Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
YG Entertainment‘s seven-member K-pop girl group, BABYMONSTER, unveiled an unforgettable night to MONSTIEZ at the KIA Forum during the Los Angeles stop of their Hello Monsters World Tour. Starting off in explosive, bombastic fashion, the BABYMONSTER members — RUKA, PHARITA, ASA, AHYEON, RAMI, RORA, and CHIQUITA — arrived onstage in regal outfits. Sparing no expense for their fast-rising performers, YGE pulled out all the stops for the concert production. From pyrotechnics, high-budget visuals, and four individually designed outfits (including their encore stage), MONSTIEZ were treated to the glitz and glamor of a Hollywood-worthy performance.
BAEMON displayed their growth since the septet’s official debut in 2023 as they confidently strutted on stage without breaking a sweat. With Coachella-ready outfits, the seven members stood proudly as a deafening level of cheering overtook the KIA Forum. Although the February 28 concert in Newark revealed the setlist for Los Angeles, BABYMONSTER promised to show a side of them unique to the Forum’s sold-out audience.
A sea of white and red lights blinked to the tune of “DRIP” with MONSTIEZ dancing and cheering in anticipation for AHYEON’s high note in the bridge. Showing no signs of slowing down, they continued onto their other big hits, “BATTER UP” and “CLIK CLAK”, to send fans into a screaming fury.
Between the two songs, BABYMONSTER spent a quick minute to introduce themselves and welcome the crowd to their first world tour. Despite their confidence during their stages, some members were shaking off their initial nervousness. Understandably, they kept their talk moments short as they had a full setlist of twenty-five songs, including solo covers, to perform. However, many MONSTIEZ were hungry for a variety segment, which would help provide more space for each member to flaunt their individual personality and group chemistry. Nevertheless, fans were able to catch glimpses of the girls’ relationship with each other, like RAMI kissing PHARITA on the cheek during the encore. But that’s getting a little ahead of the setlist.
No K-pop concert would be complete without a VCR showing their trainee days, and how they were inspired by other YG groups like BLACKPINK. Since more than half the members are from outside of South Korea, Pharita shared a vulnerable moment during a time where missed her parents, and others spoke about spending days without their families and seeing their friends move on with life while they prepared for debut. Through those sacrifices, they were ultimately led to their current successes on stage.
As the second act of their concert focused on their individual performances, each member had the opportunity to showcase their hard-earned singing abilities and tested their ability to hold a crowd’s attention. Of course, MONSTIEZ are more than aware of their talent. A specific standout was ASA and RUKA’s performance of “Woke Up in Tokyo,” which playfully donned retro-pixel visuals on their individual camera view, framing them as Player One and Player Two. The additional custom pink-blue outfits specific to this stage was a nice touch to their duet.
While the members went backstage to get ready for their setlist after their solos, the Inspire Band had a chance to highlight themselves, as they provided a jam band compilation of BABYMONSTER’s discography so far.
Arriving back onstage together, BAEMON performed a soulful production of “Love Maybe.” This portion focused on their aptitude singing as a unit, skillfully harmonizing with each other for the next group of songs. They then brought the energy back up with their newest song, “BILLIONAIRE,” whose performance video only released three weeks ago.
Their performances were stellar, but the nervousness of speaking for extended periods of time in front of an English-speaking crowd could’ve put them at a loss for words. BABYMONSTER focused on giving the crowd their very best performance, and thanked MONSTIEZ for always being there for them. “We’ve performed quite a bit of songs, but you all still yelled super loud for us! We felt a bit of pressure while practicing, but I think we did really well,” said PHARITA. “I think our solo stages were the best way to introduce each of us,” added AHYEON. Bringing out her flirty side, Ahyeon told the LA crowd to listen to her acapella delivery of “Really Like You.” Throwing in a surprise cover of 2NE1’s “Clap Your Hands” and “Go Away,” the septet paid their respects to the legendary YGE group that came before them.
During their encore, BABYMONSTER gave the KIA Forum a repeat performance of their three top songs, allowing for AHYEON to show off her high note again for “DRIP.” Although the night was coming to a close, MONSTIEZ were happy to see BABYMONSTER in a more comfortable setting, allowing them to be more relaxed and sillier with their show-closing antics.
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Even though the Newark and Los Angeles concerts have come and gone, it’s only just the beginning as BABYMONSTER unveiled additional dates and stops to their anticipated tour. Tickets for the new shows will be available starting on this Friday, March 7 at 3pm local time at livenation.com.
BABYMONSTER 1st WORLD TOUR ‘HELLO MONSTERS’ Dates:
- Sat Aug 30 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- Tue Sep 02 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
- Fri Sep 05 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Sun Sep 07 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- Wed Sep 10 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
- Fri Sep 12 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
