{"id":306500,"date":"2025-12-09T07:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T07:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/306500\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T07:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T07:14:08","slug":"are-boybands-back-republic-records-and-freddy-wexler-unveil-the-next-global-phenomenon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/306500\/","title":{"rendered":"Are boybands back? Republic Records and Freddy Wexler unveil \u2018the next global phenomenon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republic Records<\/a> and producer Freddy Wexler<\/a> have signed JYT, a five-member group they say will reintroduce dance-driven pop to a global audience, potentially testing whether American labels are ready to invest in the format again.<\/p>\n

The signing comes as HYBE, the South Korean agency behind BTS, has seen recent success in pop groups including Santos Bravos <\/a>and Grammy-nominated KATSEYE<\/a>, the international girl group the South Korean company jointly signed with Universal Music Group<\/a>\u2019s Geffen.<\/p>\n

Speaking on HYBE\u2019s Q2 earnings call in August, the company\u2019s CEO Jason Jaesang Lee highlighted KATSEYE\u2019s recent success as a template for what his company wishes to achieve in the US and other \u2018western\u2019 markets \u2013 i.e. carefully constructed, mass-appeal acts, who (a) require a large amount of investment and (b) borrow from the group-based success of Kpop megastars like BTS.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 20, 30 years ago, we had Backstreet Boys, Westlife, NSYNC and other groups,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, because of the financial crisis, there was reluctance in [markets including the US] for massive investments to make and develop [pop groups].<\/p>\n

\u201cFinancial and strategic investors were hesitant to make large investments because of the low possibility for returns\u2026. so such a model almost disappeared in these markets. But now we\u2019re going to reapply this type of methodology in these major music markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

JYT\u2018s members \u2014 Caden, Tyler, Bryan, Recker, and Toby, ages 15 to 17 \u2014 accumulated over 500,000 combined followers online before releasing any music. Their debut single, What U Want, was released on December 5.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In partnership with Wexler, the group was formed through a process where the members selected each other rather than going through traditional casting.<\/p>\n

Wexler said: \u201cFrom the moment these five kids stood in a room together, I knew we had something special. JYT isn\u2019t a manufactured boyband, they chose each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment these five kids stood in a room together, I knew we had something special. JYT isn\u2019t a manufactured boyband, they chose each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freddy Wexler, Producer<\/p>\n

The producer has received Grammy and Golden Globe nominations for his work. He has contributed to 11 Billboard<\/a> No. 1 songs for artists including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, Laufey, Post Malone, Selena Gomez, Diana Ross, P!nk, Celine Dion and Billy Joel. <\/p>\n

His recent projects include co-writing and producing the Golden Globe-nominated end-title song for Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic, and bringing Billy Joel back to the studio for his first new music in decades.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the REPUBLIC partnership, Wexler said: \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be partnering with Monte and the incredible team at Republic, with whom I\u2019ve shared some of the most pivotal moments of my career. America hasn\u2019t launched a global boy band in decades, and these kids are about to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to call Freddy an extraordinary partner as producer, label head, and creative force; as we launch an explosive new band together via his label Wexler Records \/ Republic Records.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monte Lipman, REPUBLIC<\/p>\n

Monte Lipman, Founder and Chairman of REPUBLIC, said he attempted to sign Wexler as an artist two decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said: \u201cTwo decades later, I\u2019m proud to call Freddy an extraordinary partner as producer, label head, and creative force; as we launch an explosive new band together via his label Wexler Records \/ Republic Records. In the spirit of never say never, we finally found a way to be in the Freddy Wexler business after all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The members described their training period as intense. They said: \u201cWe went from five kids to brothers fast, and this bootcamp\u2019s been insane, but we love it. We just want to put on a show no one forgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group spent the past year training in Los Angeles with choreographer Nick DeMoura, known for his work with Justin Bieber.<\/p>\n

DeMoura said: \u201cWhen I first saw JYT dance, I felt the same fire that made NSYNC a movement, not just a band.\u201d<\/p>\n

These kids train like athletes, perform like veterans, and have the potential to be this generation\u2019s defining boy band\u2026which is exactly why I wanted to be part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

A multi-part documentary series documenting the group\u2019s formation is currently in production, mirroring the K-pop strategy of documenting training processes.<\/p>\n

The JYT model reflects a wider industry adoption of K-pop training and development processes.<\/p>\n

For example, HYBE\u2019s investments in Santos Bravos and KATSEYE represent the company\u2019s push to apply its K-pop methodology to groups targeting Western markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went from five kids to brothers fast, and this bootcamp\u2019s been insane, but we love it. We just want to put on a show no one forgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

JYT<\/p>\n

KATSEYE was formed<\/a> in partnership with Universal Music Group\u2018s Geffen, while Santos Bravos was formed<\/a> via HYBE\u2019s Latin music division. KATSEYE recently received Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo\/Group Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards.<\/p>\n

HYBE CEO Jason Jaesang Lee told analysts on the company\u2019s Q3 earnings call in November: \u201cIt is extraordinary that KATSEYE was nominated considering the fact that this group debuted just a little more than a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis result suggests that the group has built a strong global fandom and achieved commercial success in a short span of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music Business Worldwide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republic Records and producer Freddy Wexler have signed JYT, a five-member group they say will reintroduce dance-driven pop…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-306500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}