After taking a look at K-pop’s biggest agencies, I’d like to turn my attention to the smaller (but still important) players in the K-pop game, three at a time.
Disclaimer: As with my write-ups on K-Pop’s biggest agencies, this is written from an outsider’s perspective. I’m not privy to any business-related financial information beyond what any other fan would know. The purpose of these articles is to examine how well these agencies are serving their artists and the general K-pop fan-base.
FNC ENTERTAINMENT
Weirdly enough, FNC Entertainment has cut girl groups and female soloists out of its music roster entirely, leaving behind some bands and male idol acts. From the agency that once ruled with AOA, I find this a little surprising. Maybe they’re just trying to focus on one specific thing and do that well?
If that’s the case, FNC still has a ways to go. Of their idol acts, P1Harmony feels very much on the ascent – especially internationally. The agency could stand to give them more frequent comebacks, but their touring has been a success and they’ve built up quite a fan base. Sales are steadily improving, too. Meanwhile, SF9 is in the throe of enlistments, meaning we haven’t gotten full group activities in awhile. Their material has remained solid, even if their sales have slightly decreased from their peak. They’re a reliable mid-tier group doing well for FNC. Finally, rookies AMPERS&ONE have tons of potential but have yet to settle on a distinct musical identity. Sales are okay but nothing spectacular compared to their biggest peers. I’m not quite sure what the agency’s plan is for them.
Most of FNC’s bands are on the older side, making comebacks infrequent. CNBLUE released a new album, while F.T.Island and N.Flying were less active. None of these acts seem to be driving the industry at the moment, though that’s to be expected. I’m interested to see how the agency’s youngest band Hi-Fi Un!corn continue to develop. Thus far, their work seems to have fallen into the dull (but lucrative) world of J-drama OSTs.
C+
IST ENTERTAINMENT
IST has frequently been given a low grade in this feature despite their success with The Boyz. But with that group leaving the agency in the coming weeks, I have no idea what’s going to happen next. The Boyz had a pretty lukewarm year by their standards. It felt like everyone was just killing time until the inevitable parting of ways. A sprawling world tour kept them busy in 2024.
Apart from The Boyz, there’s not a whole lot happening at IST. ATBO joined forces with fellow boy group Just B for the new season of Road to Kingdom – a strange decision if you’re an agency trying to give your artists a distinct identity. I suppose there’s still time for ATBO to replicate The Boyz’ success, but I kind of feel like that ship has sailed. I’d be happy to be proven wrong!
Meanwhile, it seems like Victon is destined for disbandment. Only two members remain with the agency, and as of now that’s only a technicality because of military enlistment timelines. On the girl group side of things, Apink continue their special anniversary releases but barely promote as a group beyond that, and Weeekly released a mini album this spring to little fanfare.
D-
KQ ENTERTAINMENT
KQ has the benefit of a small, successful roster. They’re able to put all their attention into ATEEZ and xikers, ensuring enough promotion and content to keep momentum going. I think this is smart, and the agency seems to know what it’s doing.
While I haven’t loved an ATEEZ song in years, the group has clearly become a force in the industry. KQ continues to balance domestic and international schedules, allowing ATEEZ to find success in every part of the globe. I feel like I’m always seeing them at big events and their sales have only increased this year. Their junior group xikers seemed to have more growing pains in 2024, failing to see the exponential growth you might expect from a rookie of their caliber. However, KQ is actively pushing them in a number of markets, including a Japanese debut. I think they’ll be just fine, but the group needs a big moment to break out with the general public. Musically, I’d like to see them begin to differentiate themselves from ATEEZ.
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Well, for KQ, I believe they are doing better at shaping xikers’ musical identity. We Don’t Stop and Bittersweet (which they’ve promoted more than Witch from what I’ve seen) point at a promising rock/hip-hop sound, so they can focus on that further. Oh well, I’d love to see a comeback like Back Off or Bittersweet (and with Junghoon, of course!). They just need their own Wonderland to make it big and we’ll be all good.
Also, ATEEZ’ comebacks haven’t hit since Halazia (although Crazy Form grew on me, I haven’t checked it out in months). *sigh* Methinks Edenary’s running out of juice, though they’ve been doing well with xikers.
Also, KQ’s A&R can be a hit-or-miss, given we’ve got Ice On My Teeth over Selfish Waltz (and ATEEZ’ history of choosing weaker tracks over stronger ones) and fuckass Red Sun over Supercalifragilistic (as you see, I’m still traumatized over the latter and I’ll forever hold a grudge against KQ for this musical hate crime (c” ತ,_ತ)).
B– for me.
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I love Red Sun (mostly bc I saw a tiktok of Sumin’s rap and immediately liked it LMAO, that boy literally glows neon)
but anyway, I’d pin the blame for ateez’s lack of good music on Leez’s exit from the production team a couple years back. whatever he worked on before he left has clearly run out. I’m hoping they try another team soon, if not for this era, for the next, because I think we’re all tired of talk-rap hip hop choruses 😭 please go back to singing the chorus together and having an actual melody to go with the good production !
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Oh well, a matter of preferences :p I don’t follow ATEEZ too closely to know much about Leez’ contribution, but I feel like something’s missing since Halazia, given I’ve barely clicked with their 2023 and later title tracks. Edenary’s been such a vital part of ATEEZ’ musical identity, I can’t imagine ATEEZ without Edenary and vice versa, but they need to get their act together, cause that spoken hip hop sound they’ve been doing this year is barely doing anything, which is weird cause they did quite well with xikers this year 🥴 can only hope ATEEZ goes back to their bombastic roots of Wonderland, Answer and Inception (though I’m mostly biased towards Answer and kinda Inception ‼️). Like, they don’t have to be carbon copies, but the essence of what made those songs so good needs to be there
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I love these posts because I always learn who is company-mates with whom.
I’m rooting for Ampers&one (why couldn’t they just have been called Ampers&??). I loved Kamden on Boys Planet, but they have a strong lineup overall and a ton of English speakers. It feels like they could strike out internationally with ease.
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True, I didn’t know P1Harmony and Ampers&One were labelmates either
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Poor weeekly 😦 they literally deserve the world.
and man, seeing xikers struggle is a bit painful, esp bc they’re ateez’s baby brothers. breakout moments are harder and harder to come by for a group with their style of music and filled with a bunch of introverts. If something goes viral, I’m placing my bets on Sumin being the reason. He has a lot of superstar energy and carries the group’s personality on his back.
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Apink except eunji have left IST
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