Article: YG, reeling from 'rumors of BLACKPINK not renewing contract', when will BaeMon debut?
Source: STAR News
YG's stock is reeling due to rumors that Blackpink did not renew their contracts.
After rumors Jennie, Jisoo, and Lisa changed agencies, stocks fell more than 15% at one point during the day. This clearly shows how big of a role Blackpink plays in YG. YG must reduce future risks and find the next growth engine. As a result, their still-hidden new girl group BabyMonster's performance is essential.
As contract negotiations with Blackpink members are sluggish, shareholders' concerns are deepening. Among these, interest is focused on timing of Baby Monster's debut which Yang Hyun Suk, Executive Producer, is preparing with great effort. Baby Monster will be YG's first girl group in 7 years after Blackpink and consists of 7 multi-national members, from Korea (Ahyeon, Haram, Rora), Thailand (Pharita, Chiquita), and Japan (Ruka, Asa). The members are known to have top-notch vocals, dance, rap, and visual talents. Their YouTube subscribers have already exceeded 3 million and their pre-debut song 'Dream' exceeded 50 million views in just 3 months after release.
Baby Monster's debut project is being steadily promoted under Yang Hyun Suk's leadership and debut work has began. However, the specific debut date is still undecided. Official debut was initially planned within this month but according to reports, the timing has been postponed for "better quality."
Their debut song will be a "hip hop" genre song and YG Family is working together and putting in a lot more efforts than ever into the song. In order for YG to achieve sustainable growth, renewing contracts with Blackpink is important, however the industry consensus is that the performance of the next baton runner, Baby Monster is essential.
YG has already proven their ability to discover and produce talented K-pop idols as evident from the global success of Big Bang, 2NE1, and Blackpink but it remains to be seen whether Baby Monster, who are already highly anticipated by fans pre-debut, will be reborn as global 'K-pop star' who will take responsibility for YG's future.