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YG Entertainment's rookie group, BABYMONSTER, also known as BAEMON, is one of the most anticipated debuts. This is especially so given the many rising controversies and debates among netizens when it comes to the seven members of the upcoming K-pop girl group.
Since the announcement about the soon-to-debut BABYMONSTER members, there have been many facts and stories that sit unpleasantly with netizens. Netizens are especially concerned about the members' ages.
The newest YG Entertainment girl group consists of seven members, Ahyeon, Chikita, Haram, Dain, Asa, Prita, and Ruka. All the members have supposedly been training under the agency for over four years. However, this is controversial given their ages as many of them would have to have been very young when they began their trainee period.
Despite the controversies, it's also hard for netizens to deny how talented the members are. Especially with the recent release of their dance performance video titled, YG NEXT MOVEMENT. In the nearly one-minute-long video, BABYMONSTER showcased their impressive dance skills and charisma.
YG's rookie group, BABYMONSTER, has 7 immensely talented members
1) Ahyeon
Jung Ah-yeon, monogamously known as Ahyeon, was born on April 11, 2007, and is 15 years old. She is Korean and joined YG Entertainment in 2018 as a trainee. She's also said to have graduated from Hanlim Arts High School and attended the Ara Dance Academy.
Though Ahyeon initially started off as a musical singer, she slowly expanded her horizons to also fit in rap amongst her various other skills. Given the solo live performance video that YG Entertainment released, it's quite evident that Ahyeon is an all-rounder idol.
2) Chikita (Canny)
The youngest member of BABYMONSTER, Chikita, was born on February 17, 2009, and is currently 13, and is one of the two Thai members of the group. Chikita is most likely to sit in the position of Main Dancer in the seven-member YG girl group. She was also supposedly a part of a cover group called RedRose.
3) Haram
BABYMONSTER member Shin Ha-ram, or Haram, was born on October 17, 2007, and is her 15 years old right now.
In her introductory video, Haram showcased her mesmerizing vocals that overflowed with emotion, naturally giving her the position of Main Vocals in the group. The soon-to-be idol has also supposedly popped up in commercials and has briefly worked as a model.
4) Dain
Lee Da-in, the Korean member of BABYMONSTER, was born on August 5, 2008. Belonging to the maknae line of the group, Dain is 14 years old. She also goes by the stage name RORA or RR.
She contributes to both the Vocals and the Dance aspects of the group. It's also said to have previously been a member of U.SSO Girl, a kid girl group formed by Kids Planet, under the stage name U.ha, and trained alongside NewJeans' Hyein.
5) Asa
The first of the two Japanese members that comprise BABYMOSNTER is Asa, otherwise known as Sakamoto Asa. She was born in Okayama and though her exact birthdate is yet to be revealed, she's rumored to belong to either the '05 or '06 line. Asa is also said to have taken the position of a dancer and rapper in the group.
6) Prita
Pharita Chaikong, better known as Prita, is the second Thai member of BABYMONSTER. She was born on August 26, 2008, making her 17 years old.
Prita participated in the Inter Model Thailand competition and won the grand prize that came from her bagging first place. She was also a contestant on the Thai reality survival show, Idol Paradise, under the name Pear.
7) Ruka
The last Japanese member of BABYMONSTER is Kawai Ruka, born on March 20, 2002, making her 20 years old. She and their other Japanese member, Asa, will be the first female Japanese idols to debut under YG Entertainment.
Ruka was also previously a member of a Japanese girl group named Shibu3 Project. The soon-to-be idol also popped up in Ueda Atsumi's Happy Halloween music video. She's most likely to take up the dancer position in the group.
BABYMONSTER faces controversies even before debut
To kickstart the promotions of BABYMONSTER, a dance performance video of five out of seven members exhibiting their impressive dance skills was released. Within just 24 hours of its release, the video garnered over 4.2 million views on YouTube, which only continues to grow.
As more and more content from the rookie group reaches the internet, the one fact that netizens find hard to swallow is the girls' ages. Some calculated the trainee period of the members and said that most of them would have begun training under YG between the ages of nine and 12, which they say is an extemely young age to join the industry.
However, the already budding fans of BABYMONSTER have been defending the members against netizens who've called the group's ages to be inappropriate. The release of the dance performance video only adds to the arguments that help fans defend the girls. Despite being young, their talent is evident, which fans claim is enough to make them worthy of being called K-pop idols.
Moreover, the age controversy in the K-pop industry is nothing new for fans. As it's been normalized to exclude age limitations for one to achieve their dream whenever they like, fans wish that the members are left out of controversy.
When BABYMONSTER finally rolls about their debut, the one thing that fans hope for is for the members to receive attention for their talent and skills rather than controversy around their age.
