K-pop agency SM Entertainment announces talent search for UK boyband

K-pop label SM Entertainment has announced plans to begin a talent search for the formation of an upcoming UK-based boyband, in partnership with production company Moon&Back.

• READ MORE: Taemin on ‘Guilty’: “I think it’s more attractive to make the negative look beautiful”

SM Entertainment – home to top K-pop acts such as aespa, Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation and more – announced its partnership with UK-based television production company Moon&Back yesterday (November 15). In the newly announced partnership, both companies revealed an upcoming television project in the works to create and debut a brand-new British boyband to global television audiences.

Slated to be filmed over the course of six months, the upcoming television series will follow a fresh-faced boy group as they depart London some time in early 2024 “on the adventure of a lifetime”, according to a press release. Pre-production for the series – which will be filmed both in the UK and South Korea – has begun, while discussions with broadcasters, record labels and music publishers are ongoing.

“This collaboration signifies our first footprint in Europe. Our expansion blueprint will continue to span across North and South America, Europe, and other pivotal markets, leveraging SM Entertainment’s vast artist roster and extensive networks for unprecedented synergies ahead,” said SM & Kakao Entertainment America CEO Joseph Chang about the new partnership. “We are thrilled to partner with power players who were critical in the creation and success of One Direction, and together we are aiming to find that next global sensation.”

Moon&Back was founded by acclaimed figures in the British television industry, such as Nigel Hall (who was behind production for shows such as The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent), Dawn Airey (ITV, Getty Images) and talent manager Russ Lindsay (who previously managed the likes of Simon Cowell and Ant & Dec).

Co-founder Airey also shared their sentiments on the upcoming television project: “This

is a global first, creating a British boy band and exposing them to the wonders and rigours of the premier K-pop process with SM Entertainment. This alchemy will create compelling television and a boy band that will entertain the world.”

In other news, YG Entertainment announced yesterday (November 15) that contract renewal negotiations with BLACKPINK are still ongoing, despite the girl group’s contracts having allegedly expired in August. However, the company wrote that the final outcome of these discussions will be published in an upcoming report “regarding major management issues related to investments.”