Roots of NCT

Red Velvet (Korean: 레드벨벳) is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by SM Entertainment. They originally debuted on August 1, 2014, with the single "Happiness" with the four-member line-up of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. A fifth member, Yeri, joined in March 2015, following the release of their first extended play, the chart-topping Ice Cream Cake. Sonically, the music of Red Velvet reflects their group name: their predominantly-pop "red" side experiments occasionally with electronic and funk, while their "velvet" side focuses on '90s-influenced R&B with elements of ballad and hip hop.

Cartoon is an Estonian electronic dance music band formed in 2015 by Hugo Martin Maasikas, Ago "Jéja" Teppand, and Joosep Järvesaar. Their most successful song is "On & On" featuring Daniel Levi, which has over 550 million views on YouTube as of 2026.

Aespa is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. The group is known for popularizing the metaverse concept and hyperpop music in K-pop. Aespa debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single "Black Mamba", which achieved the highest number of views in 24 hours for a K-pop group's debut video. Their third single, "Next Level", was released in May 2021 to widespread commercial and critical success, peaking at number two on the Circle Digital Chart and earning the daesang for Song of the Year at the 19th Korean Music Awards. In October of the same year, Aespa released their first extended play (EP) Savage, which became the highest-charting debut album by a K-pop girl group on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 20, while its lead single peaked at number two in South Korea.