Armed with 2NE1’s charisma and Blackpink’s glamor, girl group BabyMonster released its first full-length album, “Drip,” on Friday, less than a year since its official debut — a feat that doesn’t come easy in cutthroat K-pop where groups hurry to release singles in short terms to survive the flood of new songs poured out every day.

“This was a challenge for us too, but preparing for this full-length album really helped us grow,” Ahyeon told reporters during a news conference Friday at the YG Entertainment headquarters building in western Seoul ahead of the release of the album at 1 p.m.


“We usually practice a diverse range of songs for our monthly assessments [at the agency],” she continued. “I think this album gave us the chance to show all that we’ve been practicing for, as well as the new things we learned while we carried out our first meet and greet with fans this year. So many people helped us get here today, and we want to thank them all.”

“Drip” is BabyMonster’s first full-length album, which came seven months after the girl group made its “official debut” on April 1 with all seven members. BabyMonster released its first single, “Batter Up,” on Nov. 27, 2023, but with Ahyeon missing from the roster due to health conditions. The girl group counts April 1, the release date of its first EP, “BABYMONS7ER,” as its debut day.

BabyMonster held its meet and greet tour around Asia from May 11 to Aug. 11 in Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Korea.

“It’s been such a meaningful year for us, especially through everything we’ve learned and the fans we met at the meet and greets,” Rora said.

“I’m so happy that we get to show the diverse sides of BabyMonster with this new album,” Chiquita said.

Nine tracks “that overflow and drip with BabyMonster’s charms” are on the first full-length album, including title track “Drip” and lead track “Clik Clak.” Singer G-Dragon, one of the biggest stars to come from YG Entertainment, took part in composing the music for “Drip,” an “iconic YG hip-hop track” mixed with EDM. “Clik Clak” is also a hip-hop track on which all seven members rap.

The other seven tracks span various genres, including ballad “Love, Maybe,” a 1990s hip-hop track titled “Really Like You,” R&B track “Billionaire,” a unit song by members Ruka and Asa titled “Woke Up In Tokyo” and a remix of “Batter Up.” “Forever” was released on July 1 prior to the album.

“You will see us dancing and just enjoying ourselves freely in our music videos,” Rora said. “I think the ‘true YG hip-hop’ shows through when we’re truly ourselves and flaunting our own colors.”

A pop-up store opened in eastern Seoul’s Seongdong District on Friday to run until Nov. 10. BabyMonster is also set to hold its first world tour next year, although details have not been decided yet.

“Our world tour is the priority for us right now,” Rora said. “It’s our biggest goal for now, and we’re so looking forward to having a great time and making great memories with the fans. We’re also so grateful for our fans, and we’d love to express our gratitude through the tour.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]