SEOUL – YG Entertainment, the South Korean music label behind K-pop super groups such as Blackpink and Big Bang, is gearing up to debut its first new girl group in seven years, BabyMonster.

It unveiled the last member of the seven-piece group this week.

Similar to Blackpink, whose members hail from South Korea, Thailand and New Zealand, BabyMonster is a multinational group. It comprises three South Korean, two Thai and two Japanese members.

Since the band was first announced on Jan 1, YG has disclosed information about the new group in stages.

First to be announced was Haram, a 15-year-old South Korean, who began her training at YG in 2017.

Ahyeon was the second to be unveiled. The 15-year-old South Korean is known to have joined YG in February 2018 through an audition – and was accepted by JYP Entertainment, the label behind bands such as Twice and Stray Kids, in 2017 when she was only 11 years old.

The third and youngest South Korean member is Rora, 14, who was previously part of a local kids’ idol group called U.sso Girl. Her bandmate there was Hyein of girl group NewJeans.

The Thai members include Chiquita, who is the youngest member of BabyMonster at age 13. She is reportedly also the youngest among all female K-pop musicians to have debuted.

Her fellow Thai member is 17-year-old Pharita, while the Japanese members are Asa, 16, and Ruka, 20.

Ruka is the oldest member of the group, and was the last to be revealed earlier this week.

YG Entertainment has yet to announce a formal debut date for BabyMonster, but it seems to be imminent, as the group now has official social media accounts across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more.

Meanwhile, their “seniors” at YG, Blackpink, will be coming to Singapore as part of their Born Pink concert tour in Asia, and are slated to perform at the National Stadium on May 13. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK