HYBE’s New Label ABD to Debut First Girl Group in the Second Half of 2026

HYBE has established a new label dedicated to girl groups named ABD. The acronym ABD stands for “A Bold Dream,” reflecting a creative philosophy that aims to expand the boundaries of K-pop by pursuing unconventional, flexible, and playful ideas that go beyond norms while focusing on the essential joy of music. HYBE plans to debut its first girl group in the second half of 2026.

No Ji-won, former art planning director at Pledis Entertainment, serves as the representative of ABD, guiding the label’s management and strategic direction. Drawing on her experience at Pledis Entertainment and MORE VISION, she will be responsible for the overall management and strategy of the label. Creative oversight across music, concepts, and performances is led by Han Sung-soo of Master Professional, who has worked on projects such as SEVENTEEN, TWS, IZ*ONE, and After School.

The establishment of ABD is part of HYBE’s multi-label strategy. HYBE currently operates multiple labels including Big Hit Music (BTS, Tomorrow X Together, Hwang Minhyun, CORTIS), BELIFT LAB (ENHYPEN, ILLIT, EVAN), SOURCE Music (LE SSERAFIM), Pledis Entertainment (SEVENTEEN and their sub-units, Dosie, Jeewon, Rie, Minhyun, Zico, Comeback), KOZ Entertainment (Zico, BOYNEXTDOOR), and ADOR (NewJeans), all designed to ensure creative independence and autonomy. The company is also actively expanding overseas through entities such as HYBE Japan (NAECO, JCONIC, YX Label), HYBE America (HYBE x Geffen Records), and HYBE Latin America (Santos Bravos).

HYBE’s business performance remains strong. Financial results for the first quarter of this year reached 69.83 billion won ($47.96 million), marking the highest figure for that period on record. The comeback of BTS and the continued growth of HYBE APAC artists were key drivers behind this success. Artist-centered activities such as album releases, concerts, and advertisements accounted for 58% of total revenue. BTS’s BTS World Tour: ARIRANG began in April, with 85 performances scheduled across 34 cities, and tickets for shows in North America and Europe have been sold out.

HYBE and ABD will release additional information in the future.