Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
After debuting a couple months ago with “BATTER UP” sans Ahyeon and then not clarifying what exactly they were going to do with BABYMONSTER, YG Entertainment has now revealed that Ahyeon will be rejoining the group for their next comeback after sitting out for a bit due to health reasons.
On January 25 at midnight KST, YG Entertainment released a “surprise announcement” video in which founder Yang Hyun Suk personally revealed that Ahyeon would be rejoining BABYMONSTER due to improvements in her health.
After sitting out BABYMONSTER’s debut last November due to health concerns, Ahyeon will be taking part in the group’s upcoming comeback with their first mini album this spring. As a result, BABYMONSTER will be recording new seven-member versions of their first two singles—their debut track “BATTER UP” and their upcoming pre-release single “Stuck In the Middle”—which did not originally include Ahyeon.
In addition to re-recording “BATTER UP” and their yet-to-be-released pre-release single, Yang Hyun Suk revealed BABYMONSTER will release a full-length album later in 2024.
Yang Hyun Suk also shared that following BABYMONSTER’s return with “Stuck In the Middle” on February 1 and their first mini album around April, YG Entertainment is currently planning to release the rookie girl group’s first full-length album this autumn.
He also claims YGE has increased the amount of in-house producers by 4-5 times and will thus be able to put out releases much faster.
That said, you know it’s bad when even in the company’s self-interview there’s a skeptical tone to it, so at least they’re aware of the reputation of over-promising and under-delivering, and at some point you gotta prove it to people rather than just saying it.
Anyway, Ahyeon being back should give a boost to BABYMONSTER at least, whose debut sorta came and went with little fanfare, partially due to YGE’s own lack of plan.
