T
HERE HAVE BEEN
hip-hop collectives and rock
supergroups, but SM Enter-
tainment’s SuperM is being
touted by the company as a
boy band full of leading men
— and K-pop’s most impressive lineup
to date, with seven members from SM’s
most successful and still-active groups.
“I see this as a new challenge,” says
EXO vocalist Baekhyun, who at 27 is
the oldest member of SuperM and has
emerged as its leader. “There are a lot of
expectations, because even though this
is new, each of us comes from a different
[popular] group. But there’s this awe-
some synergy between us.”
The group — which will release its
self-titled debut EP on Oct. 4 — also
consists of EXO’s Kai, 25, who recently
became the global face of Gucci’s new
eyewear campaign; WayV’s Lucas, the
20-year-old Hong Kong-born rapper,
and Ten, the 23-year-old Thai artist;
NCT 127’s Canadian songwriter-rap-
per Mark, 20, and 24-year-old leader
Taeyong; and Taemin, 26, who has
been in the industry the longest, join-
ing SHINee at 14. “Our team is the aces
of aces,” says Taemin.
EXO has scored four No. 1s on Bill-
board’s World Albums chart; in January,
WayV debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s
Social 50 ranking; NCT 127 performed
on Good Morning America in April;
and SHINee has won the Seoul Music
Awards’ popularity honor twice.
As for SuperM, its name is a nod to
its roots at Korean company SM Enter-
tainment, formed in 1995 by producer
Lee Soo-man. Since then, SM has ex-
panded K-pop’s reach, first in Asia and
then in the United States. Earlier this
year, SM partnered with Capitol Music
Group to build a bigger following for
NCT 127 in the States. And in August,
the two companies, along with Capitol’s
independent distribution and label ser-
vices division Caroline, announced they
would launch SuperM together.
Capitol CEO Steve Barnett says
SuperM will “be part of our legacy to
the future,” and calls Lee the “godfa-
ther” of K-pop. Lee’s résumé proves as
much. In 1996, SM introduced H.O.T.,
largely considered the first K-pop idol
group, and has continued to produce
acts with stateside appeal.
Many South Korean entertainment
companies have followed suit: Big Hit’s
BTS has had three Billboard 200 No. 1
albums; this summer, YG’s Blackpink
became the first female K-pop group
to perform at Coachella; and Starship
Entertainment’s Monsta X collabo-
rated this year with French Montana
on a Mainstream Top 40 hit. All three
have redefined what U.S. success can
look like for Korean pop groups in the
second half of this decade. And while
SuperM may seem like SM’s latest effort
to rival its competitors, it’s equally an
attempt to revive one of SM’s key sonic
legacies: SMP, or SM Music Perfor-
mance. The company-created term
refers to dance performances set to a
fusion of pop-rock, R&B and hip-hop
production. SMP was best illustrated by
early-2000s releases from record-break-
ing boy band TVXQ!, which in June
SM Entertainment’s
Pre-SuperM Supergroups
SM vocalists from
TRAX, Super Junior
(and its sub-unit Super
Junior-M), SHINee,
TVXQ!, Girls’ Genera-
tion and EXO — and two
former SM members,
one of whom is now in
Cube Entertainment’s
boy band Pentagon
— released two EPs
under the name S.M.
the Ballad. In 2010, one
grouping recorded Miss
Yo u; in 2014, another
recorded Breath, which
hit No. 9 on Billboard’s
World Albums chart.
In 2012, South Korean
car manufacturer Hyun-
dai Motor Company
unveiled its new market-
ing campaign, “Premium
Younique Lifestyle,”
and worked with SM to
debut a supergroup in
promotion. Within two
months, Younique —
members of EXO, Girls’
Generation, SHINee,
Super Junior and Super
Junior-M — released
PYL Younique Volume 1,
featuring singer-song-
writer BoA and rappers
Dok2 and The Quiett.
The choreography-
heavy team has re-
leased only two singles
since it formed in 2012,
and they arrived five
years apart. The group
debuted with a Korean
remix of Zedd’s “Spec-
trum” (off his 2012
debut album, Clarity)
featuring members
from TVXQ!, Super Ju-
nior, SHINee and EXO.
And in 2017, it released
“Dream in a Dream,” a
solo single from WayV’s
Ten that was branded a
group track.
From top: Lucas,
Taeyong, Taemin, Ten,
Baekhyun, Kai and Mark.
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OTS.2018 became the best-selling foreign
touring act in Japan, and Super Junior,
which has had 21 top 20 hits on Bill-
board’s World Digital Song Sales chart.
SM has had U.S. crossover success be-
fore: In 2009, BoA became the first-ever
K-pop star to enter the Billboard 200,
and in 2012, Girls’ Generation per-
formed on the Late Show With David
Letterman. In June, NCT 127 debuted at
No. 11 on the Billboard 200 with its We
Are Superhuman EP. But SuperM, with
its blockbuster lineup, is SM’s effort to
lead the K-pop conversation in the U.S.
market, as it once did in the early ’00s.
“I don’t want to compare SuperM to
any of the other groups at SM, but if
I had to describe [what] sets us apart,
it’s the performance element,” says
Taemin. “It’s not just dance, but in-
cludes vocals and rapping, where each
member can showcase his ability and
shine in a different way, that maybe
they can’t in other groups.”
So far, SuperM has been tight-
lipped about the sound and style of its
album and doesn’t plan to share any
tracks ahead of the set other than the
already-released “I Can’t Stand the
Rain.” One thing it has made clear,
though, is its goal: “We’re doing some-
thing futuristic and more advanced
than what the world has ever seen,”
says Mark.
SuperM also arrives at a time when
SM shareholders are demanding
change. In July, SM rearranged its upper
leadership at SM Entertainment Group
and subsidiary SM Contents & Culture,
and announced it would look to divest
less-than-profitable business ventures
— mainly the SMTOWN Coex Artium
complex in Seoul, a museum, café,
theater and store that opened in 2015. If
SuperM becomes a crossover success,
the company could solidify its footing.
Despite the fact that SuperM already
has debuted on Billboard’s Artist 100
chart without releasing a stitch of music,
K-pop fans have expressed trepidation
over its assembly. Immediately after
Barnett and Lee announced SuperM
at August’s Capitol Congress — Capi-
tol’s annual pep rally and presentation
of upcoming releases — the hashtag
#SuperMDisbandParty was created,
as fans, concerned over how the
supergroup would impact the futures
of their favorite existing K-pop acts,
demanded that SM and Capitol abandon
the project.
SuperM isn’t fazed. Its members want
to prove how strong they are as a whole
— especially when they’re together on-
stage. (The group is currently in rehears-
als.) “It’s always important to take the
next step when people might not expect
it,” says Mark. “We always try to make
that challenge into something great for
the fans — and for us, as well.”
S.M. THE BALLAD YOUNIQUE
SM THE
PERFORMANCE
38 BILLBOARD • SEPTEMBER 28, 2019