From BTS to Bollywood: HYBE INDIA is betting big on Indian talent

INdia is all go down to feature its possess K-pop fille aggroup. HYBE INDIA, the subsidiary arm of the global entertainment label behind BTS, has been conducting countrywide auditions in search of the voices and faces who will make up the band.Describing India as not just another market but one of the world’s fastest-growing and most culturally dynamic music ecosystems, HYBE INDIA CEO Damien Woochang Lee is unequivocal about what drew the label here.“Music is deeply woven into everyday life, and India’s extraordinary diversity of languages, traditions, and artistic expressions creates an environment unlike any other. Today, India’s music industry is undergoing a significant transformation. While Bollywood remains an important force, the rapid rise of independent artists and evolving fan communities are reshaping the market into a more open, genre-fluid ecosystem. We aim to nurture India’s evolving music ecosystem while connecting local talents to HYBE’s global network, enabling their stories and artistry to resonate far beyond national borders.” The blueprint is not without precedent. HYBE’s multinational girl group KATSEYE, which debuted in 2024 under the label’s ‘multi-home, multi-genre’ strategy, went beyond being an industry experiment to become a genuine music phenomenon — from the Billboard 200 to Lollapalooza, the diverse group’s success proved that K-pop’s frontiers were expanding well beyond its home shores.For Lee, the next chapter could be a truly homegrown one: rooted in Indian culture and built to empower the next generation of Indian artists.The decision to begin with a girl group was not arbitrary. It came after rigorous research that identified young Indian women not only as cultural trendsetters but as among the most passionate and invested music fans in the country.“Young women in their teens and twenties are among the most culturally engaged, creatively expressive, and emotionally invested audiences in India. They are driving trends, shaping conversations, and actively looking for artists they can genuinely connect with. As their influence continues to grow, so does the opportunity to better reflect their voices and experiences. What we found was that there’s an opportunity for a new kind of female role model — someone who looks like them, sounds like them, and shares their experiences, while representing those experiences on the global stage. We saw a clear gap between the depth of female talent and the opportunities available to showcase and nurture that talent at scale.”With auditions open to young women between 16 and 21 across India, Lee says the talent pool has left the label genuinely impressed — particularly in the range and versatility on display.“The level of talent we’ve seen in India has been truly remarkable. Vocalists moved effortlessly across genres, from classical Indian and Carnatic music to rap, pop, and hip-hop, while dancers demonstrated equal fluency, blending traditional forms like Kathak and Bharatanatyam with contemporary and hip-hop styles. That ability to embrace both tradition and modernity is what makes Indian talent so distinctive, and it’s one of the qualities that gives us tremendous confidence in its global potential.”Collaborations with Indian artists and the broader creative community are built into HYBE INDIA’s approach from the ground up — a prerequisite rather than a plan. The label is already taking steps to build relationships with Indian songwriters, composers, producers, and choreographers.The recent collaboration between LE SSERAFIM, formed under Source Music, a HYBE sub-label, and Punjabi singer Guru Randhawa on “BOOMPALA” felt like a marker of how far K-pop and Indian music have moved toward each other — and exactly the kind of crossover HYBE INDIA says it wants to build on. “When it comes to collaborations with HYBE’s global artists, our approach is much more intentional. We don’t believe in collaborations simply because they generate headlines or excitement. Every collaboration has to be creatively justified, grounded in music and storytelling, and feel authentic to the artists involved. When those elements come together, the result creates lasting value for both the artists and their fans. India has one of the world’s richest and most diverse musical traditions, and we believe there is significant potential for meaningful collaborations between Indian artists and HYBE’s global roster — but they should always be driven by the music itself, not by the idea of creating buzz.”Fan communities, Lee insists, are not a side effect of that process — they are central to it. The HYBE INDIA Pop-Up Parks, which have brought together fans and audiences across cities, have given the label a live read of just how participatory India’s music culture already is.“What we’re seeing through initiatives like the HYBE INDIA Pop-Up Parks is that fans in India are already active cultural participants. They’re organising, creating, performing, and building communities around music in a very organic way. For HYBE INDIA, this is incredibly important because we don’t see artist identity as something that is only defined in the studio or on stage. It is also shaped by how fans engage, interpret, and expand that work. In many ways, fans become co-builders of the narrative.”Meanwhile, Indian fans have been watching HYBE’s global footprint expand with a particular hope in mind. While K-pop acts including Taemin, EXO’s Chen and Xiumin, and GOT7’s BamBam and Jackson Wang have all performed in India, the question of a BTS concert on home soil has remained unanswered for years. With fan speculation already building around a possible 2027 visit, Lee’s response is measured but not dismissive.“We plan to move forward thoughtfully and step by step as we deepen our understanding of the market and its distinct characteristics. Our priority is to listen closely to the community and ensure that everything we develop is grounded in what genuinely connects with Indian fans.”Ask Lee what success looks like for HYBE INDIA in the years ahead, and his answer is strikingly visual.“We want to see artists from cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Chennai take the stage in places like New York or Paris, recognised and celebrated for their Indian identity and artistry. Ultimately, we’re working to turn Indian voices into global stories — by building the infrastructure that can carry them there.”For now, the auditions continue — and somewhere in India, the girl who will one day stand on that stage is still waiting to be found.