YG Entertainment draws criticism over new auditions after Babymonster debut
YG Entertainment has stirred controversy for announcing auditions for new talents shortly after debuting their latest girl group last week.
About the audition: Just a week after Babymonster’s debut on Nov. 27, the K-pop label revealed plans to conduct a nationwide audition tour to search for new talents. The tour, starting on Jan. 13, 2024, will cover eight cities including Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Jeju, Jeonju, Seoul and Wonju.
The audition is open to youths in Korea born between 2006 and 2013, with singing, rapping, dancing and visuals as applicable categories. Pre-registration and on-site registration options are available.
What fans want: Fans have argued that YG should prioritize nurturing and promoting Babymonster over seeking new trainees. Since the group’s debut, many have expressed concerns over their lack of promotion, particularly their absence from music shows and limited social media engagement.
“You’re not promoting your newly debuted group? YG is just slamming the self-destruct button at this point,” one Reddit user wrote.
Another commented, “They are not BP [Blackpink]. They need to promote. Even BP promoted early on.”
Stock price bounces: Despite high expectations for Babymonster to follow the footsteps of Blackpink as YG’s next successful group, stock prices had fallen for seven consecutive trading days, closing at 48,000 won (approximately $37) on Tuesday, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. However, it soared to 60,300 won (approximately $46) on Wednesday following the announcement of Blackpink’s contract renewal.
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