YG Entertainment Confirms Debut of New 5-Member Male Group in September After 6 Years

YG Entertainment is set to launch a new male group for the first time in six years. On April 30, Yang Hyun-suk, the chief producer at YG Entertainment, announced via the company’s official blog that a new 5-member male group will make its debut in September. This marks the first new male group to be introduced since TREASURE debuted in August 2020.

The most notable feature of this new group is its composition of five “elite” members. Contrary to the current K-pop trend favoring larger groups, YG Entertainment limited the roster to five members to maximize each individual’s personality and talent. Yang Hyun-suk explained that the decision to go with five members was made to distinguish the group from TREASURE, stating it was inspired by the format of YG Entertainment’s legendary group BIGBANG, which also debuted as a five-member unit and became a global superstar.

This decision clearly reflects YG Entertainment’s strategy for the next generation. Meanwhile, the company is also working on a new female group project under the temporary name “Next Monster.” After revealing Evelli and Chanya, the third member Kayci has already been introduced. She is described as a multilingual talent with fluency in Korean, Chinese, and English, born to a Korean father and a Chinese mother, and regarded as an all-rounder capable of singing, rapping, and dancing.

Industry experts have described this strategy of simultaneously announcing the debut of a male group and gradually revealing members of a female group as an “aggressive two-track approach.” They analyze that it reveals YG Entertainment’s intention to cultivate successors to legendary groups like BIGBANG and BLACKPINK. Online reactions have also been enthusiastic, with fans expressing excitement by saying, “It’s time for a new male group to appear.”

2026 is expected to be a historic turning point for YG Entertainment, as the company will release new albums from BABYMONSTER and TREASURE, hold a 20th-anniversary world tour for BIGBANG, and debut several new groups. Yang Hyun-suk hinted that YG’s new IPs and newcomers will be unveiled gradually, suggesting that specific details such as group names will be disclosed at a later date.