Pledis Entertainment was founded in 2007. Son Dam-bi was the first artist to debut under Pledis, and was dubbed the 'female Rain' by media outlets. In its beginning stages, the agency did not have management premises, only a practice room. In January 2009, Pledis debuted its first girl group, After School. A sub-unit of After School called Orange Caramel was formed in 2010, consisting of members Nana, Lizzy, and Raina. In December 2010, Pledis released Happy Pledis 1st Album, featuring After School, which included the tracks "Love Love Love" and "Someone Is You". Happy Pledis was a series of albums to be released annually, featuring Pledis artists, with proceeds going to charity. Proceeds from the first album were donated to Save the Children. In July 2011, two further sub-units of After School were created, A.S. Red and A.S. Blue. Happy Pledis 2nd Album, featuring Son Dam-bi, After School, Pledis Boys, and Yoo Ara, was released in December, with proceeds going to UNICEF.
In March 2012, Pledis debuted their first boy bandNU’EST. In May 2012, the agency joint ventures with Fantagio and debuted a six-member girl group, Hello Venus. In June 2012, Kahi "graduated" from After School and continued with her solo career under Pledis. On November 11, 2013, Pledis Entertainment and Chinese agency Yuehua Entertainment held a press conference titled "Yuehua Entertainment X Pledis" at the Beijing Banquet Hall, marking the start of a collaboration under which the sub-unit NU'EST-M was formed with the addition of Chinese member Jason Fulong Fei, known as JA. The six-member team performed for the first time at the press event. On July 21, 2014, the partnership between Pledis and Fantagio was dissolved. The two members under Pledis, Yoo Ara and Yoonjo, left Hello Venus while the four members under Fantagio continued as a group under the same name. In December 2014, Jooyeon graduated from After School after her contract expired. That month, Kahi announced to parted ways with the agency. Thirteen-member boy group Seventeen debuted in May 2015, after training under the company for several years. In June 2015, Son Dam-bi parted ways with the agency after ten years. In March 2016, Pledis formed a pre-debut team called "Pledis Girlz". Some of the pre-debut team members Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Kyulkyung and Xiyeon had competed in the survival show Produce 101 and concluded the show with two members, Nayoung and Kyulkyung, debuting in the survival project girl group I.O.I. Before their debut, Pledis Girlz held concerts which the members performed weekly from May 2016 until January 2017 and also released their pre-debut single titled "WE", with the exception of Nayoung and Kyulkyung, who were still promoting with I.O.I at the time. In January 2017, Pledis Girlz concluded their weekly concerts with announcement of the official group name Pristin, following Nayoung and Kyulkyung wrap up their activities with I.O.I in the same months. Pristin officially debuted as a ten-member girl group in March 2017. On May 31, 2017, UEE graduated from After School after her contract expired. In May 2018, Lizzy graduated from After School following the expiration of her contract, but remains a member of Orange Caramel. In June 2018, it was confirmed that After School member Kaeun and Huh Yunjin, a trainee, would participate on the survival show series Produce 48. At the end of the show, it was revealed that Kaeun placed 14th overall and Yunjin placed 26th. Both failed to make it into the final lineup of the winning group, Iz*One. On May 24, 2019, Pristin was officially disbanded. Pledis announced that while Kyulkyung, Yehana, and Sungyeon would stay with the company, the remaining seven would be departing. On July 6, 2019, Kaeun graduated from After School following the expiration of her contract. On December 20, 2019, Han Dong-geun parted ways with Pledis Entertaiment. On December 27, 2019, Raina graduated from After School following the expiration of her contract. On January 16, 2020, After School's E-Young announced that she has left Pledis Entertaiment. On May 25, 2020, Big Hit Entertainment officially announced the acquisition of a majority shareholder of Pledis Entertainment. It was also announced that Pledis Entertainment will receive financial and expertise support from Big Hit while still operating as an independent label.
Artists
All artists under Pledis Entertainment are collectively known as Happy Pledis.
