The company that pioneered South Korea's all-conquering K-pop industry unveiled its new boy-band concept on Wednesday -- a group with limitless members, singing in multiple languages and based in cities from Asia to Latin America.
SM Entertainment, which handles some of the biggest names in K-pop, including Super Junior and Girls' Generation, said the new band represented the final incarnation of the "Korean wave" that began with the export of Korean TV dramas and pop music in the late 1990s.
"This is the true localisation of K-pop," SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-Man said at a launch in Seoul.
The group, or rather collection of sub-groups, will go under the umbrella title of NCT, which stands for Neo Culture Technology -- a name that some fans quickly took to ridiculing on social networks.
"Sounds like a tech company," tweeted one K-pop aficionado, while another said NCT was an acronym better suited for a national examination.
Lee said the group already had 40 members, of which a handful would form an initial unit that will start performing in Seoul and Japan in the next few months.
"New members will be freely recruited with no limits on the number," Lee said.
Other NTC incarnations will later be unveiled in major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai in the second half of the year, followed by "units" in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
As well as singing the same songs in different languages, they will produce content especially tailored for their particular markets.
"This is the last stage of the Korean wave," Lee declared, saying the idea went beyond "simply exporting K-pop products" to creating join ventures with local companies.
Some industry observers noted that the NTC concept bore striking similarities to the hugely popular Japanese girl band AKB48 that has been around for more than 10 years.
Originally made up of 48 members, but now numbering more than 130, AKB48 is split into several teams who can perform simultaneously in several places.
AFP
Wed Jan 27 2016
SM Entertainment, which also handles the groups Super Junior (pix) and Girls' Generation, said the new band represented the final incarnation of the "Korean wave." -AFP
AWANI Pagi: Hari sedunia bagi keselamatan & kesihatan di tempat kerja 2024
Memahami kaitan perubahan iklim kepada isu keselamatan dan kesihatan pekerjaan, yang diangkat sebagai tema Hari Sedunia bagi Keselamatan dan Kesihatan di Tempat Kerja tahun ini. Diskusi bersama Ts Mohd Soffian Osman, Perunding Keselamatan & Kesihatan Awam, Safety Management Academy 7.30 pagi nanti
Jualan kediaman kekal memberangsangkan - TA Global
Kenaikan harga hartanah akibat tekanan inflasi ke atas harga bahan binaan tidak menghalang hasrat rakyat Malaysia untuk memiliki rumah idaman.
Rakyat Israel desak kerajaan bawa pulang tebusan yang tinggal
Ribuan berkumpul di Tel Aviv pada Sabtu malam bagi mendesak kerajaan Israel mencapai perjanjian gencatan senjata dengan Hamas dan membawa pulang tebusan yang tinggal
Hamas keluarkan video dua tebusan Israel
Kumpulan pejuang Hamas mengedarkan video menampilkan dua tahanan Israel yang menyeru kepada Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, untuk memenuhi perjanjian pembebasan mereka.
Israel sedia tangguh serangan ke atas Rafah
Israel bersedia menangguhkan serangan ke Rafah jika perjanjian pembebasan tahanan Hamas tercapai. Menteri Luar Israel, Israel Katz, menegaskan keutamaan pembebasan tahanan.
Restoran nasi kandar dibaling cat, polis kesan tiga lelaki
Cat merah tersebut terkena papan tanda dan pintu hadapan restoran yang mula beroperasi pada Sabtu.
Kawasan Beris Lalang terbakar lagi
Cuaca panas melampau di Kelantan menyebabkan kebakaran ladang dan semak di kawasan Beris Lalang. Penduduk dan pekebun mengalami kerugian
Ringgit dijangka diniaga dalam jajaran kecil
Ringgit Malaysia dijangka berada di sekitar 4.77 berbanding Dolar AS minggu depan, bergantung kepada keputusan FOMC dan data ekonomi AS
Bursa Malaysia dijangka diniagakan dalam jajaran kecil
Analisis terkini menunjukkan Bursa Malaysia berpotensi naik dalam jajaran kecil minggu depan, dengan pandangan positif terhadap kembalinya dana asing. Paras sokongan dan konsolidasi disebutkan.
PM tiba di Riyadh untuk hadiri mesyuarat WEF
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tiba di Riyadh bagi menghadiri Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Sedunia. Beliau dijadual terlibat dalam dialog strategik, panel, dan pertemuan bersama pemimpin serantau