With P1Harmony’s EP, ‘EX,’ And World Tour, hello82 Is Ready For More

P1Harmony [MOST WANTED] World Tour

Michael H. Kim

P1Harmony’s latest EP, “EX,” debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200, selling 40K album units in its first week, marking the first top 10 for the K-pop group. Their previous EP, “DUH!,” peaked at 16 on the same list, but the members were determined to improve their position this time – and succeeded.

There are many reasons why P1Harmony’s first English album was successful, including the members’ hard work and effort into the music, the producers and music team, and their management. But the team has another secret weapon for their achievement: hello82.

The American-based independent K-pop label and distributor, which has had a long promotion and marketing partnership with P1Harmony in North America, was credited as executive producers on “EX”, working closely with the group on their album and tour strategy.

“We started discussions with P1Harmony last year about making an album that mainly targets the North American market,” says Jae Yoon Choi, founder and CEO of hello82. “At the same time, we were starting [hello82’s] tour division, ‘hello82presents.’ It naturally made sense to promote both the album and the tour simultaneously. So the album can be promoting the tour and the tour can be promoting the album – at the same time.”

For their touring division, the team handles all logistics for fan engagement throughout P1Harmony’s North American tour, including planning pop-ups, photo ops, and other fan-based events. Meeting with the group’s management, hello82 planned out the fan activations for each city, working closely with the members’ visions.

After the cancellation and rescheduling of P1Harmony’s Toronto stop, Toronto native Keeho really wanted to do something for his hometown. hello82’s team sprang into action to do a fan meeting at a nearby park near the stadium. They chose a spot for the fans to sit and watch P1Harmony at a safe, but close distance.

“We were able to quickly jump into action to make his dream a reality, communicating with fans and creating a safe event for everyone in Toronto,” Choi explains. ‘Honestly, these are the moments that make us remember why we do what we do. That connection we have cultivated with fans and the trust artists have in us to deliver on what they are thinking pays off in beautiful ways.”

Since P1Harmony’s debut in 2020, hello82 has worked closely with them to promote and distribute their physical albums through their online store, physical retail partners, and their Fan Spaces. The Fan Spaces are event spaces owned by the company, offering K-pop fans a place to celebrate their fandom. Sometimes, they would hold meet-and-greets, album release and listening parties, and other fan-focused events.

Choi, who founded the company in 2018, observed K-pop’s rise in popularity and identified an untapped market in the U.S. Back then, there were not many stores that sold K-pop albums and merchandise. That’s when he started hello82 as a label to promote K-pop as a lifestyle, connecting music, culture, and trends for an American audience, while also serving as the gateway for American fans to access K-pop merchandise.

“We started as a U.S. K-pop label with the core of the business following the traditional American process,” he explains. “We didn’t do anything on the music creatives or vision side. We focused on promotion and distribution like other American labels. We just took that model and mixed it with how K-pop is consumed in Korea.”

In South Korea, K-pop idols highly engage with their fan base through fan meets/signs, video calls, forum posts, live streams, and more. K-pop fandom is a whole culture there. There was nothing like that happening in the U.S, but he believed there could be. Even YouTube videos with K-pop idols produced in Korea did not immediately provide subtitles for North American audiences to consume easily. That’s when he began creating video content featuring K-pop idols, targeting American audiences, and expanded the company’s social media presence to 2.1 million subscribers.

“We focus on the community fans first, then artists become exposed to those fans, and the fans can meet their idols,” he explains. “We don’t care who they are or who their bias is. We strive to make our fans happy and provide them with access to the K-pop system. We offer something different than traditional companies.”

Through his connections as a former producer and content strategist at Mnet and CJ ENM, Choi secured deals with K-pop music companies, forming partnerships to hold promotions and fan events in the United States. With nine locations in North America (two of which are officially opened), hello82 has thrown fan events for groups such as Tomorrow X Together, STAYC, MONSTA X, Baekhyun, The BOYZ, and more. They also worked closely with ATEEZ on their album promotions, distribution, and strategy, assisting in the achievement of two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200.

“K-pop is a culture where it doesn’t matter what the artist is going to release, whether it be a song, album, or concert, fans will like it,” he explains. “In a way, our business can be a bit more like commerce, in terms of formula. In the American industry, everyone focuses on super fans, number one indexes, and the sales of physical albums. Just like video games, when people buy albums, they want to collect something that holds meaning for them. [For K-pop fans,] photocards and randomized items can be a good thing within the community.”

Alongside P1Harmony’s North American leg of their world tour, hello82presents is working on ENHYPEN’s VR concert “IMMERSION,” promoting the experience in select theaters and hello82 locations.

“The founder of AmazeVR and I are good friends,” he reveals. “They started the VR company in the U.S., working with Megan Thee Stallion and other American artists. They then began working with SM and HYBE artists. With the VR concert screening tour, they had a hard time [promoting] in America. So they reached out to us because they saw [how we run things]. We will keep working with them with the next artists.”

Now, as the company expands to include album strategy and tour events, it aims to attract not only K-pop talent but also Japanese and Chinese groups for their North American audiences. Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese artists have a similar engagement with their fans, all offering events, concerts, calls, and more in Asia.

With the increasing popularity of K-dramas, fans are constantly seeking ways to access them. Choi has thought about Korean actors who are interested in meeting their fans in America. Currently, he’s focused on building the divisions they currently have. However, he’s thought about other ways to expand.

“We’re discussing fashion and beauty brands to work with and do something fun together,” he says. “Maybe a festival in the future. I don’t know.”

Though the possibilities are endless, hello82’s current priority are their strategy work, promotion, distribution, events, and tours. Choi says, “We focus on the fan community first. We try to make [both the fans and the artists] happy.”