Overview
- CJ ENM’s Mnet and Universal Music Group’s Republic Collective publicly confirmed a formal partnership in mid‑July to co-produce and globally debut a new girl group through the GIRLS PLANET 2027 franchise.
- Republic will work across the project lifecycle, providing production support and leading U.S. promotions and global rollout for the eventual debut group.
- Mnet opened online applications on May 1 and the partners said more than 36,000 people have applied so far, with nearly one third of applicants coming from the Americas and submissions accepted in multiple languages.
- Large on-site auditions are scheduled at KCON LA in downtown Los Angeles from August 14–16, 2026, and finalists may need to travel to South Korea for filming and production.
- The PLANET franchise has a track record of launching commercially successful acts — for example ALPHA DRIVE ONE sold over 1.44 million debut copies — a history the partners cite as the basis for scaling global fan engagement and U.S.-focused promotion efforts.