Insight Into How Several HYBE Artists Joined the Recording Academy's Class of 2025

A version of this story originally appeared in The Crossover’s July 11, 2025 Newsletter. You can subscribe now to get the latest updates in your inbox first.

Big congratulations are due to HYBE’s Head of Global Communications Rachel Um, who made a rare LinkedIn post to celebrate several of the company’s artists being invited to the Recording Academy’s Class of 2025. Um, who has been with HYBE since 2021 after stints at Samsung and Edelman PR, shares how this moment “stemmed from the very strategic initiatives championed by [her] team in Global Communications from day one.”

The HYBE artists joining the Academy’s new class include K-pop veteran and KOZ Entertainment CEO ZICO, SEVENTEEN’s main producer Woozi and rapper-songwriter Vernon, Tomorrow X Together’s first member to go solo Yeonjun, ENHYPEN’s leader Jungwon, LE SSERAFIM’s most creatively involved member in producer-songwriter Huh Yunjin, as well as the HYBE America x Geffen Records girl group KATSEYE, made up of Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae.

Altogether, that’s 12 individuals. Peep Um’s post below:

In particular, I loved the “personal note” part at the end that I think speaks to kind and present nature I’ve always felt in person from Rachel: “What keeps me going has always been a simple love and respect for my artists. It’s a feeling many in this industry can relate to — you know it’s a lot to carry, but it’s also a real privilege.”

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While some K-pop fans have called into question why the only Korean artists invited to this year’s voting class were from HYBE, it’s clear that the company prioritized making these connections to make sure that they could include additional artists from their roster beyond BTS (who have been members since 2019).

Expect other K-pop labels to take notes.