The group BABYMONSTER raised expectations for their full-group comeback with the success of their pre-release track. The music video surpassed 20 million views within a day of its release.
The music video for the new song ‘Stuck In The Middle,’ released by BABYMONSTER on February 1st at midnight, had exceeded 18 million views by 3:30 PM on the 2nd. This remarkable interest from music fans worldwide towards BABYMONSTER is evident.
The song itself is receiving fervent love, as despite having all English lyrics, ‘Stuck In The Middle’ swept the iTunes Song Chart in eight countries, reaching the top spot.
BABYMONSTER’s consecutive successes were predicted from their debut. Following their debut song ‘BATTER UP’ released on November 27th last year, which set the record for the most views in 24 hours for a K-pop debut song (2.25 million views in a day), they broke the records for 50 million views (4 days), 100 million views (18 days), and 200 million views (53 days), setting the shortest records for a K-pop group debut song.
They also achieved 10 million streams on the world’s largest music streaming platform, Spotify, at the fastest pace among K-pop girl groups with their debut song. They even entered the US iTunes TOP 50 chart, the world’s largest pop market.
‘Stuck In The Middle’ is one of the tracks from BABYMONSTER’s first mini-album, set to be released on April 1st. BABYMONSTER created anticipation for their comeback by pre-releasing this song in digital single form ahead of the album’s official release.
More than anything, the song serves as a confirmation of BABYMONSTER’s exceptional musical capabilities. From their debut, they garnered exceptional attention as a rookie girl group launched by YG, the first since 2NE1 (debuted in 2009) and Blackpink (debuted in 2016). With their debut song ‘BATTER UP,’ BABYMONSTER showcased original hip-hop genre, continuing YG’s tradition of swag-filled music and performances.
Their pre-release track ‘Stuck In The Middle’ contrasts with their previous work, featuring a minimal arrangement of instruments and a warm, lyrical piano melody in the pop ballad genre. BABYMONSTER successfully demonstrated a wide vocal spectrum, not confined to a specific genre, proving their versatility.
Each member not only showcased their distinctive vocal colors but collectively traversed between falsetto and authenticity, creating harmonious vocals and delivering a high-quality track. The music video highlighted BABYMONSTER’s unique strengths, momentarily putting aside their flashy dance performances and military-like choreography, captivating viewers with dreamy facial expressions suited to their beautiful voices.
Having built up excitement with the pre-release track, BABYMONSTER is set to make their official comeback with a mini-album on April 1st. Notably, the album marks the inclusion of member Ahyeon, who joined the group, starting their activities as a seven-member complete group.
Ahyeon had announced a temporary break due to health reasons just before BABYMONSTER’s debut last year. According to YG, Ah Hyun has fully recovered and returned to YG on January 25th to start recording for the album. Expectations are high as both ‘BATTER UP’ and ‘Stuck In The Middle’ will be included in the complete version with Ah Hyun’s participation.
Finally formed as a complete group, BABYMONSTER aims to target the global music market with full support from YG. To achieve this, they have reinforced the internal producer team at YG from around 10 members to 40-50 members. The new album’s production is expected to proceed at a faster pace than in the past. YG stated, “Our goal is to release a regular album around autumn and we hope you look forward to the perfect group activities of the seven members.”
Not only music fans but also global industry insiders expressed high expectations for BABYMONSTER’s activities. Billboard in the United States selected BABYMONSTER as a K-pop artist to watch, predicting they will “stir up a new wave in the K-pop genre.”
