On July 16, JYP Entertainment subsidiary INNIT Entertainment revealed the first three members of the company’s new girl group, OURBIRTHDAY, via a concept film. 

The video, titled “ERROR 502: Bad Gateway,” serves as an introduction to both the intended concept of OURBIRTHDAY and its first three members. With a name borrowed from a server error code, it reads as an exclusive leak while also showcasing the beginning of a storyline built on technology and glitches.

Viewers follow the members through an office space as it warps with special effects. Narration describes their fight against the glitching landscape and unsuccessful efforts to escape, before the girls stumble upon each other and sync up with a restored sense of hope. Overall, there is an element of horror to the teaser, intertwined with a focus on the visuals of the first three members now revealed.

Previous teasers of the new group have been solely animated. Numerous logo motion videos with the tagline “EVERY DAY IS BIRTHDAY” have been published over the last two weeks, followed by the unveiling of three animated characters – CHERYSHA, GROOVLU and I-YAT – representing the three members. On July 14, the first, 1 minute 30 second episode of an animated series starring the characters was uploaded to the OURBIRTHDAY YouTube channel, depicting them as superheroes in a colourful city uniting to fight against a villain sucking the colour from their surroundings.

The combination of animated characters, a superhero storyline, and a teaser layered with special effects from the horror genre indicates that JYP Entertainment are going concept-first with OURBIRTHDAY, especially in its initial stages. While many companies opt to release member profiles or clips from training activities, in this case viewers are being flooded with content based on a fictional storyline as a means of introduction. It stands out within the industry and adds a level of intrigue uncommon with recent debuts, relying on uniqueness rather than the JYP Entertainment name.

OURBIRTHDAY will be the first group to officially debut under INNIT Entertainment, and are set to be JYP Entertainment’s first Korean girl group since the debut of NMIXX in 2022; since then, the company has stepped further into international markets with the introduction of Japanese girl group NiziU and the global girl group GIRLSET. This time, the company is returning to a domestic focus, and OURBIRTHDAY will follow in the footsteps of household names Wonder Girls, Miss A, TWICE, ITZY and NMIXX.

No debut date has been announced, but as teasers increase in frequency an official announcement can be expected soon.