HYBE, the company behind BTS, has launched its first Latin boy group. A 10,000-person debut concert in Mexico City. A multilingual collab with Japan-based &TEAM. This is what happens when K-pop's training system meets Latin music's raw passion.

Who Are SANTOS BRAVOS?

In October 2025, 10,000 fans packed Mexico City's iconic Auditorio Nacional for one of the most unusual debut concerts in recent memory. The five young men stepping onto that stage hadn't even been publicly identified yet, their names were revealed as part of the finale of a months-long reality competition. Meet SANTOS BRAVOS, HYBE Latin America's first-ever Latin boy group.

The five members bring together a strikingly diverse mix of Latin American heritage: Drew (United States/Mexico), Alejandro (Peru), Kauê (Brazil), Gabi (Puerto Rico), and Kenneth (Mexico). Their roots span the Spanish-speaking world, Brazil, and the United States, and their songs move between Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Kenneth, the youngest, is 16.

They were selected through the reality series Santos Bravos: La Serie, which aired across YouTube, Spotify, and the Latin streaming platform Vix. Over 400 hopefuls auditioned, 16 were chosen for the show, and a seventeenth contestant from Puerto Rico joined partway through. After roughly six months of intensive K-pop-style training in singing, dancing, and mental wellness, five were selected for the final lineup.

The mentoring team reads like a who's-who of entertainment: Kenny Ortega (creative director of High School Musical), Johnny Goldstein (producer for Shakira and Daddy Yankee), and RAab Stevenson (vocal coach for Justin Timberlake and Rihanna).

HYBE's "Multi-Home, Multi-Genre" Strategy

To understand SANTOS BRAVOS, you need to understand the company behind them. HYBE, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is the entertainment powerhouse that launched BTS, SEVENTEEN, and ENHYPEN. But HYBE's ambition extends far beyond K-pop.

Under a strategy called "multi-home, multi-genre," HYBE has established operations around the world, each designed to discover and develop local talent rooted in regional culture while applying the company's proven artist development system.

Here's the current global footprint: In South Korea (headquarters), HYBE manages BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, and ILLIT. In Japan (HYBE Japan / YX Labels), &TEAM and aoen represent the Japanese arm. In the United States (HYBE America), KATSEYE debuted as a global girl group, and a new boy group project with Grammy-winning producer Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic) is in development. In Latin America (HYBE Latin America), SANTOS BRAVOS leads the charge, with another project called Musa also preparing to debut. HYBE also opened a China office in Beijing in 2025 and is developing a localized project for the Indian market.

In other words, HYBE has moved beyond the traditional model of exporting Korean pop to the world. Instead, it's building music ecosystems in each region, discovering talent locally, training them with a globally proven methodology, and connecting them across borders through collaboration. SANTOS BRAVOS is the Latin American realization of this vision.

The KAWASAKI Collab with &TEAM: Four Languages, One Song

On February 20, 2026, SANTOS BRAVOS released "KAWASAKI (&TEAM Remix)", a collaboration with &TEAM, HYBE's nine-member group based in Japan.

The original "KAWASAKI" is a club-style dance track that fuses Latin urban sounds with Brazilian musical rhythms. The song compares the explosive thrill of falling in love to a racing bike engine at full throttle. An impressive roster of producers worked on the track: Grammy winner Diplo, HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk (known in production credits as "hitman" bang), songwriter Johnny Goldstein, and Latin Grammy-winning producer Vibarco.

For the remix, &TEAM members Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, and Maki added Japanese lyrics to the existing Spanish, English, and Portuguese verses. Japanese lines about dancing until morning and wanting to slow down time blend seamlessly with the Latin beat.

In an interview with Real Sound (a major Japanese music publication), SANTOS BRAVOS leader Drew described the collaboration as a deeply meaningful experience. He recalled that when the members first heard the remix, everyone looked at each other and instantly felt it was going to be something special. Meeting the &TEAM members in person felt surreal, he said, and he was amazed by how naturally multiple languages coexisted within a single track.

The KAWASAKI performance video landed in YouTube's global Music Trendings top 10 within days of release, drawing comments in Spanish, English, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

&TEAM: Japan's Rising Global Stars

The collaboration partner, &TEAM (pronounced "and team"), debuted in December 2022 under HYBE Labels Japan (now YX Labels). The nine-member group is seven Japanese members plus leader EJ from South Korea and Nicholas from Taiwan, all based in Japan.

Their track record in Japan has been remarkable. The single "Samidare" earned double platinum certification (over 500,000 copies). "Aoarashi" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Their third single "Go in Blind", released in April 2025, crossed 1,000,000 physical copies shipped that August and took the RIAJ's million certification.

Beyond music, &TEAM has expanded into acting and anime. They appeared in the live-action film Ya Boy Kongming! THE MOVIE and performed the opening theme "Beat the Odds" for the anime Trillion Game.

Their international profile is growing rapidly. In 2025, they completed their first Asia tour, "Awaken the Bloodline," and made their Korean debut with the mini-album Back to Life. In February 2026, they appeared as special guests at OneRepublic's Japan concerts at K-Arena Yokohama and GLION Arena Kobe, a notable cross-genre moment connecting J-pop with mainstream Western rock.

OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder has collaborated broadly with HYBE, including on &TEAM's track "Dropkick." Combined with Diplo's involvement in SANTOS BRAVOS' "KAWASAKI," a clear pattern emerges: HYBE is strategically connecting Western top-tier producers with its regional groups worldwide.

The Global Rise of Latin Pop

SANTOS BRAVOS arrives during a golden age for Latin pop. At the 2026 Grammy Awards in February, Puerto Rican artist BAD BUNNY took Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, the first all-Spanish-language album ever to win the category, one of three awards he collected that night alongside best música urbana album. Spanish artist Rosalía's latest album LUX has received widespread critical acclaim.

The language barrier that once limited Spanish-language music to regional markets has collapsed in the streaming era. Algorithmic playlists and social media virality have made it possible for songs in any language to reach global audiences.

In the Real Sound interview, member Kauê explained Latin pop's appeal by pointing to its unique energy, catchy, vibrant rhythms that make you want to dance instinctively. Gabi added that the sounds of Latin pop and K-pop are not as different as people might assume, and that blending them creates something fresh while retaining the best elements of both.

City Pop Love: A Surprising Japan Connection

One charming revelation from the interview was the group's love of Japanese city pop, the 1980s Japanese pop genre that has experienced a massive revival among international listeners, particularly Gen Z audiences on YouTube and social media.

Member Alejandro shared that the group regularly listens to city pop together, calling it a fresh and special genre with a unique atmosphere they genuinely love. This detail is culturally significant: it represents the kind of organic, listener-driven cultural exchange that defines the streaming era, where a decades-old Japanese genre can inspire young Latin American artists halfway around the world.

What's Next: Festival Season and Beyond

SANTOS BRAVOS has an ambitious festival schedule ahead: Estéreo Picnic in Colombia (March 20), Tecate Pal Norte in Monterrey, Mexico (March 29), and Empire Music Festival in Guatemala (May 1-2).

They've already made waves beyond the music stage, appearing at Willy Chavarria's Fall/Winter 2026 "Eterno" show during Paris Fashion Week in January 2026 and debuting "KAWASAKI" live at the Premio Lo Nuestro awards, where they were nominated for "Male New Artist of the Year."

The convergence of K-pop's production systems, Latin music's passion, and J-pop's nuance signals something bigger than any single collaboration. As Gabi put it in the interview, SANTOS BRAVOS aspires to become a group that transcends language barriers and delivers music to the entire world.

In Japan, fans are excited about HYBE's global expansion and &TEAM's growing international presence. What about in your country? How do you feel about cross-cultural music collaborations? Are there artists from your region collaborating with groups from other parts of the world?

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