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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL, Sept. 28 – Global search interest in HYBE’s two emerging boy groups, &TEAM and CORTIS, has spiked simultaneously, signaling strong momentum for the company’s new artist lineup.
According to Google Trends data released on September 28, both “&TEAM” and “CORTIS” reached their highest weekly search volume in the past 52 weeks during September 14–20. Google Trends indexes search popularity on a scale of 0 to 100, reflecting shifts in consumer attention.
&TEAM, which debuted in Japan in 2022, is preparing to ramp up its Korean activities with the release of its first Korean mini-album Back to Life in October.
CORTIS, a five-member group under BigHit Music that debuted on August 18, has quickly drawn attention. Their first album, released on September 8, sold over 430,000 copies in its first week, ranking as the best-selling debut album by a rookie group this year. It also entered fourth place in the all-time idol debut album chart, surpassing ILLIT (380,000 copies), NewJeans (310,000 copies), and LE SSERAFIM (300,000 copies).
The simultaneous surge in online searches highlights HYBE’s successful strategy in nurturing global rookies, diversifying revenue streams beyond long-established acts such as BTS and SEVENTEEN, and strengthening expectations for new growth drivers.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)