BABYMONSTER

Official fandom · MONSTIEZ

Debut 2024 · YG Entertainment

About

Name origin: BABYMONSTER (also shortened to 'Baemon', 베몬) was one of many names initially considered for Blackpink; YG Entertainment trademarked 'BABYMONSTER' and 'Baemon' in English and Korean at the Korean Intellectual Property Office in 2020. The name embodies a duality: 'baby' for the members' offstage charm paired with 'monster' for their monstrous performance skill. YG's Yang Hyun-suk dubbed them 'monster rookies' (괴물신인), a nickname that stuck and became the group's defining epithet.
Formation: Following 2NE1 (2009) and Blackpink (2016), YG Entertainment began recruiting for its next girl group as early as 2018, with some trainees joining at age ten. YG signaled the septet's formal introduction on December 30, 2022 with a 'YG NEXT MOVEMENT' poster. The seven members were revealed to the public through live performance videos released January 12 to February 6, 2023 (in order: Rami, Ahyeon, Chiquita, Asa, Rora, Pharita, Ruka), and their selection process was chronicled in the reality show Last Evaluation (March-May 2023), which finalized a seven-piece: three South Koreans (Ahyeon, Rami, Rora), two Japanese (Ruka, Asa) and two Thai members (Pharita, Chiquita). They released a pre-debut promotional single 'Dream' (May 14, 2023), then debuted as a six-piece (Ahyeon on health hiatus) with 'Batter Up' (November 27, 2023), whose music video set a new record for the most-viewed K-pop debut video in 24 hours (22.59 million), followed by 'Stuck in the Middle' (February 1, 2024). The official seven-member debut came April 1, 2024 with the EP BABYMONS7ER and the single 'Sheesh'. They released their first studio album Drip (November 1, 2024), embarked on their first world tour Hello Monsters (2025), released the EPs We Go Up (October 2025) and Choom (May 4, 2026), and are touring the 2026-27 Choom World Tour.
Why fans love them: Fans call BABYMONSTER 'monster rookies' for a reason: the members are widely regarded as all-rounders with exceptional vocals, intense rap lines and powerful dance, and they built their reputation on live performance — real live singing over backing tracks. Their debut shattered records: 'Batter Up' set the fastest debut music-video record in K-pop history at the time (22.59M views in 24 hours, 100M in 18 days), and 'Drip' became their first platinum streaming certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. The 2025 Hello Monsters world tour drew 300,000 attendees across 32 shows in 20 cities, and the group was named 'Next Generation Leaders' by Sisa Journal and Gallup Korea and 'Future of Music' by Rolling Stone Korea in 2024. Their official fandom name is MONSTIEZ (몬스티즈), announced July 27, 2024 — 'MONS' from BABYMONSTER plus 'TIES', signifying the bond between the group and their fans.

Members

Ruka · Main Dancer, Main RapperKawai RukaBorn 03-20-2002Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Pharita · VocalistPharita BoonpakdeethaveeyodBorn 08-26-2005Bangkok, Thailand
Asa · Main Rapper, Vocalist, DancerEnami AsaBorn 04-17-2006Tokyo, Japan
Ahyeon · Main Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer, Visual, CenterJung AhyeonBorn 04-11-2007Toegye-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
Rami · Main VocalistShin HaramBorn 10-17-2007Seoul, South Korea
Rora · Lead Vocalist, VisualLee DainBorn 08-14-2008Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
Chiquita · Vocalist, Dancer, Rapper, MaknaeRiracha PhondechaphiphatBorn 02-17-2009Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand