Rhea Raj signs joint Republic-HYBE America deal
Rhea Raj has signed a joint label deal with the REPUBLIC collective and HYBE America. It is the first joint-venture deal between the two companies. Her first single under the agreement is due in the coming weeks, Billboard reported.
Raj is a 26-year-old Indian-American pop artist from Texas. She is the elder sister of Lara, a member of the girl group KATSEYE. That family link puts two sisters inside the wider HYBE system, but on separate projects.
KATSEYE releases music through a label arrangement between HYBE and Geffen. Raj’s new deal sits apart from that. It pairs REPUBLIC with HYBE America as joint backers, meaning both companies will release her music together.
The deal also includes a strategic alliance with 5 Junction Management, the organisation Raj joined in early 2026. Acharia signed her as the company’s first client in January. The management tie came before the label deal, and it now runs alongside it.
5 Junction Management is led by Anjula Acharia, who also runs the Warner-backed label 5 Junction Records. Acharia built the management company with Universal marketing executive Jurgen Grebner, Variety reported. The roster alongside Raj includes Nora Fatehi, according to CNBC. On the label side, the principals are REPUBLIC collective founder and chairman Monte Lipman and HYBE America chief executive and chairman Isaac Lee.
Raj reached the auditions stage of American Idol in 2016. She later studied at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, the university’s recorded-music school. She released the EP Commotion in 2025.
She has been described as a digital-native performer. That is industry shorthand for an artist who first builds an audience online, through short-form video and streaming, before moving into the mainstream label system.
What makes this stand out is the structure. Joint deals of this kind are uncommon. Two large music groups rarely share a new signing from the start.
For fans, this means a short wait. New music is expected within weeks. No title or date has been confirmed.
