Netizens Show Divided Reactions To BABYMONSTER’s Comeback With “Sheesh”
Even with the return of the “ace member” Ahyeon, BABYMONSTER still cannot bring better performances on digital charts
BABYMONSTER recently made their comeback with the first mini album “BABYMONS7ER” and released the music video for “Sheesh”. This marks the group’s first comeback as a full team of 7 members and the debut of “ace” Ahyeon. Although the title song “Sheesh” is rather short (only 2 minutes and 55 seconds), the members still showcased impressive rap performances and their powerful vocals.
However, fans noticed that YG continued to push Ahyeon by giving her many individual scenes and the center position in “Sheesh”. Although Pharita is the member with the longest line (23.1 seconds), Ahyeon placed second (19.7 seconds) with killing parts, including raps and a high note. No.3 Rami drew admiration with her outstanding singing voice while No.4 Chiquita performed the chorus. Japanese members Ruka and Asa were both given 13-16 seconds for their rap parts and Rora placed last with only 11.6 seconds.
Arousing high expectations with the joining of Ahyeon, “Sheesh” music video is still increasing rapidly in YouTube views. The MV hit 2 million views in the first 24 hours and exceeded 15 million views within only 15 hours. If this trend continues, BABYMONSTER will likely break the record for YouTube views in the first 24 hours.
Despite their success on YouTube, BABYMONSTER failed to enter Korean music charts. At noon on April 1st, “Sheesh” only ranked No.150 on Genie and No.100 on Bugs. The song could not even enter Melon TOP 100. Digital charts once again became the weakness of this YG rookie girl group.
According to reviews on “BABYMONS7ER”, BABYMONSTER’s first EP is not an easy-listening album. The title song is said to be an old-fashioned hip-hop track without highlights. “Like That”, the song Charlie Puth gave BABYMONSTER as a gift, received the best reactions so many fans expressed disappointment in YG for not making it the title song. In general, BABYMONSTER is losing behind the rival girl group ILLIT from HYBE, who just debuted with “Magnetic”.
YG wanted to make BABYMONSTER “the second BLACKPINK”. However, from the music to the concept, YG just copied what they did with BLACKPINK and used them for BABYMONSTER. Knowing BABYMONSTER doesn’t have a creative director for their images and concepts, fans are complaining about YG’s lack of creativity.
Despite that, all seven members still received favorable reviews for their skills and performances. Ahyeon’s comeback also became a hot topic on social media and the two Japanese members also left great impressions on the public. Therefore, fans are hoping that YG will have a proper promotion plan so that the members can show their talents even more.
Netizens commented on BABYMONSTER’s comeback, saying “‘Like That’ is such a good song, why didn’t they make it the title track?”, “A rookie released their song at midnight? I don’t understand what Yang Hyun-suk is thinking. Just let them release the song at 6 p.m. like any other group”, “I listened to the whole album and I think the members did well. But YG is so behind the trends”, “YG is still using their old method despite knowing it won’t lead them to better results”, “Except for the ending part, I like Asa’s rap the most”, etc.
Others added, “The color and the camera setting for this MV is so old. Sound effects are overlapped. It keeps reminding me of other MVs of other YG artists”, “YG still want to create the second BLACKPINK but they have no staff who can do that”, “Without Teddy, YG can’t create any hit”, “It sounds good at the beginning but the second rap part is too long. The end of the song is too noisy”, “I hope YG let the group find their own color. Don’t apply the same method they did with BLACKPINK”, etc.
