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GOYANG, SOUTH KOREA – May 07: tripleS during MBC Every1 variety show ‘Weekly Idol’ at MBC Dream … More
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tripleS has proven that a 24-member girl group can become both a logistical marvel and a bona fide pop sensation.
It’s a reality thanks to Modhaus, the ambitious Seoul-based record label behind tripleS and its special ASSEMBLE projects that bring all of the group’s members together for one album project. Over four candid interviews with Modhaus founder and CEO Jaden Jeong, management head Kim Tae Hyuk, A&R manager Kim Sung Woo, and tripleS members ChaeYeon, Kotone, JiYeon and SoHyun, we peel back the curtain on the ASSEMBLE project’s unprecedented scale.
“Modhaus is pursuing a social entertainment structure,” Jeong shares for this special Forbes interview. “For some, 24 people might be an overwhelming number, but in my opinion, 24 is the maximum number of people that can be memorized. Moreover, the number 24 holds a great significance in astronomy, mathematics and history. The 24 hours it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis has been applied in various ways since ancient civilizations, thus it is open for interpretation. Mathematically speaking, its eight divisors make it ideal for exploring a wide range of possibilities.”
And on the subject of numbers: last year’s full, 24-member ASSEMBLE24 album sold more than 211,000 copies worldwide (up from 55,000 for the first 10-member ASSEMBLE album from 2023), according to South Korea’s local Circle Charts. That momentum helped ASSEMBLE25 from May this year soar to over 407,000 units so far. But the LPs aren’t just commercial fireworks: ASSEMBLE24 was 2024’s most acclaimed K‑pop group album with recognition from major and independent publications like Billboard, NME and Tone Glow.
With special considerations needed in everything from music production to traveling and staffing, building and maintaining tripleS as K-pop’s largest group is a daily masterclass in scale, strategy, and stardom. Read on for these seven individual perspectives to dive deep into the tripleS world.
tripleS for ‘ASSEMBLE25’
Modhaus
Creating tripleS’ ASSEMBLE projects
Jeff Benjamin: Last year marked the first full-group, 24-member tripleS album with ASSEMBLE24. What did you learn from that album release and how did it influence you to release the ASSEMBLE25?
Jaden Jeong, Modhaus Founder & CEO: ASSEMBLE24 was the most adventurous album in my life. There was so much power in all 24 members finally coming together and articulating this concept through music and lyrics, expressing it through performance, making one coherent story in the music video, but keeping these various characters alive — all of it was not only new to me but to all Modhaus employees. However, I think of myself as a person who finds the most fun by undertaking these difficult missions.
I really enjoy finding my own way to solve things – especially when others expect them to be difficult or see them in a negative light. Therefore, the members and the company employees came as one during the production of this album; we became one strength and proved that we can do it. That’s why ASSEMBLE24 is so meaningful. We showed through this album that tripleS are not just idols who are good at making “dance music” — but rather proved themselves to be the voice of hope and encouragement to people all around the world who say, “Don’t give up.” It gives the album even deeper meaning.
ChaeYeon, tripleS: To prepare for an album and a unit and the group in its entirety is quite different. I mean, even positioning ourselves in the practice room is long. So, when we first heard about the entire 24-member group on ASSEMBLE24, there was a certain excitement along with this nervousness of “Can this actually be executed?” Then we heard “Girls Never Die” [single] for ASSEMBLE24 and we thought, “Wow this can be possible.” Along with that, the pressure comes when we were working on ASSEMBLE24 because it wasn’t a debut, it’s a comeback. So, actually, we came back more mature and had a different attitude. I think we had this close synergy, and individually, I think we had more resolve and confidence.
Kim Tae Hyuk, Modhaus Management Department Head: There’s a sense of grandeur and power from watching a group choreography that comes from a 24-member performance — it’s impressive and creates a kind of awe because it’s something that can’t easily be replicated.
ChaeYeon: Since we were released one member at a time, we had this conversation among the members where we were all wondering, “Hey, do you think all 24 of us will ever do something together?” And due to our unique voting system with GRAVITY, we didn’t really realize what our future long-term plans were. So, we were surprised to hear about ASSEMBLE24 and then we actually didn’t expect ASEEMBLE25. But I was thinking, “Wow, ‘Girls Never Die’ really did pretty well; I think we made quite an impression.” Now I feel a little bit more nervousness because we have to go beyond that.
Jeff Benjamin: tripleS returning with a second full-group album a year later indicates that the first one was financially successful and makes sense for Modhaus to pursue again. What makes the ASSEMBLE projects viable to pursue again? From an outside perspective, it seems like this requires a lot of money, time and effort.
Jaden Jeong: Ever since I started planning and outlining tripleS, I had the idea of having the group release an ASSEMBLE album once a year. So, starting from ASSEMBLE [in 2023 with 10 members], which contained the single “Rising,” we prepared for the group to put out a tripleS core album every year.
The fans are the ones who decide the title track through a voting system. I was hoping that this album series would be a collaboration and celebration with fans. The fact that 24 members come together once a year to put out an album is already a joyful celebration in itself. Perhaps it is the concept of ours that the fans are enjoying. And, of course, I am already looking forward to ASSEMBLE26.
Kotone, tripleS: Due to the success of “Girls Never Die,” there was, of course, this motivation to do better, but also a lot of pressure to do better. And I don’t think it was just the members because I could see it in the management and the different people in Modhaus who are really trying to do better, and we’re all in this same spirit together.
How tripleS Makes Music for 24 People
Jeff Benjamin: Take us through tripleS’ recording process for the music and videos.
SoHyun, tripleS: We record one by one individually, so the whole process is very long, but our individual recording part is small. I think that’s also one of the challenges during that short amount of time, which is that you have to really express your vocal tone as an individual and also express the feelings of the lyrics.
Kim Sung Woo, Modhaus A&R Team Manager: The production period for ASSEMBLE25 was busy yet fruitful — like that of many of our other albums at Modhaus. Looking back, it was pretty interesting to see the process of recording three different songs simultaneously at three different recording studios with members rotating back and forth, to be efficient with time. After all, it’s all about making things work while assuring quality.
From the beginning, we’ve presented tripleS as “the idol of all possibilities,” emphasizing the wide variety of their expressive outlet. From a technical standpoint, the density and layer of the vocal arrangement play a big role when choosing songs for a 24-member ensemble. A lot of the time, we’re looking at how we can assign vocal lines to each of the members and how the interchange of individual parts can come to life on stage or in other choreographed contexts. Jaden has the final say when it comes to placing the songs, but we’re always sharing ideas, going back and forth about how a particular demo or idea may bring out the unique quality of our artists.
SoHyun: [During the preparation process], there are actually a lot of edits. I think this ASSEMBLE25 had a historically high number of edits because we were a bit ambitious and really tried to make the best tracks out of it. I’m also the vocal coach of the team and we looked into how the voices would connect with each other. Sometimes, when we are doing unit albums and we have a lot more time, we discuss things like vocal tone, dive deep and have discussions, but since we’re looking at the 24 members as a whole, I’m much more direct and explaining things like, “I think this tone will fit” or “Why don’t you do this?”
JiYeon, tripleS: Speaking personally, before I became an idol, I was training in dance, specializing in ballet, so I never received much vocal training compared to other members. When it comes to anything vocal recording or singing, I’m always worried, and I feel like I’m always a bit more nervous than others; I have a bit more thoughts and worries in my head. But I just feel a lot stronger when I’m with SoHyun — it’s the feeling of mom and daughter. She just communicates so easily. I think when people do vocal training, they often explain in such a complicated manner, but SoHyun always gives me a lot of help and guidance. I can ask her to give me an example of what she means and she explains. Even when we were preparing [recording], I guess I was quite tense. Instead of telling me how to sing, she demonstrated to me how to let out a deep breath to help me continue singing, and it just worked.
Kotone, tripleS: Since there are a lot of people working hair, makeup, and styling, it just takes a long time. It’s a whole operation and it’s quite chaotic. But when you look at the music video, there’s a lot to enjoy and a lot of elements at play. Although we’re chaotic, the output is great. My friends and family even watch the music videos, so it makes me proud that it was so chaotic.
A Day in the Life of tripleS
Jeff Benjamin: Can you take us through your process of promoting and working together? Does everyone have to take part in the preparation process? Do you play rock-paper-scissors to sleep in longer?
JiYeon: When we have a comeback and do promotions as 24 members, we just know that we don’t sleep. When you’re talking about makeup alone, it takes two to three times longer than it takes other people. Sometimes, we visit our hair and makeup shops the day before, at midnight, or even at 9:00 p.m. if we have shoots early in the morning. For other groups with even seven or nine members, that can be a lot of people to travel with, but we go on a bus. Honestly, now I think we’ve grown used to this, let’s say, “sleepless” schedule, but also to the idea that it’s not just me; we’re really all in this together, all 24 of us here to operate and work with such a large group. The staff is also here during all this time, so it seems like all of us collectively are in this together.
Kim Tae Hyuk, Management Department Head: The members live in dorms, referred to as “HAUS,” and since there are many members, they stay in four different dorms. Including staff, eight to nine vehicles are used for transportation, and it takes about eight hours to complete hair, makeup, and styling.
JiYeon: Normally, half of us move to prepare first and half of us move later. Often, the managers organize those decisions for us, and we follow…
Kim Tae Hyuk: Instead of distinguishing members individually during activities, we usually divide them into groups, like Team A and B, or organize them based on their dorms.
SoHyun: And honestly, if we played rock-paper-scissors, we have 24 members, so that would take a long time…
ChaeYeon: When we have a music program, we ride a giant bus. We’re talking like a 30-person bus — sometimes the hair, makeup, and stylist [teams] don’t even fit, so they have to take a taxi to where we are.
Kotone: We’re all young girls, so when we’re well rested and on a big bus, we’re all hanging out, and it’s a very fun vibe. But as JiYeon was talking about during the promo activity schedules, we don’t have the most amount of rest, and we actually are sleeping, so it’s quiet, and we’re just resting our heads on one another. 10 minutes before we arrive, the managers say something like, “Girls, let’s wake up,” and that can also be a challenge to actually wake up.
SoHyun: It also really depends on the day because it’s always different. There are some days when we just dance randomly; of course, there are some younger members who are very talkative, but we also have a lot of times when they’re just very calm and quiet. If I had to point out any members, YeonJi and Soomin are very talkative individually, so when they meet, it’s twice the amount, and the talking never stops. [Laughs]
Kim Tae Hyuk: The group is about the size of a typical school class these days. From the start, several managers pay close attention to checking everyone’s attendance, and after all schedules are finished, the managers accompany the members back to their dorms so there aren’t any major issues. Because there are so many members, they all live considerately and make compromises with one another when it comes to personal matters, so there haven’t been any difficulties. I joined before all the members were revealed, so it was easy for me to memorize their names. But each member has a unique [phone] number and that part was a bit confusing at first. The managers who joined more recently seem to memorize everyone within about a week.
Next for Modhaus: 24-Member Boy Band
Jeff Benjamin: Modhaus announced an upcoming boy group, idntt. What can you tell us about them?
Jaden Jeong: idntt is also a 24-member group. Some might assume that idntt is the male version of tripleS simply because we have 24 members and, naturally, the media loves using attention-grabbing phrases like that, which leads to such assumptions. But I am not one who likes to repeat concepts and use the same systems. The group will have the unique Modhaus DNA, but the build-up system which you saw for tripleS will be different for idntt. However, it won’t be superior or an upgraded version. We designed a unique system for idntt, and if you are a fan of K-pop boy groups, it will be one that raises your dopamine levels.
Kim Sung Woo: With idntt, we’re focusing on keeping things organic. For their first album, we’ve been working on amplifying qualities that are distinct to their age range through an alternative hip-hop and R&B sound.
tripleS for ‘ASSEMBLE25’
Modhaus
Is there anything else to add that people might find interesting or surprising about tripleS, the ASSEMBLE albums or Modhaus?
Kim Tae Hyuk: During schedules, as the members are passing by one after another, people are often surprised by how many there are. I think those kinds of moments are what can really catch the public’s attention and spark interest.
ChaeYeon: I want to add that all 24 of us are very pretty and cute. So, as a message to the public, at least one of us will be your ideal type. [Flicks hair] [Group laughs]
Jaden Jeong: It’s a trivial thing, but the intro song on ASSEMBLE25 is called “@%” and if you type 25 on your computer keyboard, it corresponds with @ and % (the “At” and “Percent” symbols). I enjoy hiding these elements for fans to discover. Every single prop and location in the “Are You Alive” music video was carefully planned within the concept. In Seoul, there is a public bike-sharing system called Ddareungi. For the music video, we didn’t want to use a cool-looking bike — it had to be a Ddareungi. We felt that the authenticity of real life needed to shine through for it to genuinely reflect the world of a Seoul girl in a way that only tripleS can express.
Apart from that, Modhaus is in the constant process of preparing new idols. However, that doesn’t mean we’re producing idols in a factory-like, label-driven way. Personally, I like looking for idols who have great potential that can grow. I hope that this can become Modhaus’ identity: an idol group with a story.
And Modhaus needs more staff. In just over three years, the company has grown into a house with about 120 employees. The company hopes that many people — regardless of qualifications or educational background — who are crazy about K-pop will join.
