{"id":254416,"date":"2026-04-01T11:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=254416"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:42:06","slug":"hybe-india-launches-search-for-girl-group-with-auditions-extending-to-london-new-york-singapore-toronto-and-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/hybe-india-launches-search-for-girl-group-with-auditions-extending-to-london-new-york-singapore-toronto-and-sydney\/","title":{"rendered":"HYBE India launches search for girl group, with auditions extending to London, New York, Singapore, Toronto and Sydney"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean entertainment giant HYBE has launched a nationwide talent search in India as it seeks to form a new girl group, six months after opening<\/a> its India headquarters in Mumbai.<\/p>\n

Applications opened on Tuesday (March 31) and run through July 31. Girls born between 2005 and 2011 can join the auditions, which will be conducted both online and across 10 Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai <\/b>and Pune<\/b>.\u00a0Indians outside the country can audition at locations in London, New York, Singapore, Toronto <\/b>and Sydney.<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

The audition comes over six months after HYBE set up its Indian subsidiary in Mumbai<\/b> as it seeks to capitalize on India\u2019s growing streaming market and the rise of K-pop consumption in India. During the launch in September, HYBE said its India-based operation will implement HYBE\u2019s artist training and development (T&D) system, conducting auditions and training programs adapted for local talent.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div> <\/div> <\/p>\n

Most recently, Lee Woo-chang<\/b>, CEO of HYBE India, said<\/a> as per Korea JoongAng Daily: <\/i>\u201cThe audition is a new entry point for young people in India. The company has built a training and development system tailored to local conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the standard K-pop trainee categories of vocals, rap, and dance, HYBE India is also accepting applications in acting, modeling and \u201cother\u201d talents. Prior professional training is not required and HYBE India said applicants must be free of any contractual obligations with other entertainment agencies to participate in the training and debut process. HYBE India is specifically looking for \u201craw talent and drive,\u201d according to its audition FAQ page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/i>\u201cThe audition is a new entry point for young people in India. The company has built a training and development system tailored to local conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee Woo-chang<\/b>, HYBE India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sponsors include H&M, Shoppers Stop, Samsung Galaxy, <\/b>and Nongshim<\/b>, with Snapchat<\/b> as the primary social media partner and BookMyShow<\/b> managing ticketing. The application portal is live at india.hybeaudition.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move comes as India\u2019s media and entertainment sector expanded 9% YoY<\/b> in 2025 to INR 2.78 trillion <\/b>($31.9 billion at the average exchange rate for 2025), according to EY data<\/a>. The music market, however, fell 8% YoY <\/b>in 2025 to INR 23 billion<\/b> ($264m).<\/p>\n

By 2028, EY expects India\u2019s media and entertainment market to reach INR 3.3 trillion <\/b>($35bn), representing a compound annual growth rate of 6% <\/b>between 2025 and 2028. The music sector is forecast to expand to INR 75 billion <\/b>($802m) by 2028, representing a CAGR of 9%<\/b>.<\/p>\n

<\/div> <\/div> <\/p>\n

In addition to HYBE\u2019s expansion into India, South Korean entertainment tech company\u00a0Galaxy Corp.<\/b>,\u00a0which manages K-pop star G-Dragon<\/b>, is also reportedly<\/a> planning to open a branch in India.<\/p>\n

Universal Music Group<\/b>, meanwhile, has made a series of strategic deals in India, suggesting its sharpened focus on the market. In March, UMG formed<\/a> an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque<\/b> Records<\/b>, an independent record label recently launched by singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander.<\/p>\n

It follows UMG\u2019s acquisition<\/a> of a 30% <\/b>stake in Bollywood production house Excel<\/b> Entertainment<\/b>\u00a0in January in a deal that values the company at approximately $267 million<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Other India-focused deals made by UMG over the recent years include launching<\/a> a new label called\u00a0Pentertainment<\/b>\u00a00075<\/b>\u00a0in partnership with superstar India-based rapper\u00a0Badshah<\/b>; striking a strategic partnership<\/a>\u00a0with Hindi film production studio\u00a0Maddock Films<\/b> and its newly formed music label\u00a0Mad For Mussic<\/b>; signing a strategic partnership with India-based talent agency REPRESENT<\/a>\u00a0to help introduce Indian music culture to global audiences; and launching label\u00a0VYRL Punjabi\u00a0<\/b>in association with music composer Jatinder Shah. Universal Music India and\u00a0Capitol\u00a0Records <\/b>also\u00a0teamed up<\/a>\u00a0in 2021 on\u00a0Jason Derulo<\/b>\u2019s rework of\u00a0Tesher<\/b>\u2019s global hit,\u00a0Jalebi Baby,\u00a0<\/i>which was released in 2020.<\/p>\n

<\/div> <\/div> <\/p>\n

For HYBE, the India auditions are part of its wider strategic effort to export the K-pop methodology beyond its home market. The company has already demonstrated the effectiveness of that model with KATSEYE<\/b>, its first Western girl group formed<\/a> through a partnership with\u00a0Universal Music Group\u2018s\u00a0Geffen<\/b> Records. <\/b><\/p>\n

KATSEYE\u2019s singles\u00a0Gnarly\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Gabriela<\/i> saw multi-week runs on the\u00a0Billboard<\/i>\u00a0Hot 100, and the group has since earned Grammy nominations and an MTV VMA win.<\/p>\n

Last year, the HYBE-Geffen alliance launched<\/a> another talent search for a second girl group, which kicked off in Japan. Three contestants from\u00a0the 2023\u00a0Dream Academy, <\/i>which produced KATSEYE, were confirmed<\/a> as members of the unnamed group, set to debut this year.<\/p>\n

Through HYBE Latin America, the company also produced<\/a> a Latin boy group called SANTOS<\/b> BRAVOS<\/b>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Auditions will be held both online and across 10 Indian cities, as well as at locations in London, New York, Singapore, Toronto and Sydney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":254417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[129816,135190],"class_list":["post-254416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-hybe","tag-hybe-india"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254416"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254446,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254416\/revisions\/254446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}