The ILLIT Effect – Looking At The Change In Perception Towards The Group + How They’ve Managed To Top The Charts And Become A Viral Hit

As the K-Pop industry continues to thrive and evolve, anticipation builds for the debut of new talent set to grace the stage in 2024. With whispers and rumors circulating, fans worldwide eagerly await the arrival of potential rookie groups ready to make their mark in the realm of Korean pop music.

From powerhouse entertainment agencies to emerging independent labels, the promise of fresh faces, innovative sounds, and captivating performances fuels the excitement surrounding these speculated debuts. Let’s delve into the anticipated K-Pop groups poised to capture hearts and redefine the musical landscape in the upcoming year.

 

 

1. SMNGG (SM New Girl Group)

Aside from SM’s plans to debut new NCT units, the company was also said to be preparing to debut a girl group this year. It is said that the new girl group is expected to have 8 members. The new girl group will be SM’s first girl group after aespa’s debut in 2020.

 

2. I’LL-IT

I’LL-IT is a 6-member girl group. The members are the debuting trainees from the idol survival program “R U NEXT?”. I’LL-IT is BE:LIFT LAB’s first girl group. They will debut on March 25th, 2024.

 

3. KATSEYE

KATSEYE is a 6-member girl group formed from the idol survival show “The Debut: Dream Academy.” Their debut date is yet to be announced.

 

4. JYP LOUD

JYP LOUD is a pre-debut group under JYP Entertainment. The group was formed through the SBS audition program, “LOUD”. The exact debut date for the group is yet to be announced.

 

5. NEXZ

JYP Entertainment once again partnered with Sony Music to debut a boy group who will be active in Japan through the Japanese audition show “Nizi Project Season 2”. The group was announced to be called NEXZ, with 7 debuting members. The debut date of the group is unknown.

 

6. PROJECT C

PROJECT C is another group scheduled to debut under JYP Entertainment and Fanling Culture, the Chinese division of the agency. The pre-debut group is consisted of 5 trainees, but it is reported that group will be debuting with 6 members. The group is expected to be active in China.

 

7. ARTMS

Members of LOONA Choerry, HeeJin, JinSoul, and Kim Lip, who signed with MODHAUS, are said to be promoting through an upcoming girl group project called “ARTMS.” ARTMS will make htheir official debut on May 31st, 2024.

 

8. TIOT

TIOT is a 4-member pre-debut unit under Redstart ENM. The members Kim MinSeoung, Kum JunHyeon, Hong KeonHee, and Choi WooJin were previously participants in the idol survival program “Boys Planet.”

 

9. NXD

NXB is composed of members who participated in big idol survival programs last year, “Boys Planet’ and “Fantasy Boys”. Their exact debut date is yet to be announced.

 

10. Candy Shop

Brave Entertainment is launching a new girl group for the first time in a decade. The group counts 4 members, and will be debuting on March 27th, 2024.

 

11. THEBLACKLABEL (Speculated)

THEBLACKLABEL opened auditions for their first girl group in 2022, which is why K-Pop fans are speculating that the label will be debuting their girl group soon. Details about the debut date and others are yet to be revealed.

 

12. BIGHIT MUSIC Boy Group

BIGHIT was also reported to be debuting a new boy group. There is yet to be an announcement of the lineup of debuting members and the date of their debut.

 

13. SWING Entertainment x nCH Entertainment New Group

SWING Entertainment and nCH Entertainment is said to be in collaboration of a new group. No other further information was revealed about the debut date of the group.

 

14. ATTRAKT X JTBC Girl Group

ATTRAKT, in collaboration with JTBC, is said to be forming a new girl group project. The debuting details such as date of debut, nor the number of debuting members, are yet to be announced.

 

15. A.iRiD

A.iRiD is a debut group under ONO Entertainment. It is still unclear whether they will make their debut in December or next year, but they already released a pre-debut single, ‘First Flight’, on September 1, 2022. A.iRiD stands for “iridescent“, and their fandom name is Ariel.

Regarding the members, Bell is the first Turkish-Azerbaijani idol, helping the group to gain popularity even before their debut from foreign fans.

 

16. Inter Girls

Inter Girls is a group under BD Entertainment and YOMA Entertainment. They made their American debut on October 21, 2021, but the date of their Korean debut is still unclear.

 

17. JX

JX is a debut group under JXENM Entertainment. They’re training in Korea and in the USA, and upload a lot of dance covers. 

 

18. N-DAY

N-DAY is a group under RJ Entertainment. The group underwent a lot of changes with its member lineup. The debut date is also still unclear.

 

19. ON AIR

ON AIR is a group under JStar Entertainment. Member Kimi participated in the TV Show “Produce 101” and made her solo debut on Aug. 25, 2017. Another member, SoHyeon also made her solo debut on Dec. 25, 2019.

 

20. Witchers

Witchers is a group under Blooming Entertainment. Their debut date is still unknown, as it has been postponed due to COVID-19, health problems of the members, and internal circumstances of the company, according to a company’s notice. They are set to debut in March, 2024.

 

21. WiTCHX

WiTCHX is a group under IN Media. Their debut date is still unknown, but they plan to release a mini album. Their fandom name is Switch.

 

22. TRACER

TRACER is a group under Gleamedia. Their debut date is still unknown. They are still active on their social media, but fans are waiting for an update.

 

23. KELT9b

KELT9b (formerly called DMZA) is a group under U S Media Group. They were supposed to make their debut in 2022 but there is no official debut date revealed until now.

 

24. NextU

NextU is group under Shinwha Entertainment. They are currently in the process of adding more members, and their debut date is still unknown.

 

25. ON1 Rookies

ON1 Rookies is a group under ON1 Entertainment. Their name is temporary, and they might keep on adding more members. In addition, their debut date is still unclear.

 

26. PINKBLING

PINKBLING is a group under DY Entertainment. Previously, they were a dance cover group, and their debut date is still unknown.

 

27. WizarD

WizarD is a group under WD Entertainment. Their debut date is still unknown, so they’re releasing covers in the mean time.

 

28.  TIM A

TIM A is a group under KD Entertainment. Their name is the abbreviation of “This Is Miracle’‘ and they’re linked with the group TIM B under the same company. Their debut date is still unknown.

 

29. TIM B

TIM B is a group under KD Entertainment. Their name is the abbreviation of “This Is Miracle’‘ and they’re linked with the group TIM A, under the same company. They recently appeared in the MV ‘Long Live The King’ by the K-Pop group KINGDOM. Their debut date is still unknown.

 

30. Clear:I

Clear:I is an independent group. Their debut date is still unknown but they recently started to unveil individual pictures of the members.

 

31. Free In Sass

Free In Sass is a group under AMX Entertainment. They unveiled teaser photos before, but their debut date is still unclear.

 

32. GLX

GLX is a global group under Shinwha Entertainment. Their debut date is still unknown, but as almost every member is part of a dance crew, the anticipation for their debut is already present. The group’s slogan is “We will go beyond the state, religion, ideology, and politics. New K-Pop super girl group”.

 

33. ALLART BOYZ

ALLART BOYZ is a group under ALLART Entertainment. Their debut date is still unclear.

 

34. AMBITION

AMBITION is a group under ShowBox Entertainment. Member Kyle is a former contestant on the TV Show “Produce 101” (season 2). TaeHo was also the leader of the group F.ABLE until his departure, a few months after his debut. Their debut date is still unclear, but they already made their pre-debut promotion in Japan.

 

35. Daydream

Daydream is a group under PIA Entertainment. They released a pre-debut single, ‘Sweet Dreams’, on September 27, 2022, and more recently ‘Step to the Rythm’ on Oct. 12, 2022, but their debut date is unknown.

 

36. MAXIMUM

MAXIMUM is a pre-debut group. Member WanShin was part of the group CICI under the name Won. Their date is still unknown but their fandom name is Minimum.

 

37. Black A

Black A is a group under KD Entertainment. The members aren’t officially revealed yet, as is their debut date, but they started to publish covers on their YouTube channel and they might add more members before their debut.

 

38. DREAMER

DREAMER is a group under THINK ABOUT Entertainment. Their official colors are lemon chrome, cockatoo, and ocean cavern, but their debut date is still unknown.

 

39. Evermore Muse

Evermore Muse is a Evermore Entertainment’s pre-debut team. The members include Jo YiYeon (Participant in survival program “Youth Star”), Lee SunWoo (Participant in “Girls Planet 999”), and Nam YuJu (Another participant in survival program “Youth Star”). The girl group was supposed to debut in 2021 but since they didn’t debut then, fans suspect that they will finally be debuting in 2024.

 

40. Hi-Hat Entertainment Group

Hi-Hat Entertainment is also reported to be debuting a group in 2023. It has not been revealed whether the debuting group will be a girl, a boy or a co-ed group.

 

41. MZMC Speculated Girl Group

MZMC is believed to be debuting a girl group after he posted a picture of 7 girl trainees on his trainee page. As of the moment, more information about these trainees and their debut date is yet to be revealed.

 

42. IOK Boy Group

IOK Company is also said to be preparing to debut a boy group since 2021 but has not yet debuted any group since, so fans are expecting the management company to be debuting the group this year. No further information about the group is revealed at the moment.

 

43. New Beat

New Beat is a trainee boy group under Beat Interactive. The agency has yet to reveal the current members of the trainee group.

 

44. GGA Girl Group

GGA also held auditions in 2022 for the girl group they are planning to launch on the 2nd half of 2023. Since the debut of the group did not take place in 2023, it is speculated that they will be debuting in 2024. It was said that the girl group will have around 5 to 7 members.

 

45. Biscuit Girls

Aside from their boygroup HAWW, Biscuit Entertainment is also getting ready to debut a girl group. The debuting members are yet to be finalized, and there is also no debut date confirmed at the moment.

 

46. B-OURS

B-OURS is a girl group set to debut under Wannabe Entertainment. The debut date for the girls is yet to be confirmed.

 

47. MEP-C

GBK Entertainment is also gearing for a debut of a new girl group. The debuting members are yet to be confirmed, as well as their exact debuting date.

 

48. IB147

IB147 is a pre-debut boy group under HnA Entertainment. While the group made a pre-release with their single ‘Over Shock’, their actual debut date is yet to be revealed.

 

49. VI’ENX

VI’ENX is a pre-debut boy group under Nature Space Entertainment. The group released a pre-debut album “On my way” in 2023. The official debut date of the boy group is unknown.

 

50. Chrome Entertainment Trainees

Chrome Entertainment is also reported to be preparing for the debut of a girl group. However, their debut date is not yet set.

 

51. R3PLAY

R3PLAY is an girl group expected to debut under AMP Media. The group was used to be called “WeGirls4U,” until they changed their name on their social media account. The debut date of the girl group is not yet confirmed.

 

52. LEGEND Entertainment Trainees

LEGEND Entertainment previously announced that they were holding auditions for a 5-member girl group that is expected to debut on the first half of 2023. However, the debut didn’t take place in the first half of 2023, and the agency once again posted that they are holding auditions for a global girl group in April 2024. The exact debut date of the LEGEND Entertainment global girl group is still unknown, and there are no new updates since then.

 

53. SuperEight

CTD E&M is reported to be launching a project called “SuperEight,” which is set to for a new boy group that they are aiming to debut. There are no details about the debut date of the group.

 

54. LeanBranding Girl Group

LeanBranding is holding auditions across Korea to form a new girl group. It was also reported that Shinhwa’s MinWoo, who recently has signed with the company, will be the new girl group’s producer.

 

55. ONEST

ONEST is a 9-member girl group created by Dongah Institute of Media and Arts’ K-Pop department. The girl group’s official debut date is yet to be announced

 

56. Newb

Newb is a pre-debut group with an unknown debut date. It is also yet to be revealed which entertainment company is debuting the said group. Former W.A.O member HeeMin is redebuting with this group.

 

57. PICKUS

PICKUS is a group formed through the idol survival program “FAN PICK”. The team is debuting with 7 members, and their exact debut date is yet to be announced.

 

58. ASC2NT

ASC2NT is a new group under New Ways Company, set to debut this year. They released some promotional pictures to introduce the members already. The group is composed of former DGNA members.

59. NCHIVE

NCHIVE is a 7-member group under Aube Moon Studio. They are schedule to debut this upcoming April 9th.

 

60. NOWADAYS

NOWADAYS is CUBE ENtertainment’s new Boy group. Composed of 5 members, the group has no official debut date, but several teasers were uploaded to introduce the group and its members.

 

Groups Who Have Now Debuted

 

TWS

Another subsidiary under HYBE, PLEDIS Entertainment, is debuting the boy group TWS on January 22. The group is made up of 6 members.

 

VCHA

VCHA is a 6-member girl group formed from the competition series “A2K.” The girl group is debuting on January 26.

 

Geenius

Previously named Bebez under Block Berry Creative, Geenius is a debut group under HOMe, a sub-label of Sure Place. They debuted on January 5th, 2024 and three of the members participated in the TV Show “Girls Planet 999“.

 

ALL (H)OURS

ALL (H)OURS (Previously known as Daily Note) is a new group under EDEN Entertainment. They debuted on January 10th.

 

DXMON

NV Entertainment was reported to be debuting a 6-member boy group in January 2024. They debuted on January 17, 2024,  and had a pre-debut release before that on January 1st, 2024.

 

NCT WISH

SM Entertainment will be debuting a new unit for NCT. The team’s official name is NCT WISH. The members are the winners from the survival program “NCT Universe: LASTART,” consisting of 6 members. Their debuted on February 21st, 2024.

 

59. WAKER

WAKER is a boy group under HOWLING Entertainment, they debuted on January 8th, 2024. The members ave already been revealed, and they released a pre-release song as well.

 

Are you anticipating the debut of any of these groups? Let us know through the comments!