While entertainment agencies seem to be debuting new groups left and right, few rookies have landed with quite the impact that BABYMONSTER has. The newcomers from YG Entertainment have already made their mark on K-pop, and they’ve only officially been debuted for a few months now. Their pre-debut track “Batter Up” reached 10 million streams on Spotify (the fastest for any rookie group), and “Sheesh” later reached the highest entry on Spotify charts for a K-pop girl group in 2024 so far. Their debut EP, BABYMONS7ER, spawned trips across Asia for fan meetings, and a pop-up store in Seoul celebrating their debut drew several thousand fans in the first few days alone.
So what is it about these girls that have made them so compelling? Well, to start, all seven members are extremely talented. Of course, in a competitive and cutthroat industry like K-pop, there are few idols who aren’t, especially after years of training. However, YG has touted the fact that unlike most groups, who have specialists for vocals, rap, and dance, BABYMONSTER would be made up of all-rounders who excel in all areas. The girls still have certain areas they are especially talented in, but fans could reasonably expect any one of them to step into whichever role on any given song.
Another reason for the special attention is the age of the girls involved in BABYMONSTER. It’s not too uncommon for idols to debut as teenagers, but those teens usually aren’t voted as the most anticipated group over a year before their debut. Chiquita, the maknae of the group, was only 14 at time of debut, which has sparked some controversy and discussion into what counts as the line for appropriate times for idols to join the entertainment industry. Some claim that there should be some respect for childhood and allowing teenagers to find themselves before being thrust into the public eye, and others have expressed excitement that young entertainers are able to live their dreams early and show a level of talent that allows them to compete with seasoned veterans.
The final major factor leading to the runaway success of BABYMONSTER is the extended rollout of the group. Once again, a long rollout isn’t that unique in K-pop. However, YG has been teasing their next major girl group since 2018, with discussion ramping up in 2020 and 2021. The fact that the project was receiving so much attention before any of the girls were even signed on has certainly helped boost their momentum. Overall, BABYMONSTER has certainly been the focus of a lot of conversation already and is putting that attention to good use.
BABYMONSTER appears to be following in the footsteps of fellow YG Entertainment stars BLACKPINK, with some calling the group BLACKPINK’s little sisters. While it is often irrationally reductive to compare K-pop groups to either BTS or BLACKPINK, the comparisons aren’t completely out of line in this case. Both BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER have strong international connections - Lisa and Rose are from Thailand and New Zealand respectively, and BABYMONSTER has members from Thailand and Japan as well as other members who are fluent in English and Chinese. Admittedly the trend in K-pop overall has been including more and more non-Koreans, but BABYMONSTER are taking that trend to the next level.
Additionally, many of the members of BABYMONSTER have publicly expressed their admiration and enjoyment of BLACKPINK, with several using songs from the older group in auditions and other performances. Their style even matches some of the early BLACKPINK energy, with “BabyMonster” being one of the rejected names before ‘BLACKPINK’ became official. It’s too soon to see if their popularity even comes close to matching that of their ‘older sisters,’ but with all the glowing admiration, BABYMONSTER certainly feel like younger siblings.
BABYMONSTER might be only a few months old at this point, but they already feel poised to take the world by storm. As mentioned previously, their debut EP led to trips to Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia, and it’s not too much to expect an expanding circle of influence for future releases. With this much hype already, it will be exciting to see how these girls end up making their mark on both K-pop and the global music scene going forward.