There was a group briefing before training on August 10th, 2026 for VARSITY MEMBERS to meet with their managers and staff. PART 2/3!
*Starting 4Q, HYDRA Labels will separate the schedules and management of VARSITY and GIRLNEXTDOOR (gender specific teams assigned). HYDRA Labels will also begin renegotiating the original two year contract agreements, offering members the opportunity to extend their contracts by an additional five years. The revised agreements introduces artist benefits; including royalty participation, creative involvement, long-term career development support, independent management services for personal activities, and additional provisions (housing, travel, food, etc.).*
Following several months of internal evaluations conducted at HYDRA's Seoul headquarters, ASOSHINA RUITO, SHIMAZU HEISUKE from HYDRA Japan, and GU YEONSEOK from ACE LABS will officially join VARSITY's lineup. Additionally, HASEGAWA HARU, who first appeared through HYDE ACADEMY, will make his official idol debut alongside the newly expanded lineup. VARSITY will temporarily relocate to Tokyo for extended residency while preparing their Japanese EP album. During this period, HYDRA Labels will move them from HYDRA Japan's dorms and house the members in the company's newly completed luxury residences located in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. More information on their new house and roommates found here. Below are the tracks for their JPN Debut, more songs & official line distribution added later:
FIREWORK (PRE-RELEASE)
UNDER THE SKIN
Alongside album promotions, the members will spend the remainder of Summer participating in public appearances, festivals, to expand both their domestic and international audience.
SUMMER FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: VARSITY will go public as active 8 member group (RUITO, HEISUKE, YEONSEOK will join) throughout South Korea by appearing at major music festivals and surprising fans (get ready for those deep dives). Confirmed appearances include festivals such as WATERBOMB FESTIVAL, BUSAN ONE ASIA FESTIVAL, SEOUL FESTA, DREAM CONCERT, GAYO DAJEON SUMMER, KCON KOREA, and regional university/municipal festivals (Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Jeju, and Suwon). Western music festivals across North America and Europe, as well, KCON (Los Angeles & Germany) HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, ANIME EXPO, NEW YORK COMIC CON, MCM CON LONDON, PARIS MANGA & SCI-FI SHOW, and other misc. music events. HARU will officially replace MINJUN's old parts. ALL MEMBERS will receive advanced language workshops (Japanese/English), MC training, engagement workshops, and extended rehearsal periods for live concerts.
SETLIST: GO!, FAVORITE, VALENTINE, SO AMAZING, CRASH SMASH ROCK), Full group 'Red Flavor' & 'Dance the Night Away' (RIYAN, YEONSEOK, and KENTARO + KICKFLIP and AND2BLE members) Special Stages. Special unit performances, solo stages, unreleased tracks, dance breaks, and surprise collaborations may occasionally be introduced depending on the event.
AWARD & CONTENT SCHEDULE TO BE ADDED!
Additionally, following HYDRA Labels' expanded partnership with Netflix, NAVER WEBTOON, and Wattpad, VARSITY has officially been selected as the company's 2nd flagship franchise. VARSITY's project will center around 8 ordinary idol trainees who secretly belong to rival supernatural bloodlines, who protect their identities while navigating fame. The franchise is being developed simultaneously as an animated Netflix series, an official NAVER WEBTOON digital comic, a Wattpad web novel. While professional voice actors will portray the animated characters, every opening theme, ending theme, insert song, and promotional soundtrack will be recorded by VARSITY themselves.
Each of the 8 main protagonists will be directly inspired by a member of VARSITY. HYDRA Labels views the series as one of the company's highest-priority initiatives, aiming to establish VARSITY as a leading entertainment property. Additional information, including the official title and character lineup, will be discussed later this year, close to Halloween (*wink wink*). The project is expected to launch as a long-term project in 2027/2028.
📅 EVENT TIMELINE + REQUIREMENTS
OOC EVENT DATES: August 10 - September 28, 2026 SETTING: Tokyo, Japan & other locations based on schedule 📌 TO EARN POINTS:
2+ training or festival threads (2 replies per player) — +2 performance pts each
1 introspective solo scene/self-para or drabble (300+ words) — +2 vocal pts
1 festival inspired moodboard (6+ pictures) — +2 visual pts
DEADLINE FOR POINT REDEMPTION: AUGUST 22, 2026 Extensions always welcome. Ping us if you need time, we got you! SUBMIT POINT SUBMISSIONS & FORM FOUND HERE. Be sure to tag threads with #hd:vst.
