It’s that time of year again! While December is filled with year-end countdowns, I like to take a look back at some of K-pop’s biggest agencies during November. Before reading (especially if you’re new to the blog), it’s helpful to know that my grading focuses most heavily on music releases and how comebacks are managed and delivered to fans. Scandals and non-musical factors can certainly impact an agency’s grade, but the biggest criteria will always be the music itself. Following SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment‘s analysis, it’s time to dive into JYP Entertainment.
As usual, the thoughts below are my own and aren’t privy to any insider information. There will be plenty of subjective critique.
The Good
JYP Entertainment seems to be in a stable place at the moment, with all of their artists either remaining steady or making modest gains in 2024. The agency continues to do an excellent job giving each artist a chance to shine. Everyone enjoyed at least one comeback this year and these were usually spread out enough to avoid conflicts in promotion.
JYP’s girl groups had an especially solid year, with ITZY back as a full five-piece and NMIXX starting to make a name for themselves after a hit-or-miss debut era. The music has largely been solid as well. Meanwhile, Twice continue to do what they do best, solidifying their existing fan base and delving into solo and sub-unit releases that deepen the variety of genres the group can tackle. Nayeon’s solo ABCD was especially ear-catching this year and seemed to garner elevated global attention.
It feels like Stray Kids are in a holding pattern, but with their level of success that isn’t a bad thing. They remain one of the biggest groups on the planet and don’t need to broaden their sound to appeal to the general public. They’ve built a devoted fan base and deliver directly to them. I’m no longer a huge fan of their music, but I appreciate how they stick to their guns. And really, you can’t argue with multi-million album sellers. The proof is in the pudding, and they’ve expanded this success to various music markets around the world.
Perhaps JYP’s biggest flex this year involved veteran band DAY6. After their long-awaited comeback, many songs from their back catalog suddenly captured the imagination of the Korean listening public. They’ve topped the charts with a variety of music – both old and new. We’ve rarely seen a resurgence like this, and the agency seems to be striking while the iron is hot. Not only did we get a new album, but solos as well. The agency’s other band Xdinary Heroes was also well-promoted, though they’re still building their fan base.
On the Japanese side, girl group NiziU continued their solid run of success, scoring drama OSTs and releasing a new EP. Boy group NEXZ seem to be off to a good start, though their mix of Korean and Japanese promotions feels a bit unfocused.
The Bad
Nothing stands out as glaringly bad about JYP this year, though they’ve definitely fumbled the ball with international group VCHA. I don’t consider VCHA to be vital to their roster anyway, but the group has definitely lost ground to Katseye in the burgeoning world of “global group managed by K-pop agency.”
Rather than “bad,” many of JYP’s 2024 releases were just… whelming. There were plenty of musical highlights, but the agency seems to have lost some of its steam on the charts. When I think of the music that went truly viral this year, much of it came from other agencies like SM and HYBE. DAY6’s Korean success notwithstanding, many of JYP’s veteran groups suffered tumbling chart positions in 2024. I’m not sure this matters that much when you’re still selling millions of albums, but it does push the agency to the side when it comes to capturing the K-pop zeitgeist of the moment. Their artists remain successful but not many of their 2024 singles felt truly buzzy.
2024 Grade: B
What I’d like to see in 2025:
- A new Korean boy group with a completely different sound from Stray Kids
- A retirement of the “Mixxpop” approach
- More focus on groove, which used to be JYP’s signature sound
Previous years: 2023 // 2022 // 2021 // 2020 // 2019 // 2018 // 2017 // 2016
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
JYP’s had an alright year, nothing too outstanding, nothing bad either.
The Good: Their groups are doing fine. NMIXX are having a solid year (their Break Out album is my fave K-Pop album this year) and Mixxpop is doing better this time. Twice are chilling, having okay-ish promos (I swear I didn’t see much hype about Tzuyu’s debut tbvh), but they are booked and busy (but not *too* busy ofc!). XDH also releasing singles left-to-right, all being solid. Glad to see Day6 gain recognition and JYP striking while the iron’s hot. SKZ also growing with their loyal fanbase, sticking to their sound. Glad to see ITZY as 5 again, they are doing okay, I guess.
The Bad: I haven’t heard about VCHA since March. They were supposed to have a performance on July, but it got cancelled due to unknown reasons. I wonder if Kaylee’s hiatus could play a role, though they can still promote as 5 like ITZY did as 4. I feel like JYP rushed their debut, cause idk if I see any plans for their future yet or nah. Also, JYP LOUD? WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY? IT’S BEEN 3 FUCKING YEARS DAMMIT. PNation struck while the iron’s hot, and for a company like JYP, it’s surprising. I also didn’t see much promos for Tzuyu’s debut either, but maybe it’s just me. Their groups (minus SKZ) could use decent promos imo.
With all being said. Grade: B+ and I will be getting my popcorn ready for the HYBE analysis 🤭🌝
LikeLiked by 3 people
Vcha are Girlset now. They have a couple of singles out I believe.
LikeLike
i suppose you could say.. they gotta get that groove back!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was waiting for someone to reference it u.u
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWLn54IrDiw
LikeLike
I was just in Mérida, Mexico and a 13-year-old waitress (helping out at the family business) revealed herself as a Stray Kids fan, pulling out multiple albums from her purse and showing me her photo cards. I was seated outside, and nearby my table a dance crew practiced the choreo to Nayeon’s ABCD. So JYPE’s presence remains strong!
I’m guessing NEXZ launched in both countries because JYPE’s only other active boyband is Stray Kids. Perhaps they’re testing NEXZ as a second Korean pillar.
Also, my boyfriend and I have been fascinated by the VCHA subreddit this year, which has been awhirl with rumors since the Lollapalooza cancellation. From what I’ve gleaned the girls were possibly in Korea recently and are very much still active. My guess is that Republic Records rushed their debut, then JYPE realized that the girls needed more training. Katseye has something like two years of training on VCHA. So I think they’ve been put back in the oven to cook.
LikeLike
Their music in the first half was good, the second half was ehhh
(also, when will the loud boy group debut already? It’s been 3 years since the show ended)
LikeLike
I thin JYP are doing great this year. They have mature groups who are delivering for their fans. I am so happy for Day6.
They are about due to debut a new group in a year or two. I am hoping JYP himself will influence the sound to be a real 2000’s R&B with full Blues present.
As for the international girl groups run by kpop agencies. Who is asking for this? Is anyone really buying it? I think not. I think kpop took off globally a dozen years ago because people like me looked past the eye roll around boy/girl bands, past the language barrier, and heard some good music that sounded like nothing else on the planet at the time with visual flair like nothing else we were seeing. And there was a mystique and cache’.
Now kpop is global, it is mellowed to sound like every boy/girl band ever, it all looks feels sounds the same. I can buy it at Target, easily. And now we can understand the dumb lyrics which don’t rhyme or doing any clever. Its an easy pass, or a hard pass. Its a pass.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Your explanation of Kpop taking off is so pitch perfect to my own experience. Thank you for that.
I am one of the people asking for international groups run by Kpop agencies! It frustrates me how much pop talent the U.S. leaves on the table. How many seasons of the Voice have we had but with none of those stellar singers finding success? And we lose so much Asian-American talent to Korea. It’s a shame Ailee isn’t a star here in the U.S.
So I’m happy to see HYBE and JYPE pluck young talents out of obscurity and give us girl groups. We’re long overdue.
LikeLiked by 2 people
speaking as an asian american, i think if ailee stayed in the US she wouldn’t have as much success, mostly cuz the hollywood industry is really racist towards asians and its super difficult for them to hit the mainstream
in fact a lot of asian american talents tend to see their home countries as better for success and longevity which is why they go there
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree with you, historical discrimination against Asians in American media is the problem. It’s just frustrating that because of that bullshit we lose talents like Ailee, who should be an American national treasure imo.
LikeLike
yeah, when we get Asian actors in projects it’s like the same small pool. It’s ridiculous, I can’t blame actors going to countries that will give them a fair shot
LikeLike
“people like me looked past the eye roll around boy/girl bands, past the language barrier, and heard some good music that sounded like nothing else on the planet at the time”
Man, finally someone gets it. While I 100% agree with folks that Kpop has stolen a lot from American artists, Black artists in particular, I also think it’s disingenuous to say that Kpop back in the day didn’t have its own flavor in the mix and I’m tired of people pretending like there was never anything unique about it. Nowadays there’s absolutely been a dilution of that special sound in favor of streams and courting the blander Western market and it’s been a real loss.
LikeLiked by 3 people
The answer to your question would be Katseye, who are under Hybe I believe and seem to be hugely popular at the moment.
Perhaps they are the exception, though. I am not personally really on board with it either. What got me into kpop was exactly what you’re mentioning: being fascinated by something so completely different from anything I’d ever seen before (Fantastic Baby MV). I miss that feeling of wonder sometimes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally agree with JYP potentially having a good chance debuting a group that really takes the 2000’s R&B sound. Sometimes NMIXX and ITZY throw that style here and there in some of their album tracks, but I agree that we need the real Blues present.
I am also one of the people wanting to see international groups run by K-pop agencies. I feel like the West has lost their mark when it comes to handling groups, the last interesting act I can think of is Little Mix and I don’t think they’re coming back any time soon.
I feel like these groups have global appeal, because despite K-pop’s global reach and groups selling a couple thousand albums in the US, their prescence isn’t truly felt. It’s usually fans mass-buying and mass-streaming the songs, but it’s not “organic” (hate that word but can’t find another one). With a global group, they can play to the strenght of diversity and capture both K-pop listeners and people who aren’t attracted to the genre due to language barrier. This is just my theory, I guess companies can still mess it up.
LikeLike
Really shows how bad SM and YG have been doing recently when JYP is the best ranked company so far. (not that JYP are doing badly, more like just unremarkable)
I guess that’s the benefit of JYPs approach, if they just keep trucking on while avoiding all the drama that every other company is struggling with they’ll eventually end up as the only one left.
LikeLike
I agree that JYP’s operation has remained at an average level. My praise goes, above all, to the agility with which they’ve stood out in their online presence, matching other major companies in the sector. Every year, K-Pop is the stage for viral videos, and 2024 ws no exception. However, JYP remains in the spotlight thanks to its diversified and consistent portfolio
My criticisms, however, are focusedd on the excessively sanitized promotion of their artists, reflecting an apparent fear of daring. This fear prevents NEXZ from differentiating their sound, which often emulates other references, which has caused many of their productions to go unnoticed this year. TWICE maintains a solid pop sound, although it hasn’t reached its peak. NMIXX remains faithful to the “mixx-pop” style, and ITZY, apart from a slight change with Untouchable, left a vague impression on me. In short, the artists seem restricted by a self-imposed standard, which, paradoxically, makes it difficult to criticize, as exemplified in the case of Stray Kids. Although their current songs aren’t to my personal taste, I recognize their success in the charts
What I’d like to see in 2025:
• That a significant focus be given to the NEXZ group, with high-impact materials that can consolidate its emerging name in the music industry (and preferably let this be done during the Korean promotion please).
• Disconnect from the characteristic concept and style of an artist’s work, focusing first on the essence of the music itself.• Enough with “mixx-pop“!
LikeLike
JYP kinda feels like the little engine that could (though I am sure he’ll have a problem with the use of the word “little”). Their acts just work hard and mostly stay out of the news. That’s great, but they also stay out of all chart related news too, which is a problem. Great music speaks for itself, but decent-ish music needs notoriety to remain relevant. And isn’t relevance something an industry-leading company cares about?
My highlights were Nayeon’s ABCD and Day6. Nmixx has yet to cement itself as a real competitor amongst its peers, which is also sad considering that they are very talented girls. With each comeback, it feels that they are on the precipice of making a big splash, but then they fade away and the momentum is gone. To me, what’s happened with Itzy is truly upsetting. With their debut and the following comebacks, Itzy should have been at the top like aespa. Now, their albums don’t sell as much and their music comes and goes. Nothing to say about Stray kids – I don’t listen to their music anymore.
So I don’t have anything else to say except – turtles can win races but not marathons. JYP needs to rethink it’s long term strategy if it wants to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive kpop/global market. If it just wants to exist as is, it’s doing a fine job – C- from little me.
LikeLike
In my opinion I think JYPE is highly considering long term looking at how they do their stuff. I think JYPE can just copy or follow what other companies are doing to push their artists but they are probably not doing that due to the consideration of long term. We can all see what’s happening with other K-pop companies this year which clearly shows their approach was not it. And some of the reasons why I think JYPE is considering long term is that:
Some people will probably wonder why JYPE made NMIXX debut with mixxpop. People would say,even if JYPE wanted them to do mixxpop, they should have stabilized themselves in the industry first. But this is what I think, JYPE really learned their lesson with ITZY. ITZY made it big from the start but then now they lost a lot of fans which is difficult to bear. But with NMIXX they did what they wanted to do without being bothered about securing fame or popularity from the start. This means that people who are NMIXX’s fans now are fans because they love their songs and what they do. They won’t easily abandon them. But if they tried to secure popularity before they did mixxpop, that’s when they would feel the pain of being abandoned.
Therefore I think JYPE thought about long term that’s why they followed this approach for NMIXX.
LikeLike
Tbh, with other big agencies having all this drama through the year, it’s just kinda refreshing to have groups just do their job and not be talked about for all the wrong reasons. If we think about it, if it weren’t for all the drama, how much would we have talked about so many of these other groups, especially girl groups this year? I don’t like rage marketing, (I think most people here don’t either), and a lot of stuff this year felt like just that, rage and noise instigating. It’s an unfair practice that doesn’t feel longlasting at all, and the best example here being Katseye probably. Thus going on while avoiding all the drama was the least they could do this year, and at least they did it well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My thoughts exactly. Although JYP is defo not very unique this year, they’re also not out of the charts. Personally, from what I’ve seen, if they keep going at the pace they are presently, they might just be the only one left with all the scandals from the other companies. But we do need new music from them. XH and Day6 are particularly amazing this year.
On another note, I think JYP has a lot of potential to release a new boygroup right now and it would instantly get famous, because that hasn’t happened in a pretty long time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Though I’m not very interested in JYP’s current roster of artists other than DAY6 and sometimes Xdinary Heroes and Twice, for the sake of good music, I hope they closely evaluate where they’re going wrong with ITZY. After GOLD, I’m not sure casual listeners even bothered to listen to the much better Imaginary Friend…and even though IF is a good song, ITZY is a performance-strong, vocally-meh act, so I’m not sure a song like that is necessarily the right path to rebuilding a sense of palatable signature sound around them.
My wish for NMIXX is that they would focus less on rap in their songs. There is so much singing talent in their roster, so I have no idea why they have so many rap/chant based choruses. I personally don’t think they have the rap ability to back it up. That’s a bigger barrier for me getting into them than “mixxpop.”
Stray Kids…I guess an “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” approach does kind of work, considering their popularity? Their music has never really been for me, although I’m obsessed with God’s Menu for some reason even if I dislike most of their shouty songs.
LikeLike
I feel like the Sneakers fiasco really impacted ITZY’s hype/image, given they were going strong during debut (although I’d say even Mafia in the Morning had pretty polarizing views), JYP really is messing up ITZY’s potential. But I’d say Imaginary Friend might be a stepping stone in the right direction, cause I see it getting more loved and pushed more than Gold, and the girls also seem to be doing fine vocally, especially Chaer (girl really carried Untouchable era), given they seem to have improved decently over the years. Either the IF sound or the Bet On Me sound (although they have similar vibes) would be beneficial for ITZY
LikeLiked by 2 people
My wish for NMixx, which I think hasn’t happened yet, is a live album. Those girls can SING.
LikeLike
JYP himself is also still very present in the minds of kpop fans. My friends keep sending me videos of him on some other sidequest.
LikeLiked by 2 people
i dont rlly agree w u wanting to do away w mixxpop entirely bc me personally i feel like this year was the year nmixx finally fully found their identity as a group…..if u look at their debut era stuff u can tell jype had no idea what they were doing concept wise for them and were just sort of winging it which is why all the “mixxpop” sections of those songs feel shoehorned in
now compare it to their mini from earlier this year….the change ups in sonar boom and dash feel natural with the rest of the song and theres no jarring tempo shifts out of nowhere (well except in boom but its at the end of the song and theres an actual buildup to it) idk it just doesnt feel gimmicky anymore like in say oo
(which btw they desperately need to release full versions of each part of oo and dice like what they did at their fancon)
LikeLike
Also a B.
The thing I like about JYP artists is you don’t get any of the bland music we’ve been seeing this year. In a market of play it safe singles, they gave offerings like Dash, See That, Gold, ABCD, etc.
NMIXX- Magnum Opus in Fe304 Break. Haewon killed it in variety shows and increased Korean popularity bigtime. They flexed top-tier vocals in their Tiny Desk, and Stick Out was still a solid album.
Itzy- IF is probably their best since Wannabe. Born to Be album also killed all the way through. Lia sounds terrific and the girls voices have improved bigtime. Wanting another bratty dance-tastic banger from them reminiscent of their debut era.
Stray Kids – also don’t get the appeal of their current music, but it’s not “safe” or “bland”. They are also quite popular.
Twice – I wish they did more music like their earliest work, but they continue to pack stadiums on World Tours. Solos and group work is still consistent to their sound and good. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice…
DAY6 / XH – Love the rock vibe, keep it coming
Niziu – They pack stadiums in Japan, and now are killing it with two great OST songs. Hoping for a full album next year.
VCHA – their music kept trending better, but this is definitely a sore spot. Will we hear from them next with a comeback, or an episode on unsolved mysteries…
NEXZ – This is the spot where JYP has given bland music. Let these boys groove old school JYP style please! Hoping their new release soon will be better than what they’ve been saddled with so far.
LikeLike
I think JYP looks better by comparison because of Hybe being Hybe. SM looks good by comparison too, but JYP seems like the most chill agency right now. Their founder is just doing dance challenges and having fun.
LikeLike
Honestly I agree with most of this except for the Mixxpop part. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I LOVE MIXXPOP. It’s a part of the groups identity at this point and I am a sucker for songs that sound like multiple songs in one, and while I don’t think they should do it all the time, I feel like they’re doing really well with playing around with the “Mixxpop” concept and I feel like if they mix around releasing Mixxpop songs like Dash and Sonar alongside stuff with Run for Roses and Love Me Like This, I think they’ll be able to build a really great discography. Plus, with their vocals, they can honestly pull off any song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
100% agree with everything you said here! It’s kind of intriguing how JYP can manage to have successful groups while their songs barely chart, except for DAY6 that is (but we’re talking about their idol groups).
I’m guessing you can say they’re album artists? Specifically Stray Kids and Twice.
My wish list for JYP is:
LikeLike
People who are hoping that JYPE abandons “Mixxpop” for NMIXX should just forget about it. Like it’s not gonna happen. And you will know it not gonna happen just by searching for the meaning of “NMIXX”. But the great news for people who wish they don’t do “mixxpop” is that NMIXX doesn’t only release “mixxpop”. In fact even for a comeback you won’t know whether it’s mixxpop or not since they sometimes release mixxpop and they sometimes don’t.
My personal opinion: For me I love their mixxpop and wish they don’t abandon it. It always so exciting trying to figure out what they will do to their sound and how they are going to mix things up and what kind of genres will be in a song. Honestly it’s never boring with NMIXX since you can’t predict anything.
LikeLike
no way, never stop the mixxpop 🐬🐬
LikeLike
I personally love mixxpop and I don’t want it to go away…. the period of time when NMIXX stopped doing it was a very bad time and it felt as if they’d lost their musical identity…. as an nswer, we really don’t need that to happen again
LikeLike
NMIXX is mixpop, we need it, why would they throw away their identity for few people who don’t even know what NMIXX and mixpop represents? I agree with you on everything but NMIXX is growing with their identity, they’ll end up with a more loyal fan base considering anyone who sticks with them is doing it because they like them for real, not just for hype. They’re playing the long game and I’m sure they’ll enjoy the benefits more than groups that are hyped for their songs without any particular identity, just generic music. We are seeing how NMIXX are growing, each comeback gets more recognition than the last, growing slowly but steadily.
LikeLike
annnnddd vcha kg filed a lawsuit against them. They really fumbled it with vcha this year
LikeLike