I think this year has seen huge success for groups and artists not in JYPE, SM, HYBE or YG especially in Korea.
Firstly, there is Ateez who finally got their breakout hit with “Bad” 8 years into their career. While I personally don’t think it is their best song, there is no denying the impact it has had in Korea. Then there is Lngshot who also have had a better year than anyone expected them to have. Obviously it is not at the same level but their debut album is one of the most streamed Kpop albums this year across the board and Moonwalkin is pulling crazy numbers on par with some huge artists. While they have just started, their debut year has been promising and they are releasing a new ep at the end of 2026. Last but very much not least is Rescene who have absolutely exploded in popularity this year. They are basically the number one group in Korea right now and everything they touch turns to gold essentially. I lost track of how many songs they have charting in the top 10 of melon simultaneously and they are just killing it right now.
Overall, I thin this year has been good for groups not in the big 4 and I hope to see more of it.
submitted by /u/Clp_1889
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