or competitoon between them.

Quote from LovenRose

Not really mine, I just listed stuff I remember other people saying and theorizing over

But I suppose Trainee A is closer to what people were expecting. Have't they been accused of copying BTS already

I don't think they are copy but they have similarities when it comes to strong stage presence, involvement with music production etc.

Quote from Ves

I think what hasn't been considered is the fact that Hybe considers itself a parent company and each of those groups that you are using to define "Hybe" are actually all under different labels with the exception of TXT. We have yet to see the amount of autonomy each really holds since all of those labels came under Hybe relatively recently and all the groups themselves are young. Among those listed, TXT is the most developed and they are also only group under the same actual label as BTS.

Just points to account for. The dynamic is probably going to be different than a company who is just one label.

Le Sserafim was touted and marketed to be a HYBE x Soumu Group from the start. Enhypen is also in a similar boat of being marketed as a HYBE x CJ ENM Group. They also have the HYBE Webtoons. And also it's important to note that Bang PD was involved directly with their creation and debut.

I'd say that it's safe put them under the definition of a "HYBE Group" (The most important part is the HYBE x collaboration title, signifying that HYBE has direct influence with them instead of just being under a HYBE sublabel)

There's definitely a lot of overlaps with the group.

I think Hybe will focus on rapping if there is a strong rapper in the group. We'll probably see it with TraineeA. As for Lesserafim, Enha and TXT they don't really have a proper rapper. And I personally prefer that they don't force a rap in the song when it's not necessary. They do have pretty weak vocals

It's a bit early to tell, but Lesserafim seem like they could be known for their stage performances and variety. Maybe it's because I do like most of their groups and am biased, but I feel like Hybe selects really personable idols. They're easy to watch and relate to.

They all have great choreographies and dancing. They also follow a similar pattern with their content creation. Group twitter account, making of films and company created variety shows, which BTS really popularised.

Quote from LovenRose

I've been into kpop for like six years, followed multiple rookie groups, and Enhypen was one of the most awkward ones I've seen, especially considering they're from a bigger agency who usually give their artists variety show training. Normally being from a survival show also mean that the group will be better at variety but doesn't seem to be the case with Enhypen. They've improved a lot but for example Treasure, Skz and TBZ are all better based on what I've seen

I don't think that having survival show experience translates into having variety skills since in a survival you're in an environment full of tension and competition and in variety shows you need to be comedic and witty to entertain the audience. And obviously, the fact that most members weren't acquainted with each other and lived with each other for a few months was the cause of the awkwardness in their early stage as a group. They're pretty okay now, I love their dry humour and sarcastic remarks.

Quote from Ves

Once again, I am only pointing out that this structure is different from your traditional Big 3 and still things we should call out since we are trying to compare it to what we've come to expect from other Big 3s. It's a fact - both Hybe being a parent company with labels under them and also that it's never safe to say "it's safe to say".

Fair enough. I do have a feeling we'll see soon enough with how they incorporate and cement the "HYBE" brand name though once all of the groups are released in the next two years (and how HYBE groups are differentiated from HYBE sublabel groups).

Quote from LovenRose

*Me thinking of all Jay's embarrassing moments* yeah... "mysterious and elusive" not the two words I'd use

Well, I was thinking of Heeseung Ig not Jay. I mean his absence in sns & calling out fans in vlives when they are crossing the line. He was not even laughing when someone said Jay is funny by doing something & Jay doesnt like it so Heeseung in his serious face said it’s not. He is kinda intimidating. I think it’s cool & hot when they are like that than be a comediane or always succumb to fan service.

Quote from Ves

There are no groups directly under Hybe. They are all under sublabels. Hybe is the parent company of these labels. Yes, even BTS. They are under Big Hit which was divided out as the label from Hybe after the rebranding.

All the sub labels are called Hybe labels - so yes, the labels are under Hybe and thus their groups - I was not disputing that - but it's not directly under and this should be accounted for as it is not your traditional single label like other big 3's. To that end, the Hybe labels have partnerships that don't affect the other sub labels like Enhypen is under Belift, but co managed by CJ E&M/Mnet.

I do have to disagree with this a bit. In my mind, I have to put this question out: What would be the point of designating Le Sserafim as a collaboration group (HYBE x Soumu), if not to indicate that HYBE is directly responsible for their management alongside their sub label, Source Music? And mind you that this is not just a designation by news articles. It's officially a collaboration group as written on the Source official website:

SOURCE MUSIC | LE SSERAFIM

르세라핌 공식 홈페이지 - The Official Web site for LE SSERAFIM

sourcemusic.com

I really do think a pattern is already starting to develop regarding the HYBE branding and it's management differences from the other large companies like SM with their sublabels. And this pattern will be even more apparent as the rest of the groups debut.

They are not awkward w/ each other. I dont understand why people say that. Jay & Heeseung know each other for more than 6yrs now, SH i think more than 4yrs w/ Jay & HS, and more than 3 yrs w/ JW. 4 members knw eo before i-land though JW is not closed yet with HS, Jay and SH. But the 3 are pretty tight . SH said he knows HS longer than anyone thinks. JW & HS mentioned they had lunched together during their trainee days. Heeseung is a BH staff in charge of training of new trainees including assessing their salary & skills ( after TxT was formed) before joining iland hence he is quite popular w/ other trainees . Jake , Niki & Sunoo immediately connect w/ the rest only after a few months they debut. So they are not awkward w/ eo but I think they were not comfortable yet in doing silly things in front of the camera & 5 of them are introverts. They dont do much fan service & they dont even like it when someone ask them to kiss each other. And just bec they dont do much gay fan service it doesnt mean they are not funny. I actually like their humor & im glad they dont give in much to fan service and just being real esp Heeseung & Jay. Their own variety show esp the mafia episode is so funny & u can feel their closeness .

Quote from nevermore

I don't think that having survival show experience translates into having variety skills since in a survival you're in an environment full of tension and competition and in variety shows you need to be comedic and witty to entertain the audience. And obviously, the fact that most members weren't acquainted with each other and lived with each other for a few months was the cause of the awkwardness in their early stage as a group. They're pretty okay now, I love their dry humour and sarcastic remarks.

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I agree with Ves that you cannot lump all Hybe groups when they’re sublabels and just equal them to bighit groups. The only bighit groups rn are TXT and BTS hence why they’re the ones one bighit family pictures (idk if enhypen is included, might be or not). This said yeah bighit totally went another route with TXT, people expected them to have a BTS 2.0 and the only thing they took from BTS was having a hyyh storyline/fandom interaction.

I haven't watched iland or enha's previous content. But I don't really find their new material awkward. They do have a more laid back style compared to other groups. More subdued, very dry humour sometimes, and little fanservice. Personally I like that. It helps their variety seem more authentic. (and this isn't a diss at any other groups, in case someone thinks so).

Quote from Ves

Ok, I'm not sure what you are getting but reading in between the lines I think you mean that you believe the subsidiaries are really going to become just shill labels with more debuts. Right or wrong, I'm not here for the theories on that sort of thing. I just present the facts as they stand right now. Some people love this though - have fun!

Hmm? I apologize if there's a misunderstanding. I was merely directly responding to your last message saying that "There are no groups directly under HYBE". In Le Sserafim's case, yes they are under Source Music as a sub label. But in my mind, the fact that they are officially labeled as a HYBE x Source collaboration group instead of merely a Source group is indication that that they are co-managed by HYBE and, as such, should be regarded as a group that is also directly under HYBE. I was just merely trying to see your thoughts on that perspective. Sorry if anything sounded offensive!

(and I'm not exactly sure what a shill company is. Basically I agree with you and think that all of the sub labels are their own entities and we have yet to see how much full autonomy the younger sub labels will hold. I feel like there will be groups that are only managed by the individual labels and will be treated as such. But I feel like there will ALSO be groups labeled as "Hybe x Label" collaboration groups, indicating that they are co-managed by the parent HYBE company and will be fundamentally different in that regard )