Can a 28-year-old Texas native with more than 88 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel become the next big thing in K-pop? Alan Chikin Chow is giving it a shot.
Chow, who has gained nearly 50 billion YouTube views through a mix of short-form skits, long-form compilations, and serialized dramas, has inked a deal with HYBE Labels. The company that incubated K-pop hitmakers BTS will join forces with Chow’s Alan’s Universe brand for a star search that will result in the creation of a new U.S.-based act.
According to Variety, Chow himself will co-star in the co-ed act, which will include six members total. The group will be the first project launched under the HYBE America X AU banner, and its story will be told through a mix of music videos and scripted content.
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The collaboration unites two entities with expert-level understanding of YouTube and its promotional capabilities for artists. HYBE’s American arm is led by CEO Scooter Braun, who famously discovered Justin Bieber when the Canadian singer was just a kid on YouTube known as kidrauhl. When BTS peaked in the early 2020s, HYBE helped the group attract billions of views on YouTube — not just with music videos, but through behind-the-scenes content as well.
Chow is also a top YouTube hitmaker who regularly ranks among the ten most-watched creators in the U.S. Last year, he accelerated his video production capabilities by opening a 10,000-square-foot studio space in Los Angeles. That hub has become the filming location for the Alan’s Universe series, which draws inspiration from Korean TV shows and their melodramatic plotlines.
To bring more stories to Alan’s Universe, the HYBE America X AU label is putting out a casting call to find the groupmates who will join Chow’s K-pop outfit. Those recruits will star in videos that will build lore and publicity for the fledgling act.
“The passionate global fanbase of ‘Alan’s Universe’ partnered with the premier music prowess of HYBE America creates an unstoppable force,” Chow said in a statement. “Together, we stand to create a next-generation franchise with one purpose: to serve our fans with inspiring, impactful stories.”
The chosen group members will convene in L.A. for a development program that will incorporate Chow’s YouTube strategies and the model HYBE uses to train its K-pop idols. Aspiring artists who want to sing their way into Alan’s Universe can find more details about the casting call by visiting the website for the newly-formed label.
