Concert review: K-pop girl group Babymonster cheered on by growing fan base

2025 Babymonster 1st World Tour: Hello Monsters In Singapore

Singapore Indoor Stadium
May 17, 6pm

What a difference a year makes. If you had caught K-pop septet Babymonster’s debut Singapore show in June 2024, you would be amazed by how much their fan base has grown since.

The girl group sold out their May 17 concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, a larger venue than The Star Vista where they last played to around 5,000 fans. They also performed at the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix in September 2024.

The demographic of their fan base has also diversified, based on this writer’s observations. The audience of the 2025 concert – which was about 9,000-strong – included a more even gender mix, and ranged from primary school children to adults in their 30s, compared with their predominantly teenage female audience earlier.

The girl group have worked non-stop to win hearts since they were officially formed in 2024, and celebrated their first anniversary on April 1.

Now aged 16 to 23, the seven members were assembled from three countries by K-pop agency YG Entertainment. They are Ahyeon, Rami and Rora from South Korea, Asa and Ruka from Japan, as well as Chiquita and Pharita from Thailand.

Their first world tour kicked off in Seoul in January, and went to New Jersey and Los Angeles in the United States and five Japanese cities, before arriving in Singapore, their first stop in South-east Asia.

Babymonster were quick to proclaim their love for Singapore fans or Monstiez, as they are known. “It’s so good to be back,” Rora said, after they opened the show with two high-energy tracks, Drip and Batter Up.

But as Ahyeon told the packed stadium: “We’re very sad that Rami couldn’t join us this time.”

YG Entertainment had announced on May 9 that Rami would not take part in the remaining stops of the Asian leg of Babymonster’s world tour “due to health-related reasons”.

While the agency did not elaborate on her condition, it revealed that the 17-year-old has been undergoing treatment since her debut. But as her condition has not improved, “medical professionals have advised that she suspend all activities and take absolute rest for the time being”, it said in a statement.

The statement added: “Even in the face of this unexpected situation, the six remaining members are more determined than ever to successfully complete their meetings with fans across Asia.”

That the members did, as they held their audience captive with a concert which was backed by a four-piece band and clocked in at just under two hours.

Besides delivering hits such as Sheesh, Forever and Love In My Heart, they also took turns to sing solos.

Chiquita, for instance, belted out a rendition of American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo’s Traitor (2021), while Pharita hit all the high notes in What Other People Say (2021), a duet by Australian singer-songwriter Sam Fischer and American singer Demi Lovato.

Meanwhile, Asa and Ruka performed Woke Up In Tokyo, their quirky duet from the group’s first full-length album Drip released in November 2024.

But the real treat for fans came when the group covered Kill This Love (2019) and As If It’s Your Last (2017), two dance-pop numbers by the massively popular quartet Blackpink, which are also managed by YG Entertainment. This was Babymonster’s first time performing these cover songs on the concert tour, Ahyeon said.

Several members, including Ruka, revealed during their trainee period that Blackpink served as their inspiration to pursue a K-pop career.

The concert also featured a recap with clips from Last Evaluation, an eight-episode YouTube reality series released in March 2023, which documented Babymonster’s journey as K-pop trainees.

With the group’s dedication and their agency’s extensive promotion, there is no doubt that Babymonster will reach greater heights, and perhaps even match Blackpink’s fame.

As the show came to an end, Asa summed up the sentiments of her group mates and fans when she said: “Next time, I hope we can be back, with all seven of us.”