If there’s one thing the biggest K-pop companies know how to do, it’s how to build up hype. In fact, fans were building hype for YG Entertainment’s BabyMonster even before YG itself was. YG Entertainment had filed for a Korean trademark for “BABYMONSTERS” in December 2019 and an American trademark in January 2020, as well as another trademark for “BAEMON” and “BABYMONSTER” later in 2020, and as soon as this information became publicly available, fan anticipation grew. Now, in 2023, the big debut finally happened. Here is the final, confirmed answer to when exactly BabyMonster made their debut, consisting of Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Rami (Haram), Rora, and Chiquita. (Member Ahyeon would not debut with the group due to her health.)
BabyMonster Made Their Debut on November 27, 2023 at Midnight KST with “Batter Up”
On October 10, 2023, YG Entertainment officially announced that BabyMonster would arrive in November 2023, and the debut music video would be filmed at the end of October 2023. Then on November 10, 2023 KST, YG confirmed that BabyMonster would debut on November 27, 2023 at midnight KST. On November 20, 2023 KST, YG further confirmed that it was a digital single called “Batter Up.” On November 22, 2023, KST, YG revealed that member Asa had co-composed and written some lyrics for “Batter Up,” with full credits as follows: “Lyrics by Jared Lee, YG, Asa, Choi Hyunsuk, Lee Chanhyuk, Where the Noise, Bigtone. Composed by Chaz Mishan, YG, DEE.P, Jared Lee, Asa. Arranged by YG, DEE.P, Chaz Mishan.” You can watch the “Batter Up” MV below.
The confirmed debut date came after many months of conflicting reports. For instance, a report from July 2023 had indicated YG was targeting September 2023 for the debut, but a report from Yuanta Securities, apparently dated September 4, 2023, suggested BabyMonster would not debut until Q4 2023, meaning between October and December. The Last Evaluation documentary series had recorded the journey of the potential seven BabyMonster candidates, and at the conclusion of the series, YG executive producer Yang Hyun-suk confirmed that the final group lineup would contain all seven members. Although, on the subject of when they would actually debut, Yang Hyun-suk could only offer, “This is just a projection, but I don’t think it will pass this fall. I will make sure to accelerate the speed of BabyMonster’s debut project.”
On September 21, 2023, it had been reported that the group’s debut had been delayed to increase its quality, but their debut song was expected to be a strong hip hop song. However, this delay proved not to be long after all. Several YG composers and producers worked in camps to create the high-quality music for this debut release.
On October 15, 2023, YG Entertainment surprisingly announced that Ahyeon would not debut with BabyMonster due to her health, and the group would debut as six members instead. YG stated that this decision was made “for the sake of the artist’s health,” and the company added, “We will spare no support so that Ahyeon can recover fully and return in good health.” In other words, the intention still seemed to be for Ahyeon to join the group. On January 25, 2024, YG finally confirmed that Ahyeon would join BabyMonster for their first mini-album, and both “Batter Up” and their first comeback song, “Stuck in the Middle,” would be re-recorded to include Ahyeon’s vocals.
Prior to debut, BabyMonster had a prerelease, predebut song, “Dream,” which premiered on May 14, 2023 at midnight KST. This is the same predebut song that played at the end of Last Evaluation episode 8, which fans had isolated for listening. The video for “Dream” includes behind-the-scenes footage of the group performing the song in the studio, mixed with clips of the group training, literally illustrating the pursuit of their dreams.
Immediately following their debut, “Batter Up” broke the record for the most watched debut K-pop music video in its first 24 hours, accumulating 22.59 million views within that period. (The record previously belonged to “Black Mamba” by Aespa, whose music video had accumulated 21.4 million views in its first 24 hours.) The song also enjoyed ferocious popularity globally, reaching #1 in iTunes charts in 21 countries at release. On December 15, 2023 KST, the”Batter Up” MV broke the record for fastest debut K-pop music video to reach 100 million views (again defeating “Black Mamba”), in addition to reportedly being the K-pop video to achieve 100 million views the fastest in 2023.
In summary, after years of waiting, the official answer to when BabyMonster made their debut is on November 27, 2023 at midnight KST, with the digital single, “Batter Up.” Ahyeon did not debut with the group at that time, but she would debut with the group in April 2024 for the first mini-album.
For more about BabyMonster, check out how old the members are, who their leader may be, where they are originally from, and who can speak English in the group. Or if you want to go back in time, check out our archive of predebut photos for all BabyMonster members. Or if you want to learn absolutely everything about the group, check out our meticulously fact-checked BabyMonster members profile page, which comes replete with citations.