The largest entertainment agency in Korea, SM Entertainment (SM hereafter) will debut their new girl group next month. SM recently finalized the debut date after months of deliberation. Their new group comes two years and four months after the debut of the group that is now the hottest name in the market, EXO. It is SM’s first girl group since f(x) debuted in September 2009.

The members of the new group have already been introduced through SMROOKIES, a new star incubating brand composed of SM’s pre-debut novices. The vocalist of the group is Seul-ki (born in 1994), who is fluent in Japanese and adept at playing the guitar. Irene (born in 1991) was selected as the rapper. The main vocalist is Toronto-born Wendy who sang “Because I Love You” for the drama “Mimi.” The final member has not been unveiled yet. Rumors have it that she is a multi-talented senior at high school who looks a little like Kim Yu-jung.

With SM’s new girl group set to enter the scene, the K-pop act can look forward to a fiery August. There is a high chance that SM’s new girl group will reach the height of fame in the shortest time ever as EXO did both in Korea and Asia.

Without doubt the new group’s music, choreography, and stage concept will have a big impact on the general K-pop trend. What is known so far is that their concept will be a midway between Girls’ Generation’s mass appeal and f(x)’s experimental style. Although Girls’ Generation is looking to enjoy the pinnacle of popularity for the next two years or so, SM aims to prepare for the next generation of girl groups. The debut group has been carefully designed so that their concept does not overlap with that of Girls Generation or f(x).

With their debut approaching fast, the four girls are hard at work, finalizing their debut song, choreography, and the basic concept.