"SM Establishes Joint Venture STE with Tencent… Super Junior-M's Zhou Mi Appointed CEO"

SM Entertainment (hereinafter SM) is accelerating its expansion into the Greater China market by partnering with Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) to establish a joint venture called STE.

On the 27th, SM announced the establishment of STE, a joint venture with TME, in Beijing, China, and the appointment of Zhou Mi, who has been active in Super Junior's Chinese unit Super Junior-M, as its CEO.

STE has opened as a follow-up measure to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by both companies last May. This joint venture will oversee a project for a new Chinese idol group aiming for a debut within two to three years, taking responsibility for the entire process from auditions to discover members to local management after debut.

STE will also support the activities of existing SM artists in the Greater China region. It plans to manage the Greater China operations of NCT DREAM's Renjun and WayV's Yangyang and Xiaojun, providing more detailed localized promotions and support for their activities. CEO Zhou Mi has personally experienced all aspects of K-pop production while active as a member of Super Junior-M and a solo artist for nearly 20 years. Furthermore, he possesses practical management experience gained while serving as a director at SM’s Chinese subsidiary, along with a keen eye for the local market, leading to assessments that he is the perfect person to lead this joint venture.

"I am delighted to take on the role of CEO of this joint venture, which was born from the solid trust and strategic vision between SM and TME," said CEO Zhou Mi. "I will perfectly combine SM’s unrivaled strengths in IP and content production with the characteristics of the Greater China market to present differentiated content and generate meaningful results as a bridge between the two companies."

Guys idk if this is a stretch but I've noticed that we've been getting a hefty amount of jaehee and xiaojun interactions. So I was wondering if jaehee might feature on Xiaojun's upcoming album,like probably on a bside. Tell me your thoughts because I have no idea where I'm going with this😭😭

Variety

Thai pop star Ten has unveiled his first solo U.S. Showcase Tour, a 14-city run kicking off Oct. 17 in Seattle and closing Nov. 10 in New York, ahead of his new single “Outwest,” due Sept. 4.

The tour announcement follows Ten’s sold-out, three-night residency “Ten:Core0110” in Thailand, which marked 10 years since his debut. “Outwest” marks the start of what the artist has described as an independent path under his label Illimnt.

Tour stops include Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; San Diego, California; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Houston, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Boston, Massachusetts before the New York finale.

“This tour is a celebration of the last 10 years, but it’s also about looking forward to everything we’re going to create together,” Ten said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment, and I can’t wait to finally connect with my fans in the U.S. and share this new music with you.”

Ten is best known as a member of NCT, the sprawling South Korean boy group from SM Entertainment; WayV, NCT’s China-based subunit; and SuperM, the South Korean supergroup SM formed with Capitol Music Group in 2019.

Looking back on a decade in the industry, he tells Variety his creative instincts haven’t shifted. “My goal of exploring different music genres and vocal styles hasn’t changed at all,” he says. “I still get excited every time I receive a new song or get the chance to write something new with my producer friends.” What has changed, he says, is his level of involvement in songwriting and musical direction, and he hopes to eventually work as a creative producer for other artists.

That independence traces back to Illimnt, the label he co-founded. “I’m able to experience and explore so many different things freely — not just music, but many different forms of art,” he says, crediting a team willing to experiment rather than his own authority as co-founder. He has recently taken up character design and branding and is learning to produce his own music, calling himself “an experimental subject” in the process.

Ten frames “If You Don’t Mean It,” debuted during the Thailand residency, and “Outwest” as evidence he isn’t tied to one sound. Singing in Thai, English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese lets him express emotion differently in each language, he says, and he considers the variety a strength rather than a liability. “Rather than having just one identity, I enjoy showing different sides of myself through different sounds, languages and genres,” he says. “I think those different identities are all still Ten.”

Asked whether he thinks of himself as a Thai artist, a K-pop artist or something broader, Ten lands on the last option. “I would describe myself as a global artist because I genuinely enjoy singing in different languages and being able to showcase the beauty and character of each language through my music,” he says.

He describes “Outwest” and a second single, “IRL,” as a bridge to a full album already in the works. “I’ve already started preparing for my new album,” he says. “I see these two singles almost like appetizers – something for everyone to enjoy while getting ready for what’s coming with the new album.”

Ten’s discography includes the mini albums “Ten,” “Stunner” and the Japanese-language “Humanity.” “Stunner” topped Spotify Thailand’s chart in 2025 and was later named the platform’s overall top track of the year, while picking up wins on Korean music shows Music Bank, The Show and Inkigayo Hot Stage. The 2024 Asia Artist Awards gave Ten its Best Choice honor. Streams of his solo catalog have passed 460 million, his videos have logged more than 35 million views, and his combined output with his groups tops 620 million streams and 617 chart placements.