Music

As early as 2019, the word “BABYMONSTER” percolated among K-pop circles once news surfaced of legendary label YG Entertainment filing a trademark for a new girl group name. But only five years later — as of April 1, 2024, to be precise — would the act say they’ve been revealed in their full, complete form.

As YG prepared its follow-up female outfit to follow the chart-topping BLACKPINK, the seven members competing for a place in BABYMONSTER — Ruka, Pharita, Rami, Ahyeon, Rora, Asa and Chiquita — battled on the digital series Last Evaluation. Mentored and critiqued by YG founder and CEO Yang Hyun-suk plus future label mates like Jennie and Lisa of BLACKPINK, Kang Seung-yoon and Lee Seung-hoon of WINNER, and Lee Su-hyun of AKMU, the series spotlighted the septet’s monstrous talents through solo, unit and group performances that helped them quickly garner millions of YouTube subscribers and fans — including Charlie Puth, who would go on to gift a pop track for BABYMONSTER after catching Ahyeon’s take on his 2016 single “Dangerous” in a standout moment from the show.

“‘BABY’ describes our unlimited possibilities, youth, and that we’re bringing something new to the scene,” power vocalist Rami tells Billboard during a sitdown chat in Seoul. “And ‘MONSTER’ describes our monster-like skills.”

BABYMONSTER began releasing music in late 2023 with the playful trap banger “Batter Up,” co-written by Asa, but the group was only recording as six while Ahyeon was absent over reported health issues. Yet the “pre-debut” buzz single still managed to score a Top 5 debut on Billboard‘s U.S.-based World Digital Song Sales chart while also peaking at No. 101 on the Billboard Global 200.

But when all-rounder Ahyeon returned for BABYMONSTER’s “official” debut on April 1 with the BABYMONS7ER album and its explosive, hip-hop/dance single “Sheesh,” the group soared to No. 33 on the Global 200 as the EP landed on the World Albums chart solely from a digital release. Not only did “Sheesh” mark a breakout moment for the group musically, but the septet also reimagined the hit into a “band version” to deliver a full-fledged, rock-star rendition of the track across several TV shows to share their whole, live experience — a stark difference from K-pop acts who will sometimes rely more heavily on backing tracks to prioritize choreography, fashion and visuals.

Now, in their final “BABYMONS7ER” form, the girls are proving just how ready they are to share their skills and personalities with the world.

Just days after releasing the sophisticated synth-pop single “Forever” (which also scored them another Top 10 entry on World Digital Song Sales with less than a week to chart — a delightful surprise to the girls), a similar attitude is present at BABYMONSTER’s Billboard interview at the YG Entertainment offices.

Stretched around a long boardroom meeting table, the septet has a cool calmness about them as the members make faces at the table across one another or will give each other a thumbs up for her answer. The girls aren’t shy to make their thoughts known or get comfortable during the chat — the youngest member, Chiquita, even pulls out her tiny, personalized, and bedazzled aromatic bottle at one point and shares how she recommends it to help with headaches.

During one pause in the conversation, when the multilingual, Thailand-born Pharita looks tongue-tied and resigned over the message she’s asked to deliver to international fans, the 18-year-old apologizes as the group leaves the room. “Sorry about that,” she says in her sweet, soft tone. “I just wish I could say more of what I want to say.”

Indeed, BABYMONSTER seems to have a lot to say as they lead YG Entertainment into its next era and, perhaps, with the bold displays both on and off stage, will also usher in a more open and honest generation of K-pop. Get to know Billboard‘s latest K-Pop Rookie of the Month better below as BAEMON detailing their journey from pre-debut to standing as seven and previewing what’s to come next.

Starting at the beginning, I remember hearing the name BABYMONSTER for a few years. Did you know this would be your group name before debuting?

RORA: Ever since Last Evaluation, we knew. We came into the project knowing that the group name was going to be BABYMONSTER. We really liked the name because we thought it was perfect for us; it describes us the best.

BABYMONSTER: Yeah, we all had good reactions.

Can everyone share their favorite BABYMONSTER song so far, to give us a sense of your personalities and music tastes?

RUKA: Up until now, we really showcased the side of us where it’s this really intense hip-hop side. And with “Forever,” we’re able to show our refreshing charms, so I’m really looking forward to [fans seeing] that.

RORA: Personally, I like “Stuck in the Middle (Remix).” We’ve been in the midst of a fan-meeting tour, so we were able to perform the song for our finale encore stage. It’s just really fun performing because it shows a lot of our vibrant and pop-y sides.

CHIQUITA: I like “Dream.” I like the song as well as the meaning of the song that starting from our training period. I always get emotional when I listen to “Dream.”

ASA: I really enjoy “Sheesh.” It was the first song that we released with all seven members and I really just like hearing the public and fans sing along to the song. It’s really fun performing it as well. That “sheesh” part is so catchy. It’s addictive.

RAMI: “Batter Up (Remix).” Out of our tracklist, I think that it’s one of the best songs to really jump around and interact with fans. We’ve been performing it during their fan meetings.

PHARITA: I like “Like That.” It’s good, easy to listen to, and quite unique for us. I don’t really know; I just love it. [Laughs]

AHYEON: I think the only song that hasn’t been mentioned yet is my favorite song, “MONSTERS (Intro).” That’s the song that can really show our potential and it makes the crowds hyped up. It makes me feel like, “Oh, I can do this. Let’s have a great stage today.”

It’s been great watching the transition from pre-debut to your official debut with “Sheesh.” Before moving forward, what has been the difference between that period as six members and now?

PHARITA: Well, before, it was just six, and we were worried, thinking, “Oh, is this going to go well?” because everyone matters. And when she came back for “Sheesh,” we just had a huge blowup. Everyone loved the song and everyone got to see more sides of us — it just felt more complete.

Let’s also discuss your latest single, “Forever.” You announced it as a “pre-release” single. Is this a taste of an upcoming album?

RORA: It’s a retro synth song, but also a very hot and exciting song. So, I think it’s a fun song to listen to in the hot summer. And we’re having fun because we’re all running around together while performing on stage. I think you can tell from our facial expressions on stage that we’re having fun every time we perform. It also contrasts a lot with the performances of “Sheesh.”

ASA: It was really fun filming the music video too.

CHIQUITA: It’s actually a pre-release single moving towards our album. So, it’s kind of the start of a new chapter for us. So, you should also look forward to our new album which will be released, maybe, this fall?

RORA: It’s quite hard to say because nothing’s really set into stone yet, but BABYMONSTER will continue to work hard to make great music, showcase great performances and meet all of their fans all across the world. We just really want our fans and the public to stay tuned for our future music. But we’re really thankful about all the buzz regarding “Forever” so we’ll continue working really hard. We really want to bring a new concept for the next album.

BABYMONSTER is the latest group under a legendary label like YG Entertainment. Before joining, what was your knowledge or experience with YG or its artists? How was it getting advice from them on Last Evaluation?

ASA: As everyone knows, we really respect and look up to our sunbaenim [seniors]. So, we watch their performances and concerts a lot — especially with BLACKPINK. Before joining the label, some of us went to some of their concerts. As for 2NE1 and BIGBANG, we grew up listening to their songs, looking at their performances. And it’s because of YG’s distinct hip-hop vibe, that I think that’s part of the reason why we wanted to join the label.

RAMI: We frequently meet our seniors going about [the YG building] and, especially during Last Evaluation, we were able to get a lot of advice from BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Jennie, as well as WINNER and AKMU. They just tried to tell us what we need to look out for and how it is [as a performer].

RUKA: Chan-hyuk sunbaenim, from AKMU, said that when you’re performing onstage, you have to get used to making everything your own — “Make every stage your own.”

AHYEON: Also, when we meet senior artists in the practice rooms or in the building, they tell us that they’re rooting for us and to continue working hard.

With the company’s long history, BABYMONSTER is also the first group to regularly release music in English, such as “Stuck in the Middle” and “Like That.” Was that always part of your plans?

RORA: So, rather than having a set specific plan, we just really wanted to showcase our music and the music’s messages so that they can resonate with a wider, global audience. That’s why we kind of are regularly releasing songs in English. The plan is to convey the meaning of the song to the fans around the world and make sure they know we want to communicate with our fans.

BABYMONSTER is also quite a diverse group with members representing Korea, Japan and Thailand. How did you find ways to connect? Does it feel like you’re representing a new generation of K-pop as a multicultural group?

RUKA: Especially during our trainee days, we were all very homesick — the members from Japan, Thailand, and even members here in Korea because they’re apart from their families. And as much as the whole process was difficult, we were really able to lean on each otherl, and find the support and motivation to work really hard.

RORA: It’s hard to say that we’re sort of “representing” the next generation, but we’re very thankful that people might think so. And not just in Korea, but we really want to reach everyone all across the world, all our global fans, and grow from the energy we receive from the fans as well.

Last evaluation seems difficult when cameras film such a personal experience. How were your experiences needing to go through the debut process and have it filmed?

RORA: So as much as it was a “survival program,” I think the most difficult part was the fact that we had to compete with our friends that we had trained with together for so long all running towards the same dream. But when it comes to the performances, I think we’re actually on the other side in that we were happy that everything was filmed and we could go back and reminisce to the times when we had to prepare for the stage and watch us performing.

Another great memory, I’m sure, was AHYEON’s cover of “Dangerously,” which got the attention of Charlie Puth, who eventually gifted you guys “Like That.” What was your reaction to that experience?

AHYEON: I was like so surprised that he commented on my video. I just [screen] captured it and I sent it to my family, like “That’s crazy. He commented on me.” [Laughs] And a few months later, our boss told us we were going to have a new demo from him and we all screamed like, “What?!? He gave us a demo?!?” When I told my family, they said, “Well, you’ve got to work hard now.”

But back to your music, ASA co-write and composed “Batter Up.” Will we get to see more contributions from you and the members?

ASA: I hope we can do a variety of things through music. Moving forward, we’re all planning to work hard when it comes to songwriting and producing music so that we can showcase a wider variety of our skills.

Do you have a message you’d like to share with international fans who are waiting to see you?

PHARITA: We haven’t had a chance to meet everyone yet that we want to so BABYMONSTER’s going to keep on making more music that we love and we just hope that fans can also love it. We’ll show our best side and I just hope that everyone will love it.

RORA: And I think the ultimate goal is to really just produce a lot of music and meet our global fans all across the world.