SM Entertainment Celebrates 30 Years with New Album '2025 SMTOWN: THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE'

On February 14, 2025, SM Entertainment (SM) released a special album titled '2025 SMTOWN: THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE' to commemorate its 30th anniversary. This album reflects both the past and present of SM, drawing significant attention from music fans. One of the key reasons for SM's enduring legacy and the passionate support from its fans, known as 'Pink Blood', is the strong sense of family within the company.

# A Grand Celebration: SMTOWN LIVE

Since its inaugural tour in 2008, SMTOWN LIVE has become the 'No.1 global concert brand', successfully hosting events in major cities worldwide, including Seoul, New York, LA, Paris, Dubai, Santiago, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Singapore. This concert series symbolizes the unity of SM artists and showcases their unique collaborations, which consistently receive enthusiastic responses from audiences. The closing song, '빛 (Hope from KWANGYA)', creates a touching moment as fans join together, illuminating the venue with colorful light sticks.

# Legendary Collaborations and Unit Activities

From the first album 'Christmas in SMTOWN.com' released in 1999 to the current anniversary album, the SMTOWN series represents the essence of SM's family spirit. The album features collaborations such as 'ZOO' with NCT's Taeyong, Jeno, Hendery, Yangyang, and aespa's Giselle, as well as 'Hot & Cold' with EXO's Kai, Red Velvet's Seulgi, NCT's Jeno, and aespa's Karina. Additionally, the cheerful carol 'Beautiful Christmas' by Red Velvet and aespa showcases the diverse musical styles of SM artists.

Notable performances include BoA's 'Only One' featuring TVXQ's Yunho, Super Junior's Eunhyuk, SHINee's Taemin, EXO's Sehun, NCT's Ten, and others as dance partners. The winter single 'Show Me Your Love' by TVXQ and Super Junior has become a classic K-pop carol. Furthermore, Super Junior's Eunhyuk, Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon, and EXO's Kai formed the dance unit Younique Unit, demonstrating the love for various collaborations beyond SMTOWN albums.

SM also boasts impressive ballad projects like S.M. THE BALLAD, and the supergroup SuperM, dubbed the 'K-pop Avengers', which includes members from SHINee, EXO, and NCT. The powerful performances of GOT the beat, featuring BoA, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon and Hyoyeon, Red Velvet's Seulgi and Wendy, and aespa's Karina and Winter, highlight the explosive synergy of these legendary combinations.

# A Strong Musical Heritage Connecting Past and Present

The album '2025 SMTOWN: THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE', releasing at 6 PM today on various music platforms, consists of remakes of SM's classic hits by its artists, reaffirming SM's solid musical heritage that has led K-pop trends for three decades. The cultural and musical assets built over 30 years form the foundation of SM's unique family spirit.

This was further emphasized during the 'SMTOWN LIVE 2025 [THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE] in SEOUL' held at Gocheok Sky Dome on January 11-12, where members of the 'SMTOWN Family' such as H.O.T.'s Tony An, S.E.S.'s Bada, and Fly to the Sky's Hwanhee shared the stage with SM artists.

Moreover, SM artists participated in the 20th-anniversary project 'Our Beloved BoA' in 2020, remaking various songs by BoA. In 2021, aespa reinterpreted S.E.S.'s 'Dreams Come True', and in 2022, NCT DREAM remade H.O.T.'s 'Candy' as the title track for their winter special mini-album, achieving chart-topping success. This cycle of senior artists' hits being reimagined by their juniors continues to draw global attention to SM's future endeavors in music and culture under 'THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE'.