TUIDE: Everything to Know About HYBE’s New Girl Group and Their Debut EP Tune & Play
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K-pop just got a new septet, and it arrived with a fair amount of buzz already built in. On August 24, 2026, HYBE officially debuted TUIDE, a seven-member girl group and the first act from ABD, the company’s brand-new label dedicated entirely to girl-group production.
The debut came with a five-track EP, Tune & Play, led by the single “Sun Kiss,” and it caps off months of teasers, a members reveal, and a two-day preview showcase that had been quietly building anticipation among K-pop fans since early summer.
Here’s a full rundown of who’s in the group, how old they are, who’s leading them, and why one member’s family connection to TWICE has become one of the biggest talking points of the rollout.
Who Is TUIDE?
TUIDE is made up of seven members: Seohee, Seoyeon, Elena, Jia, Saki, Seah, and Yi Hani. The group’s name comes from the phrase “tune the tide,” meant to capture the idea of absorbing different global currents — musical, cultural, and generational — and turning them into something new.
The concept ties into the group’s official sound, which they’ve branded “Soultronic”: a blend of warm, soulful R&B vocals with polished electronic production.
Unlike some of HYBE’s earlier girl groups, TUIDE wasn’t built through a reality competition.
KATSEYE came out of the Dream Academy series, and ILLIT was formed via the survival show R U Next? TUIDE, by contrast, was assembled internally within ABD and introduced to the public gradually through brand films, teaser photos, and social posts rather than a televised contest.
The rollout began back in May, when HYBE quietly teased the launch of ABD, short for “A Bold Dream.” The label’s name and members stayed under wraps for weeks before the group’s name and lineup were confirmed in July, followed by a steady drip of individual member videos, profile photos, and a pre-debut performance clip through August.
Meet the Members: Ages, Backgrounds, and the Leader
TUIDE’s seven members were all born between 2006 and 2011, making them one of the youngest lineups to debut under HYBE. Seohee is the oldest member and also serves as the group’s leader, while Yi Hani, the youngest, holds the maknae position.
The members bring genuinely international backgrounds to the group:
- Seohee – South Korean, the group’s leader and oldest member. Before joining ABD, she trained at several other agencies, including stints connected to JYP Entertainment.
- Seoyeon – South Korean. Born in Guri, Gyeonggi-do, she’s known among fans for her outgoing personality — and for being the younger sister of TWICE’s Jihyo (more on that below).
- Elena – Korean American, and a former SM Entertainment trainee who had also trained alongside members of the girl group Hearts2Hearts before moving to ABD.
- Jia – Korean American.
- Saki – The group’s Japanese member, bringing a distinct cultural and linguistic perspective to the lineup’s promotional material, which has featured Korean, English, Japanese, and French.
- Seah – South Korean.
- Yi Hani – Mixed Korean-British, and the group’s youngest member (maknae).
At the group’s debut media showcase in Seoul, Seohee explained the meaning behind the group’s name, describing the goal of harmonizing the world’s different flows into their own distinct sound.
Seoyeon, for her part, was the one who introduced the “Soultronic” concept to press, describing it as the throughline connecting all five songs on the EP despite each track pulling from a different genre.
The TWICE Connection Everyone’s Talking About
If there’s one detail driving search traffic and social chatter around this debut, it’s this: Seoyeon is the younger sister of Jihyo, the leader of TWICE, one of K-pop’s most successful girl groups of the past decade.
The timing has added extra intrigue, since TWICE recently wrapped its sixth world tour with a multi-night encore run in Seoul — meaning Jihyo’s own group is fresh off a major moment just as her sister steps into the spotlight with a rival label’s debut act.
It’s a rare, direct family link between two major girl groups from competing companies, and it’s already generating comparisons, fan speculation, and plenty of “did you know” style social posts — the kind of organic interest that tends to keep a debut story circulating well past its first day.
Who’s Behind TUIDE: Producer and Label
TUIDE’s musical direction and overall concept are being helmed by Han Sung-soo, the founder of Pledis Entertainment and the producer behind some of HYBE’s most recognizable acts, including Seventeen, TWS, IZ*ONE, and After School.
His involvement gives TUIDE an experienced creative hand steering things behind the scenes, something HYBE has leaned on heavily in press materials to build confidence in the new label’s direction.
ABD itself, short for “A Bold Dream,” is led by Jiwon No, who previously served as Head of Artist Planning at Pledis Entertainment.
The label was first announced back in May as a HYBE division focused specifically on developing girl groups, and TUIDE marks its first official act.
In press materials, ABD has described its guiding philosophy as reimagining expectations — playing on the idea of choosing “D” instead of the anticipated “C” after “A” and “B,” a small but deliberate signal of the label’s intent to zag where other agencies zig.
Inside the Debut EP: Tune & Play
TUIDE’s debut EP, Tune & Play, contains five tracks: “ABD,” “Sun Kiss,” “Echo,” “Flip-Flop Girl,” and “Grls.”
The lead single, “Sun Kiss,” was described by member Jia as the song that most clearly captures the group’s identity and the individual personalities of all seven members, built around a free, sun-drenched energy meant to showcase each member’s voice.
“Grls” served as the group’s introductory pre-debut track, released as a performance video ahead of the EP itself. Built on an energetic garage rhythm, the song introduces each member individually before pulling their personalities together around a repeated hook.
The choreography draws from house, hip-hop, and soul — a blend the group has described as their “bestie-tude,” a sense of confidence rooted in both individuality and the friendship between members.
Ahead of the official release, TUIDE performed all five EP tracks live for industry insiders and a small audience during a two-day private event called “TUIDE Exclusive Preview [Playground],” held August 1–2 at Layer 11 Studio in Seoul’s Mapo District.
According to ABD, the members’ confidence and polish stood out at the event, even though very little about the group had been publicly revealed at that point.
Why This Debut Matters
TUIDE’s launch is a notable moment for HYBE for a few reasons. It’s the company’s first new girl group in two years, following the 2023 debut of the US-based KATSEYE, and it represents the first commercial release to come out of ABD, a label the company has been quietly building out since spring.
It also arrives as HYBE continues to expand its search for girl-group talent well beyond South Korea, including a recent round of nationwide auditions in India.
With a producer known for multiple generations of hit groups, a genuinely multinational lineup, and a viral-ready family connection to one of K-pop’s biggest current acts, TUIDE has most of the ingredients HYBE typically uses to build long-term momentum for a new group.
Whether “Soultronic” becomes a defining sound for the label — or just a debut-era buzzword — will likely become clearer as the group moves into its first full promotional cycle in the weeks ahead.
For now, TUIDE’s Tune & Play is out, the members are introducing themselves to a global fanbase in real time, and K-pop has a new name worth watching.
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