Can GIRLSET's rebrand succeed where VCHA stalled?

Global girl group GIRLSET, rebranded from VCHA / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

When JYP Entertainment announced that its first American-market girl group VCHA would return under a new identity in August, some saw it as a second chance, while others saw it as a final gamble.

Now operating as GIRLSET, the group has reentered the competitive pop arena with a tightened four-member lineup and a new single, "Little Miss," raising the question that lingered quietly even before the girl group's rebrand: Can this team finally achieve the breakthrough that once seemed within reach?

GIRLSET's path has been anything but linear. Formed through the 2023 survival program "A2K" as a joint project between JYP and Republic Records, the group debuted in January 2024 with considerable expectations and just as many doubts.

The label positioned them as the earliest proof that the K-pop training model could be relocated and replicated overseas — with international members for an international market — but the discipline and polish of a Korean idol system.

But the group's momentum stalled almost as quickly as it began.

Member Kaylee paused activities for health reasons in March 2024, followed by KG's exit and legal dispute alleging issues in the training system in December 2024. With activities halted and no new releases, VCHA seemed to slip into that gray zone of K-pop groups whose futures become unclear before they've truly reached stardom.

Nevertheless, the group's August rebranding to GIRLSET — and the decision to continue as a four-member act consisting of Lexi, Camila, Kendall and Savanna — is JYP's attempt to reset the narrative.

Girl group KATSEYE performs during the opening show of its “The Beautiful Chaos” tour at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 15, marking the start of the group’s first tour. Courtesy of HYBE Labels

Chasing KATSEYE

The timing is no accident. The success of HYBE Labels' KATSEYE, another U.S.-based global girl group, has already proven the viability of the K-pop lens in the American market.

While JYP was running "A2K," HYBE and Geffen Records launched "The Debut: Dream Academy," a parallel global survival show built on the same premise: that the K-pop training and production system could be transplanted directly overseas to create a non-Korean K-pop group.

The program culminated in the formation of KATSEYE and their results have been seismic. The group earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group performance for its June single "Gabriela," which recently climbed to No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In this landscape, GIRLSET's return isn't an isolated reinvention, but the next entry in a growing wave of globalized idol projects.

The group's latest single, "Little Miss," makes that ambition clear. While the group's earlier material under the VCHA name leaned into bright, teen-pop energy, the new track projects self-possession and intent. The production is sleek, minimalistic and radio-oriented, the choreography sharp and disciplined in the signature JYP fashion.

If VCHA suggested the potential of the experiment, GIRLSET presents the finished thesis — a group that no longer sounds like it's figuring the system out, but like it already knows what it came to do.

Global girl group GIRLSET / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

Redefining K-pop's identity

So will the rebrand pay off? Judging by the early response, the answer seems to be yes.

Within just five days of release, the official music video for "Little Miss" surpassed 10 million views on YouTube, a milestone the group never reached during its VCHA era. The group has also already locked in a performance slot at the preshow of iHeartRadio's annual year-end concert Jingle Ball on Dec. 5, marking its first appearance at a major U.S. holiday pop event — proof that the group's new identity is slowly connecting with American listeners.

And that word, identity, is at the heart of a much broader shift happening across K-pop.

Some critics argue that groups like GIRLSET and KATSEYE, formed and promoted outside Korea, stretch the boundaries of what can be called K-pop. Others contend that the genre has already moved beyond such narrow definitions.

"Some say it's only K-pop if the artists are Korean, but the essence of K-pop is its fandom-driven business model," music critic Cha Woo-jin told a local media outlet. "Marketing and branding begin even before debut and fandoms form around trainees long before their names or group identity are decided. That structure is what defines modern K-pop."

GIRLSET, which cultivated global supporters during its "A2K" broadcast before its lineup was even finalized, is an almost textbook example of this model.

This is why GIRLSET's relaunch represents something bigger than a group's survival.

It signals a moment in which K-pop's globalization is no longer just about sending Korean artists overseas, but more about exporting the system itself — training, production, branding and fandom-building — directly into international markets.

It is also, in its own way, JYP's opportunity to demonstrate that KATSEYE's rapid rise preceding VCHA was not a reflection of inferior production on their part, but a matter of timing, concept and execution.

"The Korean market is already so saturated," an industry insider told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. "Rather than competing with the flood of idol groups debuting at home, big companies are now taking their training expertise abroad and these global groups will only keep coming."

Whether "Little Miss" becomes the stepping-stone to a lasting breakthrough or merely a promising spark remains to be seen. What is certain is that GIRLSET has entered its second chapter with more clarity and momentum than at any point since its formation, and with a global market watching to see whether the rebrand marks a turning point or just a transition phase.

If the group can sustain the confidence projected in its new single, it may finally become the global act VCHA was designed to be.