And this year’s Grammy didn’t go to: K-pop.

A Grammy nomination is not to be taken for granted, but the absence of any hint of K-pop at the 67th Grammy Awards may signal a possible dimming of the spotlight on the once-glorious champion of the Korean pop culture market. But along with the dimming of this light, a ray of hope is also seeping through, as some of the scene's biggest guns are set to return.


This year’s Grammy Awards took place on Feb. 2 in Los Angeles, with Beyonce finally taking home her first Album of the Year award for her 2024 studio album “Cowboy Carter.” Other winners included Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. The ceremony itself included a star-studded list of performers, including Chappell Roan, Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Shakira, John Legend and Stevie Wonder.

No trace of K-pop was anywhere to be seen at the latest edition of the awards — but one step back in 2024 may soon lead to two steps forward in 2025.

Girl group Blackpink announced an album and world tour for this year; all the members of boy band BTS will have finished their military duties by June; and other rising stars are also paving their own paths — providing hope that this year may be a pivotal moment for the industry.

Blackpink in your area, again

The solo careers of all four members of Blackpink — Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo and Jennie — are taking off in a big way. The singers have either released or are set to release their first solo albums after parting ways with YG Entertainment in 2023.

After announcing in December 2023 that they would go their separate ways for their solo activities but join under the YG flag for group activities as K-pop’s biggest female quartet, the Blackpink members have each established their own companies to begin new chapters in their careers — except Rosé who joined an already-founded agency.

The first to release music outside of YG was Lisa, who established her agency LLOUD in February 2024. She released a single titled “Rockstar” in June last year, and three more singles — “New Woman” (2024), “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” (2024) and “Born Again” since then.

Lisa’s first full-length album “Alter Ego” is set to drop on Feb. 28. The four singles she released since establishing LLOUD will be included on the new album.

Coming after Lisa was Jennie, who had already established her agency Odd Atelier (also known as OA Entertainment) in November 2023 before the Blackpink members officially parted ways. Jennie took a little time off from singing until she released her single “Mantra” last October, soon followed by another single titled “Love Hangover” that she unveiled on Jan. 31.

Jennie’s first full-length album “Ruby” will be rolled out on March 7, just a week after her bandmate Lisa's release. She will then begin “The Ruby Experience” tour with live shows at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on March 6 and 7, followed by an event in New York on March 10 and the Inspire Arena in Incheon.

Rosé released her first full-length album “rosie” on Dec. 6, 2024, six months after signing with The Black Label as her new agency in June last year.

Before releasing the album, the singer's surprise collaboration with pop star Bruno Mars, “APT” (2024), swept the world immediately after its release last October. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the highest-ever spot for a K-pop female solo artist, in the last week of January this year.

The one remaining member who hasn’t released any new music since her solo single under YG Entertainment is Jisoo.

But that’s also about to change with her very first EP “Amortage” set to come on Valentine’s Day. “Amortage” will have four tracks: “earthquake,” “Your Love,” “Tears” and “Hugs & Kisses.” The singer took part in making all of the tracks on the EP, according to her agency Blissoo. Jisoo founded the agency on Feb. 21, 2024.

Jisoo will meet with fans during two meet-up sessions on Feb. 14 — one at 6 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. She will then tour seven cities in Asia: Manila, Bangkok, Tokyo, Macau, Taipei, Hong Kong and Hanoi.

But most importantly, Blackpink officially announced its world tour on Thursday.

Blackpink’s agency YG Entertainment said on Thursday that it has “put together a special team to support the group activities of Blackpink, and the comeback plans are taking shape at a fast pace.” Details such as the dates or locations have not come yet, but the agency also promised an album last year, and the group’s dedicated fan club Blink is sure not to forget.

BTS to end military service

Perhaps the biggest news that the K-pop market is eyeing for the latter half of the year is whether BTS will release new music with its full seven-member lineup.

All members of the septet are set to finish their mandatory military duties by June, a moment that the band’s dedicated fandom ARMY has been waiting for since the group announced a practical hiatus in June 2022. The oldest member, Jin, began his service in December that year, soon after which the other bandmates followed one by one.

Jin showed the very definition of dedication to his vocation as a K-pop artist by holding a meet and greet with the fans just one day after being discharged from the military. June 13, 2024, was also the 11th anniversary of debut for the band.

The second member of BTS to return to civilian life was J-Hope, who finished his service on Oct. 17, 2024. The BTS singer will begin his “Hope on the Stage” solo world tour with three concerts at southern Seoul’s KSPO Dome on Feb. 28, March 1 and 2. He is set to hold 31 performances in 15 cities around the world including Brooklyn, Chicago and Mexico City.

But even during his service, J-Hope kept fans busy with two solo albums — “Jack In The Box” (2023) and “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” (2024) — along with a documentary series titled “Hope on the Street” released in March last year.

Other members also kept fans happy with their solo content, along with messages sent through the fan community service Weverse.

RM released his second solo album “Right Place, Wrong Person” in May 2024, while Jimin released his second solo EP “Muse” in July. Jungkook released a single titled “Never Let Go” in June; V released two singles — “Fri(end)s” (2024) and “Winter Ahead” (2024); and Suga’s live tour film “Suga | Agust D Tour ‘D-Day’ The Movie” was released last April.

All members will have finished their duties by June this year. V and RM are due to finish on June 10, Jungkook and Jimin on June 11 and Suga on June 21.

A big question surrounds when BTS will release new music as a septet. The band’s agency, BigHit Music, never gave a solid timeframe for when a long-awaited album would come, but the company emphasized that all members renewed their contracts in 2023 to stay together after their military services end.

The most recent comment from HYBE came on Nov. 6, 2024, when the company’s Chief Finance Officer Lee Kyung-jun said that the company was "in talks with BTS members on their 2026 activities” during a conference call.

“The company and the members are hoping for a 2025 comeback but it is difficult to pinpoint a certain timeline,” HYBE said.

Meanwhile, J-Hope is set to release new music in March. A specific date has not been set yet.

Reaping the fruits

However, it isn't just the return of K-pop's champions that will sustain the industry as a whole. While popular groups have extended their terms together in a bid to continue their legacies, newcomers are also paving their way onto the global stage with unique themes, slowly reaping the fruits of their endeavors.

All members of boy bands Stray Kids and Seventeen, the two acts that have been most frequently dubbed the “next BTS,” extended their contracts with their agencies, easing fans’ concerns of a possible disbandment.

Agencies are also rolling out new bands to diversify their portfolios. JYP Entertainment debuted its first new K-pop boy band in seven years since Stray Kids, named KickFlip, on Jan. 20. SM Entertainment will debut its new girl group Hearts2Hearts on Feb. 24.

The return of BTS is certainly something to look forward to, but that won’t be a guarantee for the success of K-pop as a whole, nor should the market solely depend on one group to lead the globalization of the whole market, according to pop music critic Kim Do-heon.

“This year’s Grammy winners have quite distinct colors of their own, rather than the popular, generally-known artists,” Kim said.

“That being said, the way for K-pop to go is also the path of diversification and really refining what we do best. Only making ‘Western’ music or trying to appeal to everyone will end up with a wishy-washy genre that will get K-pop nowhere. It’s time to think about what K-pop really is and what we can do with it — not just what we think that the Western listeners want to hear.”

The fruits of previous efforts may also pay off this year, according to critic Kim Young-dae.

“One thing to look out for this year is whether the localization efforts, which took up a major part of K-pop investment, will start to pay off,” Kim said.

Major K-pop agencies such as HYBE, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment have been debuting groups in partnership with global music companies in a bid for more global expansion, with girl group Katseye and boy bands dearALICE and NEXZ.

“Should these groups succeed, then they will greatly help the expansion of K-pop. The virtual idol market is also expected to grow substantially. They carry risks, but the potential for growth is big, so they may very likely influence the future landscape of K-pop.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]