BABYMONSTER’s Comeback vs ILL-IT’s Debut: YG And HYBE’s Rookie War

I’LL-IT will reportedly release its debut album “SUPER REAL ME” on March 25. The group was formed through JTBC’s survival program “R U NEXT?,” which ended in September last year. The team name “I’LL-IT” was created by combining an independent and enterprising will (I will) with the pronoun “It” meaning something special. It means a group with potential to be anything. Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, participated in the production of all the songs in the group’s debut album, raising expectations. 

I’LL-IT emphasized innocent yet dreamy charms from its concept photos. Wearing white tops and dark pants, they created a pure and innocent atmosphere. “Fans can expect a variety of charms from the members who are friendly, fresh and confident,” said an official from BELIFT Lab. 

Meanwhile, BABYMONSTER will make its comeback with the release of its first mini-album “BABYMONS7ER” on May 1. The album is drawing all the more attention as it will be the first time member Ahyeon, who was nicknamed “Little Jennie,” joins the group. Yang Hyun-suk was in charge of producing BABYMONSTER. The group has already released two songs, “BATTER UP” and “Stuck In The Middle.”

BABYMONSTER plans to continue YG’s unique powerful concept. Even the poster for the group’s new song has the silhouette of the members standing in a dark space, revealing their aura. “It’s a hip-hop genre with a dark concept,” Yang Hyun-suk said of the new album, “You can look forward to it as the chorus is strong and the choreography is addictive.”

However, the key is whether these groups will be able to show their difference from the senior groups, NewJeans and BLACKPINK. After the release of the two group’s concept photos and teasers, some listeners have pointed out their similarities with the senior groups. As a result, it BABYMONSTER needs to keep its group color alive and give it its freshness in the hip-hop music, which has been around since 2NE1. The key point of I’LL-IT is how to express its unique “nostalgia-stimulating” and “teenage emotions” differently from NewJeans’s.

Meanwhile, a number of female idol groups, including UNIS, Candy Shop and RESCENE, announced their debut by the end of March, heralding a new KPOP generation. As a result, attention is being paid to whether BABYMONSTER and I’LL-IT, the youngest groups of two large agencies, will be able to lead the genealogy of the 5th-generation girl groups.