Bee Entertainment is the Featured Company of September 2022
|
Bee Entertainment (삐엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean music label and entertainment agency that was founded in 2010. The label currently has five active groups.
Artists[]
Groups[]
- FPS (framerate) (former; 2012–2023)
- Bright Lights (2015–present)
- Snowflake (2017–present)
- DECAL (2021–present)
- rm8z (2019–present)
- Star10 (2021–present)
- VALERIAN (2023-present)
- EVER AFTER (2025 - present)
Soloists[]
Trainees[]
- Bees (2010–present)
History[]
2010-2011: Founding, Beginning of Bees Program[]
In January 2010, Jo Bisung founded Bee Entertainment. Bisung, a music enthusiast, had been saving up money since his graduation from business school to create his own company. He wanted to create a music company that would put creativity first, and would care more about their artists than money. He knew it would be difficult to start his own company from the ground up, even with the connections he had made through his former jobs, but Bisung was determined.
Bee Entertainment's first office space was one floor of a building. Bisung was friends with the person in charge of leasing the space, and as they understood Bisung's passion for his company, the leasing price was lowered. Bisung also hired the company's first staff members. These included Bisung's close friend and producer b.z, producers Park Taeyoon and RaInbow, and choreographer Hwang Jaehan. The producers were to work as vocal and rap instructors and Jaehan as a dance instructor until the company could hire more staff.
With some financial support from some of Bisung's former bosses and coworkers, who heard about Bisung's attempts to start a company and wanted to help, Bee Entertainment held its first audition. The audition yielded four trainees in March. These four trainees, Bae Kyunghyun, Han Yeona, Yu Byunghee, and Cho Sihyun, were named the STARTING BEES. This was the beginning of the Bees program. Bisung has personally gone out and scouted for trainees at open mics and events, and was pleased with the trainees the company now had.
In 2011, Bee Entertainment held their second audition. They had been able to hire a couple new instructors with the money the company received from the training fees, and were able to take in more trainees. The SILVER BEES joined in May. As the SILVER BEES brought in seven trainees, Bee Entertainment could finally begin looking at their options. Throughout 2011, Bee Entertainment began to plan their first group.
2012: FPS[]
In the beginning of 2012, Jo Bisung made the decision to debut a co-ed group. Although he knew that co-ed groups were not as popular, he felt like he had found the perfect match of trainees. The trainees were Bae Kyunghyun, Han Yeona, and Jo Kihyuk. Alogn with their normal training, the group began separate training to get used to being a group.
In January, Bee Entertainment scouted its first non-audition trainee, Kim Eunyeon, allowing him to join the company right away. In March, the SILVER BEES were brought in from an audition. With the trainee numbers increasing, Bee Entertainment could hire more general staff to help with their first group.
On May 26th, 2012, FPS made their official debut. The co-ed trio was made of what Bisung stated to be "the strongest trainees of Bee Entertainment". Kyunghyun, going by KY-HY, was a very strong dancer. Yeona was skilled in rapping, and could rival most of the rookie female K-pop rappers. Kihyuk, going by Joey, had a large vocal range and developed voice, despite his young age. FPS debuted with Silver Shutter pt 1. Bisung wanted their sound to be EDM-focused, much like the rest of the industry at the time, but with a fresher feel to it. FPS performed pretty well for a group from a lesser-known company, but the expectations were not high to begin with. Nonetheless, their sales helped the company financially. FPS did not receive any awards that year, but still brought attention to Bee Entertainment.
2013: New Hires, Bright Lights Test Group[]
In January and February 2013, Bee Entertainment hired lyricist Jeon Saerom and producer inTune. The two of them brought new perspectives to Bee Entertainment's production team, and helped develop FPS's music into something more interesting. This proved to be successful, as FPS's first comeback with the new staff members performed much better than their first releases. FPS's EDM sound was finding its place within the industry as a combination of strong dance music and fun pop.
In July, as Bee Entertainment had a lot of male trainees but not many female trainees, a female-only audition was held. This brought in the SPARKLE BEES. As well, Bee Entertainment held an audition for Japanese trainees. In September, the SAKURA BEES joined.
In late 2013, Bee Entertainment began to put a test group together for their new boy group. The test group consisted of Byunghee, Sihyun, Hwang Minki, Yang Chenhao, Eunyeon, Lee Hyunjin, Kim Jiyeon, Lee Chaejin, and Kim Doyoung. Bisung had an idea for a group with a fresh concept, noticing a lack of proper cute concept boy groups.
In October, Bee Entertainment hired Hwang Eunseo as a choreographer. Eunseo was already the lead choreographer for a dance crew, and Bee Entertainment had been keeping an eye on her crew. They wanted a choreographer who focused more on expression and charisma to give a different perspective to the company's choreographies.
2014: Bright Lights Lineup, FPS Success[]
In April 2014, the SPRING BEES were added to the Bees. As the audition only yielded two new trainees, it implied to the fans eagerly awaiting a new group that the lineup would be finalized soon.
In May, Bee Entertainment held their first annual Bee Entertainment Trainee Showcase. In the showcase, the trainees performed songs in gendered units, with the best two units performing under the status of "A+ unit". As well, the trainees perform together based on their specialty, showing off what they feel they have trained the most. It also gave the fans a chance to get to see the progress of the trainees.
In June, Jo Eunhyun was scouted to the Bees.
In mid-2014, Bee Entertainment finalized the lineup for Bright Lights, removing Byunghee and Doyoung from the lineup. The eight members were left as Sihyun, Minki, Chenhao, Eunyeon, Hyunjin, Jiyeon, Minhyun, and Chaejin. Around the same time, FPS had released GALACTIC. The mini-album wasn't expected to perform well, but out of seemingly nowhere, it jumped into the mainstream. The title track, Good morning, Good night, brought the group their first win, marking the first win for the company as well. GALACTIC also brought in high profits, providing Bee Entertainment with enough financial stability to debut their new group.
Throughout the rest of the year, FPS continued to grow in popularity.
2015: Bright Lights Debut, Financial Struggles[]
Bee Entertainment began teasing Bright Lights in early 2015. On March 27th, the group made their debut. The group had the bright and cute concept, exactly to Bisung's design. With Jaehan's energetic choreography and Eunseo's expressive flairs, the group's performance quality was high from the start. Bisung wanted to push this aspect of the group as he felt it made them stand out. In terms of standing out, Bright Lights wasn't very notable. Compared to FPS, Bright Lights sales were quite low. The company did not have enough general hype to transfer to the new group. The low sales repeated with the group's first comeback in June.
In July, the SUMMER BEES joined the Bees.
In mid-2015, Bee Entertainment began to face financial struggle. FPS's comeback earlier in the year did not keep the hype from the previous year, and Bright Lights was beginning to be a financial burden. With lowered profits against higher costs, Bee Entertainment began to drown. Bright Lights, determined to have another comeback, took to busking and part-time jobs to help fund their comeback. FPS already had a comeback in preparation, so the members took to social media to try and promote it. Despite their efforts, the single could not sell enough to fix anything.
As the company continued to struggle, Minhyun also tried the social media promotion approach. He decided to film vlogs that showcased the company and his group. The vlogs showed how hard-working and sincere the company was depsite money being tight. The videos began to find an audience who were curious about the company and wanted them to succeed. As the videos rose in popularity, all of the members of Bright Lights began participating in the vlogs.
Although the vlogs had brought attention to Bee Entertainment, when Bright Lights held their comeback in November, the company found itself still struggling. Even with Bright Lights selling a considerably higher amount of albums, Bee Entertainment seemed to be at the brink of bankruptcy. Fans began to speculate about Bright Lights' future, and if they would be disbanding. The future looked bleak for the company.
In the awards season, Bright Lights won two Rookie of the Year awards. It took both the group and the company by surprise. With the group's new title, brands became interested. Minhyun's skillful use of vlogs as a type of advertising caught the eye of several brands, who offered deals for promotion. These brand deals, most notably drink brand Su-ppa, created a steady flow of income for the group's members. The members, even though the company told them not to, put their money towards keeping the company afloat.
2016: Soloist Planning, Company Release, Bright Lights Breakthrough, Hyolin Debuts[]
In another attempt to avoid their financial ruin, Bee Entertainment decided to debut a soloist. In February 2016, the company evaluated each of their trainees and chose two of them to consider to be their soloist. The first of these two was Im Hyorin, a SUPER BEES trainee, who had been acknowledged by fans for her strong vocals. The second trainee was Jo Eunhyun, who had been scouted in 2014, and was adored by fans for his visuals.
In March, Bee Entertainment hired producer GYU. They wanted a fresh perspective for the sound of their new soloist, and GYU was the man for the job.
A huge month for Bee Entertainment was April 2016. On April 2nd, the company released their first ever company single. Bee Who U Want To Bee was a collaboration between FPS and Bright Lights, and the title track, Black and Yellow, allowed both groups to showcase the skills of the company. The song became the company's theme song in a sense. On April 26th, Bright Lights released the mini-album US AS WE LOVE. To everyone's surprise, it sold over 100k copies on the first day. Bright Lights had been slowly growing in popularity, but expectations were still low. Bright Lights received their first win for the release, and the album kept rising in sale numbers. The group was invited to several variety shows, where their energetic and upbeat vibes caught the attention of the general public. Through this one release, Bright Lights saved Bee Entertainment's financials, and certified the start of the company's climb to becoming a well-known company.
In June, Hyorin and Eunhyun were evaluated to decide who would be the new soloist. Although both of them were very skilled, Hyorin was chosen due to her experience and stronger dance skills.
In September, the SHINING BEES joined the Bees.
On October 12th, Hyorin made her solo debut as Hyolin with the single Like A Boomerang. As Bee Entertainment had been releasing many teasers for Hyolin's debut, she managed to create a bit of hype for herself. This hype was greater than expected, as her debut broke the chart records for a Bee Entertainment release. Hyolin became the first Bee Entertainment act to see immediate success upon debuting.
2017: FPS Contract Renewal, Snowflake Debuts[]
In early 2017, Bee Entertainment put together a new test group. This group consisted of female trainees, with Bee Entertainment planning to debut a girl group. These trainees were Yoon Joah, Kiyotsuki Nanako, Hong Siyeon, Lee Mijin, Won Hana, Ha Hyeowon, and Son Minseo.
In May, FPS renewed their five-year contracts. The group had found a stable fanbase, and although they weren't as popular as the other two current artists under the company, they were still exceeding expectations. This was the first contract renewal for a Bee Entertainment artist.
In June, the STAR BEES joined the Bees.
In August, Hana and Minseo were cut from the test group lineup. The five trainees left in the group were then told that they would be debuting as the company's new girl group. Joah, Nanako, Siyeon, Mijin, and Hyeowon began their preparation for debut.
On September 28th, the new girl group was announced as Snowflake. From October 10th to October 14th, the members of the group were revealed. Throughout the rest of the month, the group was promoted and hyped up by the company, leading to their debut. On November 25th, Snowflake debuted with the mini-album SNOW. In a turn from the company's expected EDM sound, Snowflake's concept was more elegant. Although they retained a lot of Bee Entertainment's signature sound, their sound was fresh and unique.
On December 24th, Bee Entertainment held the Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2017.
2018: New Producer, rm8z Test Group[]
The first part of 2018 was relatively uneventful for Bee Entertainment in terms of company-wide things. Bright Lights went on their first world tour, Snowflake had their first couple of comebacks, and FPS and Hyolin were preparing for their own comebacks.
In June, producer SiMusic was hired. SiMusic brought a new sound to Bee Entertainment, with her knowledge of both rock and classical music. This new hiring signaled that a shift was about to take place in the company, as SiMusic's style was less focused on EDM than the other producers.
In October, Bee Entertainment put together a test group for their next boy group. The test group consisted of Kim Yeonsung, Choi Soonhyeon, Eunhyun, Kwon Chaemin, Doyoung, Yoon Jinwon, and Lee Jaeseok. Bisung wanted to create a group that was fun, but focused on performance. Bee Entertainment artists were already recognized for their charisma and skills, but Bisung felt like their live vocals were underappreciated. Snowflake was by far the best vocal group in the company, and Bisung wanted to push that more. Bee Entertainment, starting with the test group, began to focus on stable live vocals while dancing as a main point of the performance. The seven trainees in the test group had all shown that they were stable vocalist and rappers, and that they would be able to up the level of performance quality in Bee Entertainment artists.
In November, the STYLE BEES joined the Bees.
On December 24th, Bee Entertainment held the Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2018.
2019: rm8z Debuts[]
In May 2019, producer inTune decided to resign from his position at Bee Entertainment. He expressed wanting to try something other than producing, and conveyed his appreciation towards the company for allowing him to pursue what he loves. With inTune leaving, fans felt like there would be a big shift within Bee Entertainment, especially with gossip of a new group debuting.
As well, in May, the test group was told that they would be debuting later in the year. None of the trainees were cut from the lineup, as Bisung felt like they were too perfect of a group.
In July, the SWEET BEES joined the Bees.
On July 5th, rm8z was announced to the public. The members were revealed over the course of a week, and hype ramped up. The company immeidately started marketing the group's concept of being self-produced. Bisung had realized that four of the members were outstanding in their skills of writing and production, and had decided that rm8z would be a group that would be involved in the production of their music. The members were also given permission to choose their positions in the group.
On August 17th, rm8z debuted with RM8Z. The debut's genre mix of rock and pop made rm8z stand out from the other Bee Entertainment artists immediately. Their bright visual concept reminded fans of Bright Lights and their strong live vocals reminded fans of Snowflake, but their high performance skills surpassed all of the other artists in the company.
2020: Bright Lights Contract Renewal, Star10 Test Group, Company Single[]
In February 2020, the SKY BEES joined the Bees.
In March, Bright Lights announced that all members would be renewing their contracts. Fans were not all that worried about the group, despite their peak of success being obviously over.
Also in March, the global pandemic caused lockdowns throughout the world. Bee Entertainment immediately put safety measures into place, asking as many people in the company as possible to stay home. Training still took place, but the trainees were required to wear masks and were split into smaller training groups so that they could social distance easier. The company was applauded for their strict testing procedures once tests were made available, and a surprisingly low amount of people in the entire company fell sick.
In April, the SAVVY BEES joined the Bees.
In mid-2020, a new test group was put together. Bisung wanted to make a group that included a higher amount of non-Korean trainees than their other groups. The test group included Huang Bao, Yamaoka Fumi, Son Minseo, Choi Dayoon, Jaide Anabelle Sangco Santillán, and Oh Hanbi. In the fall, Praepailin Charoenkul, Akela Kaleo, Lee Suhyeong, and Bae Kyulseong were added to the test group.
On December 20th, Star10 was officially announced.
On December 25th, the company released Snow Light.
Notable Staff[]
CEO[]
Jo Bisung
Producers[]
Main[]
Bee Entertainment's main producers participate in both music production and lyric writing. Their style specialties differ, but through Bee Entertainment's Creative First work policy, each producer is given a chance to develop a wide range of styles.
Kim Yubyul, known under the name b.z, is considered to be Bee Entertainment's main producer. A friend of Jo Bisung, b.z joined the company in 2010 as its first producer. He was, and continues to be, the driving force of Bee Entertainment's music. b.z is a jack-of-all-trades, but his foundations are found in pop and dance music. He excels most in arrangement. b.z is known well for being the creative force behind FPS, participating in the production of all of their OPEN and CLOSE songs. He has also mentored many of the Bees in music production, with rm8z's production line being the most notable.
Park Taeyoon is one of Bee Entertainment's first producers and lyricists. He joined the company in 2010 as a lyricist, but under b.z's mentorship, developed music production skills. Taeyoon's own running joke is that he was the "worst of the worst" out of all of the lyricists Bee Entertainment could have hired, as he was very inexperienced when he applied. Over time, Taeyoon shifted his focus from lyrics to mainly music production. His specialty is ballads and slower songs.
Jeon Saerom is Bee Entertainment's main lyricist. She joined the company in 2013, and quickly took over the majority of the lyric writing. Saerom is skilled in music production as well, but prefers lyric writing. She works as a mentor in lyric writing for the Bees, to highly praised results. As the only lyric-focused member of Bee Entertainment's production team, Saerom often brings in members of groups who want to write lyrics.
Shin Gyuhyeong, known under the name GYU, is one of Bee Entertainment's producers. GYU joined the company in 2016. GYU brought a fresh change to Bee Entertainment's music style. With his specialty in EDM and pop, GYU was given the role of helping to find Hyolin's sound. GYU is very well-known for making catchy dance tracks, and is called the "EDM king" of Bee Entertainment.
Lee Sihyung, known under the name SiMusic, is one of Bee Entertainment's producers. SiMusic joined the company in 2018. With her foundations in rock and classical music, SiMusic provided a unique insight into new sounds for Bee Entertainment. SiMusic mainly focuses on creating songs for girl groups, understanding the trends of the K-pop market well, though she often produces for boy groups. She is known for her sparkly sound.
Ahn Lina, known under the name LIN.A, is one of Bee Entertainment's producers. A former member of the group SIXA6ON, LIN.A joined the company in 2023. With her experience as an idol, she brings a fresh perspective into Bee Entertainment's main producer team. Lina's main style is pop, excelling in many different subgenres.
Non-Main[]
The non-main producers consist of Bee Entertainment's producers and lyricists who are also idols under the company. These idols have consistent credits in their discographies, or have helped with another group's discography.
Former[]
The former producers of Bee Entertainment consists of producers who have parted ways with Bee Entertainment and producing idols who did not renew their contracts.
Choreographers[]
Kwon Jaehan is one of Bee Entertainment's choreographers. He joined the company in 2010 as one of its first staff members. Jaehan is a professional dancer, having choreographed for a few different South Korean dance teams. His foundations are in hip-hop, and he is quite knowledgeable in many of the genres of hip-hop dance styles. Jaehan is known for his energetic choreographies and powerful movements.
Hwang Eunseo is one of Bee Entertainment's choreographers. She joined the company in 2013. Eunseo is professionally trained in many different dance styles. Her style is more focused on expression and detail. Eunseo's choreographies can be identified by how well they convey the message of the music, and for how much charisma they require to perform.
Managers[]
Kim Seowon (Yeona, formerly FPS), Choi Yeonseok (Bright Lights), Ha Wonryung (Snowflake), Min Kimyeon (rm8z), Lee Haebin (Star10), Son Junmi (Kim Ryan, formerly Hyolin), Nam Junpyo (VALERIAN)
Concerts/Tours[]
(2017/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2017
(2018/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2018
(2019/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2019
(2020/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2020
(2021/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2021
(2022/12/24) Bee Family Christmas Showcase 2022
Releases[]
(2016/04/02) Bee Who U Want To Bee
(2020/12/25) Snow Light
Philosophy[]
Member Positions[]
Jo Bisung on the process of selecting group positions for the members of Bee Entertainment groups:
“One of our goals when forming a group is to give each member a position that they can reliably fulfill. Throughout the duration of their training periods, each trainee is evaluated on their progress at least once per month. This is so that the instructors know what specific skills to work on, but also for me to learn which trainees excel in different areas. A trainee, for example, may be underdeveloped in their dance technique upon starting their training, but if I see a noticeable and great improvement, then I will make a note of that, as improvement is a sign that the trainee has not reached their highest point of skill.
When choosing positions for a group, we feel that the ‘main’ positions are the most important. During the consideration process, the ‘main’ positions are the ones with the most criteria. Any good singer can be a ‘lead’ vocalist, but not a ‘main’ vocalist. Our philosophy is that if you are given the ‘main’ position, it means you have excelled past a certain level and that your skill cannot be argued against. We will not debut a group if we do not have a ‘main’ vocalist, dancer, and rapper. I’ve seen plenty of groups within the industry who have talented members, but only one or two members stand out as having that unarguable skill, usually within the same category of position. Having strong members in a variety of positions brings balance to the group.
For us, the ‘main’ vocalist needs to have a versatile voice. The first aspect of this is a wide vocal range. In the K-pop industry, people view a good vocalist as someone capable of reaching incredibly high notes. That is not necessarily true. We want our ‘main’ vocalists to be able to hit notes in a higher range, of course, but we also value a stable lower range. They should also be confident in that wide range, rather than straining at either end. The second aspect is expression. We expect our artists to perform songs with a variety of emotions. The ‘main’ vocalist needs to express all of those emotions distinctly in their voice. The third important aspect is stability. We place value on live vocals. The ‘main’ vocalist must be stable while performing choreography, as well as being stable in terms of performing difficult notes with correct technique as to not strain their voice.
The ‘main’ dancer is a very disputable position in many K-pop groups. Most idols have some degree of dance skill, and many are on the level of professional dancers even within the same group. This leads to a lot of debate over ‘main’ and ‘lead’ dancer positions. We see the ‘main’ dancer as someone who truly understands all elements of dance. We look for trainees who have prior dance experience, go above and beyond to immerse themself in dance, or, on the rare case, have an incredible natural talent. The ‘main’ dancer needs to be versatile in the dance styles they can perform, and they need to perform them all well. They also need to be confident in leading a performance, both in practice and on stage. We want people to consider them someone who could be the ‘main’ dancer of a professional dance crew rather than just a K-pop group.
The ‘main’ rapper is another controversial position in K-pop. Rather than arguing over multiple members who could be the ‘main’ rapper, people tend to question if groups should even consider their rap position members to be rappers. Rap has such a deep history and culture embedded within it that K-pop companies fail to understand. The term ‘idol rap’ is a term we fear hearing in regards to the ‘main’ rappers of our groups. Our ‘main’ rappers are idols who we feel could stand on their own in the K-rap scene with their skill. They need to be able to write lyrics and verses. This is a must. As well, they need their own style, technique, and versatility. When we find trainees who we feel have the talent to become a skilled rapper, we make sure they get all the resources and mentorship that they need.
The ‘lead’ positions are given to the members who are obviously skilled, but do not reach the criteria for a ‘main’ position. The ‘main’ positions require a lot of responsibility, while ‘lead’ positions can easily be changed around and added on as needed within a group. That being said, the ‘lead’ positions are not just given out for free. As mentioned, the members with ‘lead’ positions were chosen for their skill. Many could be considered the ‘main’ of that position in different companies with less strict criteria.
The positions without ‘main’ or ‘lead’ are given as more of a descriptor of that member’s role in a performance. We usually give these to ‘main’ and ‘lead’ dancers to explain if they are usually given vocal lines, rap lines, or both.”
| 🐝 Bee Entertainment 🐝 Property of Twinkle and Awaken |
|---|