Will HOT ISSUE Become the Next Hot Topic of K-Pop?
Cube Entertainment’s co-founder and former chairman, Hong Seungsung, is back with his new label and an upcoming girl group. The establishment of S2 Entertainment was announced in September 2020, and the first group photo of HOT ISSUE was published recently on March 25. Here’s what we know so far about the new K-Pop group aiming to be relatable all around the world.
S2 Entertainment
Hong Seungsung, a former president of JYP Entertainment, worked with Rain before opening Cube Entertainment in 2006, where he produced globally popular groups like 4Minute, BTOB, PENTAGON, CLC, and (G)I-DLE. But after VT GMP became the largest shareholder in the agency in early 2020, the co-founder and chairman decided to leave the company.
In September 2020, Hong Seungsung announced the establishment of his new label, S2 Entertainment, on his personal Twitter. Under the slogan "K-Pop Leads the World," the company promises to always listen to the voices of its artists and fans of all cultures, and aims to create content that people around the world can relate to.
HOT ISSUE
On March 16, 2021, the name and logo of HOT ISSUE was revealed. HOT stands for “honest, outstanding, terrific,” showing the aspirations of the new group. The logo merges the letter “H” with the double “S” in “issue,” where the two “S”s also appear to be two question marks.
The chairman, with 30 years of experience in producing, is said to be behind the casting and training of the members, as well as coming up with the group’s concept. On March 25, the first photo showing all seven members together was released. HOT ISSUE is reported to have exceptional songwriting and strong performance and language skills, making them ready to conquer the hearts of global K-Pop fans.
The Members
The group consists of seven girls between the ages of 17 and 21. Nahyun was the first member to be revealed. She is the leader, main vocalist, and visual of the group and a former trainee of Cube Entertainment. The main dancer, Mayna, was the second member to be revealed. She is Chinese, but she was born in Romania and also lived in Spain, so she can speak a total of four languages: Chinese, Korean, Romanian, and Spanish. She was a contestant in Produce 101 China, so she might already have some Chinese fans that could bring international attention to the group.
Hyeongshin is also confirmed to be a main dancer, as well as the main rapper of the group. She ranked No. 7 on CAP-TEEN, CJ E&M and Mnet’s survival show that aired between November 2020 and January 2021, making her an already familiar face to the South Korean audience. The fourth member revealed was Dana, the vocalist and dancer of the group who was a child actress and is said to be good at composing music and writing lyrics. Yewon, vocalist and dancer of HOT ISSUE, is a musical actress and a former Fave Entertainment trainee. Yebin, vocalist, dancer, and rapper, was a trainee under Source Music. Dain, rapper and dancer of the group, was the last member to be revealed. She was a CAP-TEEN contestant with Hyeongshin, ranking No. 43 on the show, and was a trainee under P NATION.
What to Expect?
All the members seem to bring different experiences and talents, while the previous works of the CEO can assure K-Pop fans of the quality of the upcoming group, which makes us think they could easily become very diverse and globally appreciated. While it seems like Hong Seungsung will work very closely with the group, we believe HOT ISSUE might be one of the next self-producing groups in K-Pop.
On their official YouTube page, a performance video was posted of three members dancing to Ty Dolla $ign’s “Droptop in the Rain.” The song choice, the grunge styling, and the overall visual show a cool vibe. Will the group be as outstanding, edgy, and outspoken as it seems now?
HOT ISSUE is expected to make their official debut in April, so we probably won’t have to wait long until we get to see the unique charms and talents of the new girl group. Until then, check out their performance video down below: