Upcoming K-pop Super Group To Feature Members of EXO, SHINee, NCT and WayV

Earlier today South Korean label SM Entertainment confirmed the rumors around the debut of a brand new boy group comprising various super star members from its existing groups. Christened SuperM, the group will feature SHINee’s Taemin, EXO’s Baekhyun and Kai, NCT 127’s Taeyong and Mark and NCT’s China-based unit WayV’s Ten and Lucas. The announcement took place early this morning (IST) at Capitol Music Group’s 2019 Capitol Congress event in Los Angeles, which also saw appearances from NCT 127, Katy Perry, Quavo, Niall Horan and more.

Dubbed ‘The Avengers of K-Pop,’ SuperM is the result of a partnership between Capitol Music Group and SM Entertainment and will debut in the United States in October. SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man explained the band will largely focus on building American audiences, but will also promote in South Korea.

In a statement to Forbes, Chris Lee–A&R executive and CEO of Culture Technology Group Asia Europe at SM Entertainment–explained,”We’re maintaining their groups, their solo careers, and on top of this we have this ‘Avengers’ group to pull them together… Just like how the Avengers can have their own successful movies, there is a different kind of energy when they are together as the Avengers. We are now creating that as a point of business. We want to create a synergy between their groups, them as solo acts, and the SuperM group to create a big wave in this K-pop industry.”

Fan reactions to the super group have so far been mixed; while some are looking forward to several of their favorite artists collaborating on a project, others are worried the artists’ original groups and solo careers will be neglected. In addition to #SuperM trending worldwide on Twitter upon the announcement, #SuperGroupDisbandParty trended as well. “We understand what they’re worried about, definitely, and the artists themselves do too,” said Lee. “We’re trying to turn those concerns into excitement. Right now, the artists themselves are sympathizing, but recognize that this is a way to connect with a lot of fans, including K-pop fans in general. We’re trying to satisfy all with well-made content and we’re confident in that.”