August K-pop Boy Group Battle: Stray Kids the Only Full Lineup

[넥스트포스트=이종균 기자] Four flagship boy groups from Korea's top entertainment companies are converging on the K-pop market this August. But only one of them, Stray Kids, is taking the stage as a complete lineup.

JYP Entertainment's Stray Kids returned on the 7th with their 10th mini-album "THIS & THAT," comprising the full eight members. According to Hanteo Chart, cumulative sales reached 2,844,550 copies as of the 12th — five days after release — putting the album on the verge of crossing 3 million. The title track "THIS & THAT" topped Spotify's Top Songs Debut Global chart, while the album ranked No. 2 on Top Albums Debut Global. The group is also pursuing a ninth consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The other three groups face different circumstances. YG Entertainment's BIGBANG will release the digital single "BiiiG" on the 19th at 6 p.m., marking their 20th debut anniversary. Only three members — G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung — take part. It's the group's first album release in roughly a decade following the departures of Seungri and T.O.P. After the single drops, BIGBANG kicks off its 33-date, 19-city world tour "XX: COSMOS" with a concert in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 21st.

HYBE-affiliated ENHYPEN will release their eighth mini-album "THE SIN: BLISS" on the 21st. It's the first album since main vocalist Heeseung left the group, with the remaining six members — Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki — taking part. How the group compensates for the absence of a member who handled key high notes and vocal parts is seen as the main point of interest for this release.

SM Entertainment's NCT 127 will release its seventh full-length album on the 24th to mark the group's 10th anniversary. The team reorganized into a seven-member lineup after Mark terminated his exclusive contract and left on April 8. Only five members — Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, and Haechan — are taking part in this activity, since Doyoung and Jungwoo are currently serving in the military. The agency says the group plans to resume full-lineup activities once the two members complete their service.

Behind the differing lineups lies a string of contract disputes and member departures that have rippled through the K-pop industry in recent years. Because forming a group requires multiple members to maintain long-term exclusive contracts, the departure of even one member can reshape how the entire team operates. BIGBANG's activities were curtailed for years following Seungri's nightlife-venue scandal and T.O.P.'s personal circumstances, while both ENHYPEN and NCT 127 saw key members terminate their contracts this year.

Even amid these changes, the significance of August's comeback rush is considerable. According to Hanteo Global figures, K-pop album sales in the first half of this year reached 49.53 million copies, a new record for any first half — surpassing the previous high of 46.17 million set in the first half of 2023. Industry watchers say whether 2023's annual record of 115 million copies gets broken will depend on how these four groups perform in the second half. With a full-lineup Stray Kids setting an early pace, how well the three reorganized groups can hold onto their fan bases and drive sales is expected to determine the direction of this year's overall numbers.

넥스트포스트 이종균 기자 jay@nextpost.co.kr