Soprano Sumi Jo signs with SM Entertainment for 40th anniversary album

World-renowned soprano Sumi Jo has signed an exclusive recording contract with SM Entertainment's classical imprint, making her the first artist on the label as the K-pop giant expands into the international classical music market ahead of her 40th-anniversary album release next month.

The partnership signals a deliberate push by one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies to position Korean classical music alongside mainstream pop on the global stage — a development likely to resonate with Korean-American communities in Southern California who follow both classical and K-pop worlds.

The deal, reported by the Korea Times, makes Jo the first exclusive artist on SM Classics, a label SM Entertainment created as part of a strategy to industrialize Korean classical music for global audiences.

Her album, "Continuum," spans 11 tracks moving from unrecorded coloratura arias to modern compositions. In a statement quoted by the Korea Times, Jo characterized the work as a "culmination and a new beginning."

The project features a duet with Suho, the leader of K-pop group EXO, and a collaboration with violinist Danny Koo — partnerships designed to introduce the soprano to younger and more diverse listeners.

Jo, whose voice the late conductor Herbert von Karajan once described as coming "from above," according to the Korea Times, will support the album with a South Korea tour in May and performances in France in July. She performed in London and New York in March.

SM Entertainment's expansion into classical music reflects the company's ambitions beyond its K-pop core, aiming to use Jo's decades-long international pedigree as a strategic anchor for the new label.

"Continuum" is scheduled for release in May 2026. Additional tour and competition details are expected in the coming weeks, according to the Korea Times.