Pledis Entertainment

Pledis Entertainment
Founded 2007
Founder Han Sung-soo (CEO , founding chairman) , Jung Hae-chang (Vice CEO)
Status Active
Distributor(s) LOEN Entertainment
Neowiz Internet
Genre K-pop
Trot
Pop
Dance
Electropop
Dubstep
Country of origin South Korea
Location Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Official website www.pledis.co.kr

Pledis Entertainment (Hangul: 플레디스 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean record label and entertainment agency, home to artists After School, Orange Caramel, NU'EST and Seventeen

History

Founding

The CEO of Pledis Entertainment is Han Sung-soo. In 2007, he took Kahi and Son Dam-bi to create Pledis. They had no building nor an office, only a practice room.[1] Pledis Entertainment held auditions in San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2011. Through these auditions, they hoped to meet highly inspired and talented people.[2]

Artists history

Son Dam-bi was the first artist to debut under Pledis in 2007. She was named the female version of Rain.[3] Pledis debuted their first girl group After School in 2009. In 2010, Pledis debuted a sub-unit of After School, Orange Caramel. Pledis artists came together for the first time for the Happy Pledis 2010 album. The first Happy Pledis Album was released on 6 December 2010 and consisted of 4 tracks; "Love Love Love" as their album single, "Someone Is You" and 2 instrumentals of the two songs. Pledis had planned a series of "Happy Pledis" albums with their artists After School, Son Dambi, and Orange Caramel as a surprise gift for the fans. A portion of the profits from the "Happy Pledis" albums would be donated to the “Save the Children” organization.

In 2011, after their comeback, After School split into two sub units; A.S. Red & A.S. Blue. They both debuted at the same time.[4] Happy Pledis 2011 was released in December. A portion of the Happy Pledis 2011 earnings was donated to UNICEF to help look after those in need, and the album is also a gift to the fans who have shown the artists so much love and interest. The album included Son Dambi, After School, NU'EST, Pledis Boys, and Yoo Ara.[5]

On March 15, 2012, Pledis debut their first boy band NU’EST. That same year, Pledis' second girl group Hello Venus debuted on May 9, in partnership with Fantagio.[6] In June 2012, Kahi graduated from After School but remained with Pledis for her solo career. On July 31, 2014, Pledis and Fantagio stated that the members of Hello Venus would be returning to their respective agencies. Thus, the four members under Fantagio remained as Hello Venus, while the Pledis members (Yoo Ara and Yoonjo) would be pursuing separate activities. Yoo Ara later left the company and joined Urbanworks Entertainment.

On December 31, 2014, Jooyeon's contract with Pledis Entertainment expired and she announced her graduation from After School that same day. In January 2015, Jooyeon signed with new management agency Better ENT, take her new steps as an actress. Kahi also left the company in the same month.

On May 26, 2015, the 13-member group Seventeen held their debut showcase.[7] On June 2, 2015, it was officially confirmed Son Dam-bi left the company after 10 years.

Joint venture with Yuehua Entertainment

On November 11, 2013, Pledis Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment had a press interview on their collaboration stratagem, labeled as "Yuehua Entertainment X Pledis", at the Beijing Banquet Hall and officially start their business alliance. Yuehua Entertainment is the agency of various artists including Hangeng, Singaporean singer A Do, and more. Yuehua Entertainment is also the one and only Chinese entertainment company that had established a branch in Korea. Pledis's artists Son Dam-bi, After School, and NU'EST as well as Yuehua's artists were participated at this press conference . From this joint venture, NU'EST-M sub-unit was formed with included the addition of Chinese member, Jason Fulong Fei, also known as JA, and became a six-member team. They performed their first stage at the press event and officially start their promotion in China.

Happy Pledis

Happy Pledis is the project name used by Pledis Entertainment for compilation works. It consists of current recording artists under the company

Recording Artists

Groups

Sub-units

Soloists

  • Raina (After School)
  • Han Dong Geun a.k.a Donny Han
  • Lizzy (After School)

Actress/Actors

Trainees

Former Artists

Former recording artists

Former trainees

Discography

Happy Pledis discography

References

  1. ↑ "Star News interviews Pledis CEO, Han Sung Soo". Allkpop.com. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  2. ↑ "Pledis USA Personal Audition". Allkpop.com. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  3. ↑ "Son Dambi Proves She Is The Female Rain". jpopasia. 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  4. ↑ "After School splits up into subgroups". Allkpop.com. 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  5. ↑ "Pledis Entertainment to Debut Another Girl Group, Hello Venus". Soompi. 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  6. ↑ "Happy Pledis unveils special family album, '2011 HAPPY PLEDIS'". Allkpop. 20121-11-30. Retrieved 2013-08-09. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ "New K-Pop Boy Band Seventeen Debut After 4 Years Of Preparation". kpopstarz.com. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
  8. ↑ "Pledis to Debut 17 Member Boy Group with Average Age of 17". Soompi. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  9. ↑ "Pledis Entertainment confirms Seventeen is preparing for debut; unsure about date and members". Allkpop. 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  10. ↑ http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/52282/20150601/nana-of-after-school-to-star-in-romantic-comedy-chinese-film-go-lala-go.htm
  11. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (December 31, 2014). "Juyeon Announces Graduation From After School". Billboard K-Town. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  12. ↑ http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/son-dambi-parts-ways-with-pledis.html
  13. ↑ "[단독] 애프터스쿨 리더 정아, 계약 만료…팀에서 졸업한다 - 열린세상 열린방송 MBN:". Star News. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

External links

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