YG moves to "reject" BLACKPINK, revealing the fate of Ahyeon (BABYMONSTER)

YG's move towards two "war chickens", BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, just before the new year attracted attention from fans. At the same time, the comeback time of Ahyeon (BABYMONSTER) was also revealed by president Yang Hyun Suk.

At 00:00 on January 1, 2024, YG has changed the profile picture and cover photo of BLACKPINK's official social media accounts such as Facebook, X or Instagram. Notably, the current profile picture is no longer 4 members but BLACKPINK's iconic logo. This image was used by YG as a cover photo at the time of BLACKPINK's debut in 2016.

Besides, the official cover photo on BLACKPINK's accounts was also changed to the image of 4 girls in the Shutdown MV. This move of YG led many to believe that the agency had taken action to "terminate" the members' promotional images for solo activities after all 4 girls did not re-sign their individual contracts. Previously, the most recent cover photo on BLACKPINK's social media page was a promotional image for Jennie's solo project You & Me.

Earlier, on the evening of December 31, 2023, former YG Entertainment President and Executive Producer Yang Hyun Suk suddenly posted a video on BABYMONSTER's YouTube channel titled "BABYMONSTER Next Stage".

In the video, Yang Hyun Suk said that BABYMONSTER will return with a second song after "Batter Up" on February 1, 2024. The producer emphasized that this will be a completely new music product, called "Stuck In The Middle", not the familiar hip-hop style that YG still makes. The group is also scheduled to release a mini album on April 1, 2024.

On trainee Ahyeon not debuting with 6 members (Rami, Asa, Ruka, Rora, Pharita, Chiquita) at the end of November 2023, Executive Producer Yang explained, "Ahyeon had to stop training for a few months due to health reasons. Since BABYMONSTER's debut schedule had to accelerate this year (2023), they debuted on November 27, 2023 with 6 members."

He added that the timing of Ahyeon's return and participation in the group lineup is still unknown. This issue will be announced in due course.

Earlier, on the eve of BABYMONSTER's official release of their debut music product at the end of November 2023, YG suddenly announced that Korean trainee Ahyeon will not debut with the group, due to health issues. After that, YG confirmed that Ahyeon only took a hiatus and did not leave the group.

However, so far, not only in her debut music video "Batter Up", Ahyeon has almost completely disappeared from activities with 6 members on social media accounts, Baby Monster's official channel, most recently the cover video of the Christmas song "Christmas Without You".

After former president Yang's latest announcement, many fans speculated that the possibility of Ahyeon's return to BABYMONSTER is quite slim, as now, BABYMONSTER's global fandom has gradually taken shape.

Even many viewers believe that YG is just "using" Ahyeon's name to attract attention for BABYMONSTER, but ultimately will not let her return to the lineup.

Many comments suggested that YG should let Ahyeon go solo. Because she is someone who already has a large fan base since before her debut. However, there are still viewers looking forward to the return of the Korean trainee to BABYMONSTER.

YG Entertainment has faced a lot of scandals and controversies that seem to have affected the company's public image. Also, over the years, many fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with the company's lack of support for the artist's promotion.

On top of that, in recent years, many key figures of YG Entertainment have left the company. In addition, the agency was criticized for being indifferent to BABYMONSTER's debut and the fact that the 4 BLACKPINK girls did not re-sign individual contracts.

Many viewers commented, "BLACKPINK said that they will continue their group activities with YG but it will not be easy." Another commented: "I haven't seen BABYMONSTER mentioned much after the group debuted."

YG plans to use "Jennie copy" to pave the way for BABYMONSTER's debut, fans criticize "coloration" Tuyết Ngọc10:47:04 17/11/2023The BABYMONSTER fan community was as happy as a festival when the news that Jennie's clone did not leave the group. However, the joy didn't last long when news broke that the 16-year-old female idol violated her contract and was not allowed to debut.