# BabyMonster

BabyMonster (Korean: 베이비몬스터; RR: Beibimonseuteo; stylized in all caps), sometimes known as Baemon (/beɪmɒn/ BAY-mon; 베몬), is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of seven members: Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Ahyeon, Rami, Rora, and Chiquita, and officially debuted in April 2024, with their eponymous extended play (EP) BabyMons7er.

## History
### 2018–2022: Formation and pre-debut activities

Following the launch of YG Entertainment's representative girl groups, 2NE1 (2009) and Blackpink (2016), news of their next girl group circulated as early as 2018. They received applicants from various countries, some of whom were accepted into its training program as early as age 10, training an average of four to five years. In the number of recruits, each prospective member placed first against thousands in their respective auditions. In January 2020, "BabyMonster", one of many names initially considered for Blackpink, and "Baemon" (a syllabic abbreviation of the former) were trademarked in English and Korean by the label and tentatively used by media outlets until the eventual disclosure of their official uses.
Its selection process was chronicled in Last Evaluation (2023), a reality show showcasing seven potential members. Label founder, Yang Hyun-suk, enlisted assistance by Lee Su-hyun of AKMU, and Winner's Kang Seung-yoon and Lee Seung-hoon amidst others to judge, rank, and determine its formation for the duration of the show. Yang revealed the number of members he first planned was five; however, a seven-piece ensemble was finalized with three South Koreans (Ahyeon, Rami, Rora), two Japanese (Ruka, Asa), and two Thai members (Pharita, Chiquita). Ahyeon, Ruka, Chiquita, Rami, and Pharita were selected by the label, while Rora and Asa were contemplated to be placed into two different projects before ultimately joining the final line-up as the "fans' choice".
Leading to their acceptance into the company, Rami started as a child model at age two; Ruka debuted in the Japanese girl group Shibu3 project [ja] (2017); Rora joined the children's music group U.SSO Girl with Hyein of NewJeans; and Pharita modelled in contests and auditioned for survival reality programs. Ruka, the longest trained member of the seven, Rora, and Asa, trained under the label for six years anterior to their debut. Rami and Ahyeon honed their craft for five years, and Pharita, who was chosen out of 1,226 applicants amid her audition, trained for four years. Chiquita became the final addition to the prospective group, following three months of training, the shortest period of all members, cultivating with its members for three years. In this time, their vocals were often recruited in the background of their labelmate's work (i.e. the final chorus of Kang Seung-yoon's "Iyah" (아이야; aiya)).

### 2023–present: Introduction and debut

YG Entertainment signaled the septet's formal introduction on December 30, 2022, with a poster and the subtext "YG Next Movement". It heralded a trailer-esque video posted on YouTube on New Year's Day that garnered 15 million views in three days, and featured appearances by members of Winner and Blackpink, sibling duo AKMU, dancer and choreographer Leejung Lee, and label founder Yang Hyun-suk. BabyMonster's introduction, together with the announcement of G-Dragon's feasible return as a soloist that same day, contributed to a subsequent rise in the label's stocks, leaping by 11.74%. The seven members were revealed to the public through gradual releases of live performance videos starting on January 12 (in order: Rami, Ahyeon, Chiquita, Asa, Rora, Pharita, and Ruka); and a pre-debut promotional single titled "Dream"—exclusively released via YouTube on May 14, 2023, debuting atop the Billboard Hot Trending Songs chart. Their channel soon surpassed one million subscribers in 52 days since its creation on December 28, 2022, and two million subscribers in 129 days, becoming the fastest K-pop girl group to reach the milestone.
The group released two singles as a six-piece titled "Batter Up" and "Stuck in the Middle" on November 27, 2023, and February 1, 2024, respectively, with the former serving as the sextet's debut single and BabyMonster's pre-debut release. Label-mates Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU and Choi Hyun-suk of Treasure contributed in penning the former piece, while its member Asa, worked on both its music and lyrics. Its music video amassed 22.59 million views within a day, became the most viewed debut music video in the first 24 hours in K-pop history, and became the fastest debut music video to reach 100 million views on the platform, eighteen days after its release. It found further success on Spotify, achieving 10 million streams in ten days, the fastest for a rookie K-pop girl group. Ahyeon, who was absent from its releases for health reasons, soon recovered and returned from her hiatus, joining the ensemble to promote their future activities as a seven-member group.
Marking the group's official debut, their first extended play (EP) BabyMons7er, was released on April 1. It was primarily supported by the titular single "Sheesh" and included re-recordings of "Batter Up" and "Stuck in the Middle" with all seven members, alongside a gift titled "Like That" by Charlie Puth following a viral cover of "Dangerously" sung by Ahyeon. The eponymous release recorded over 460,000 pre-orders, and debuted at number three on the Circle Album Chart. Initially released to lukewarm reception, "Sheesh" climbed the domestic charts following a surge in popularity through its live performances, peaking at number ten on the Circle Digital Chart. Furthermore, it became the highest entry for a K-pop girl group on Spotify that year, debuting with 1.76 million streams on its Daily Top Songs Global Chart at sixty-ninth place. In commemoration of their debut, a pop-up store was held at The Hyundai Seoul on the same date for ten days, welcoming 2,000 visitors in its first two days. In conjunction to their latest release, the septet embarked on their first fan meeting tour in May amidst six Asian regions: Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and South Korea. In result, BabyMonster entered "arena-class" venues within forty days of their debut, selling out 26,000 tickets in their Tokyo stop alone.
For BabyMonster's upcoming first studio album, a pre-release digital single titled "Forever" was released on July 1. The studio album, titled Drip, will be released on November 1, along with the lead single of the same name.

## Artistry
### Image and reception

Created with an image possessing two contrasting qualities, a "baby" side (offstage) and a "monstrous" side (onstage) akin to their name, the septet maintains the signature "charismatic" elements of YG Entertainment, embodying the better known moniker, the "YG DNA". BabyMonster was touted as an "all-rounder" group and its members labelled as "elites" by the public and media alike, wherein each excel in vocals, rap, and dance. The ensemble is also proficient in multiple languages, including Korean, English, Japanese, Thai, and Chinese.
In a survey conducted by entertainment business magazine JoyNews24, two hundred industry workers from entertainment companies and broadcasters, film and broadcast content producers, and entertainment reporters ranked the tentative group ninth in the "Most Anticipated Artist of Late 2021 and 2022", tied with Ive amidst others.

### Influences

BabyMonster has cited all YG Entertainment artists as their role models, who are known for their "stage presence" and "musical prowess", learning from artists including Blackpink and 2NE1.

## Other ventures
### Endorsements

In February 2024, BabyMonster became presenters for Pepsi in the Asia-Pacific region, and the face of LG Household & Health Care's cosmeceutical brand CNP Laboratory, to aid advancements into the Japanese beauty market. Two months later, the group became global partners of Adidas, and later an ambassador for its sports collection.

## Members

* Ruka (루카)
* Pharita (파리타)
* Asa (아사)
* Ahyeon (아현)
* Rami (라미)
* Rora (로라)
* Chiquita (치키타)

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, showing selected details, selected chart positions, and sales figures :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Details | KOR | Sales |
| Drip | Scheduled: November 1, 2024 Label: YG Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | To be released | To be released |

### Extended plays

List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
| Title | Details | KOR | CRO | JPN | NGA | UK DL | US World | Sales | Certifications |
| BabyMons7er | Released: April 1, 2024 Label: YG Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 3 | 5 | 6 | 98 | 69 | 15 | KOR: 754,533 JPN: 22,403 | KMCA: Platinum KMCA: 2× Platinum (Nemo) |

### Singles

List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | HK | IDN | JPN Hot | NLD Glo. | NZ Hot | SGP | TW | US World | WW | Sales | Album |
| Pre-debut ||||||||||||||
| "Batter Up" | 2023 | 123 | 22 | 14 | 100 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 101 | US: 1,000 | BabyMons7er |
| "Stuck in the Middle" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | BabyMons7er |
| Post-debut ||||||||||||||
| "Sheesh" | 2024 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 42 | 12 | 30 | 6 | 3 | — | 33 | — | BabyMons7er |
| "Forever" | 2024 | 101 | 16 | 20 | 92 | — | — | 12 | 6 | 7 | 141 | — | Drip |
| "Drip" | 2024 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | | | — | Drip |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. ||||||||||||||

### Promotional singles

List of promotional singles, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR DL | Album |
| "Dream" | 2023 | 92 | BabyMons7er |

### Other charted songs

List of other charted songs, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR DL | JPN Heat. | SGP Reg. | TW | WW Excl. US | Album |
| "Monsters (Intro)" | 2024 | 113 | — | — | — | — | BabyMons7er |
| "Like That" | 2024 | 64 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 186 | BabyMons7er |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. ||||||||

## Videography
### Music videos

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Ref. |
| 2023 | "Dream" | Un­known | |
| 2023 | "Batter Up" | Seo Hyun-seung (Gigant) | |
| 2024 | "Stuck in the Middle" | Jason Kim (Flipevil) | |
| 2024 | "Sheesh" | Seo Hyun-seung (Gigant) | |
| 2024 | "Forever" | Samson (Highqualityfish) | |
| 2024 | "Drip" | TBA | TBA |

### Other videos

| Year | Title | Director(s) | Ref. |
| 2024 | "Like That" (Exclusive Performance Video) | Un­known | |

## Filmography

* Last Evaluation (2023, YouTube)
* Baemon TV (2024, YouTube)

## Tours and concerts
### Fanmeeting

| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance |
| May 11, 2024 | Tokyo | Japan | Ariake Arena | 26,000 |
| May 12, 2024 | Tokyo | Japan | Ariake Arena | 26,000 |
| June 8, 2024 | Jakarta | Indonesia | Tennis Indoor Senayan | — |
| June 15, 2024 | Singapore | Singapore | The Star Performing Arts Centre | est. 5,000 |
| June 23, 2024 | Taipei | Taiwan | Taipei Music Center | — |
| June 29, 2024 | Bangkok | Thailand | Paragon Hall | — |
| June 30, 2024 | Bangkok | Thailand | Paragon Hall | — |
| July 30, 2024 | Kobe | Japan | World Memorial Hall | 20,000 |
| July 31, 2024 | Kobe | Japan | World Memorial Hall | 20,000 |
| August 10, 2024 | Seoul | South Korea | Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace | — |
| August 11, 2024 | Seoul | South Korea | Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace | — |

## Accolades
### Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| Brand of the Year | 2024 | Best Female Rookie | BabyMonster | Nominated |
| Brand of the Year | 2024 | Best Female Rookie (Vietnam) | BabyMonster | Won |
| BreakTudo Awards | 2024 | International New Artist | BabyMonster | Pending |
| BreakTudo Awards | 2024 | K-pop Hit of the Year | "Sheesh" | Pending |
| Circle Chart Music Awards | 2024 | Rookie of the Year – Global Streaming | "Batter Up" | Won |
| Circle Chart Music Awards | 2024 | Mubeat Global Choice Award – Female | BabyMonster | Nominated |
| Circle Chart Music Awards | 2024 | Rookie of the Year – Streaming Unique Listeners | "Batter Up" | Nominated |
| The Fact Music Awards | 2024 | Best Music (Winter) | "Batter Up" | Nominated |
| Korea Grand Music Awards | 2024 | Best 10 Artists | BabyMons7er | Pending |
| Korea Grand Music Awards | 2024 | Best Rookie – Artist | BabyMons7er | Pending |
| Korea Grand Music Awards | 2024 | Best Rookie – Song | "Sheesh" | Pending |
| Korea Grand Music Awards | 2024 | Best 10 Songs | "Sheesh" | Pending |
| Korea Grand Music Awards | 2024 | Trend of the Year | BabyMonster | Pending |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2024 | Artist of the Year | BabyMonster | Pending |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2024 | Best New Female Artist | BabyMonster | Pending |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2024 | Worldwide Fans' Choice Female | BabyMonster | Pending |
| Mubeat Awards | 2023 | Best Rookie Artist | BabyMonster | Won |
| Mubeat Awards | 2023 | Music Video of the Year | "Batter Up" | Nominated |

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement :
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
| Teen Vogue | 2024 | 12 Girl Groups to Watch in 2024 | Placed | |