Since BABYMONSTER’s last domestic hit DRIP back in 2024, which peaked at #11 on Melon, it feels like BM haven’t really been able to find solid footing with their releases since then. None of their comebacks afterward were able to break into Melon’s Top 100, and it doesn’t seem realistic that CHOOM will either. Their promotions officially ended yesterday, and their upward trend in ULs has been very minimal lately. As of now, they’ve peaked at #134 on Melon’s daily chart.
So I ended up looking through reactions to BM’s comeback across major Korean forums, online communities, and social media platforms including twitter and youtube. And I found the same criticisms kept coming up almost everywhere.
The most overwhelming sentiments were:
‘너무 재탕하는 느낌’
This basically translates to, “It feels like they’re repeating the same formula over and over again.”
‘비트가 너무 올드하다’
A lot of people think the beat and instrumental sound outdated or not very trendy. I’ve seen many say it sounds like a 2NE1 beat from 15 years ago.
‘가사가 너무 별로다’
Koreans have been VERY vocal about what they see as poor lyrics in this song. I’ve seen so many comments saying the phrasing sounds awkward, outdated, and even outright cringey. Some were saying, “It sounds like lyrics from 2004.” This might not stand out as much to international fans, but as someone who’s fluent in Korean, I do agree to a certain extent. Some of the lyrics genuinely come across a little cringey. They’re not exactly the kind of lines you’d confidently sing out loud, if that makes sense.
‘안무가 구리다’
Along with the lyrics, a lot of people also criticized the choreography. For a song called CHOOM, which literally means “dance” in Korean, many felt the choreo was very underwhelming, tacky, or just not creative enough. A lot of people didn’t like that the chorus mainly revolves around the members wearing very short shorts and twerking. Many comments said it looked like it was being catered toward “creepy old men.”
I’ve also seen some international kpop fans bring up similar concerns on this matter, especially about Chiquita and Rora, who are both underage, being placed in the center while wearing the shortest outfits and twerking. I understand why they feel feel uncomfortable about that.
Yeah, so these were the main points that were often brought up. A lot of people, including K-Monstiez, have been pointing fingers at YG, the head honcho, for many of these issues, especially after it was revealed that he was heavily involved in the lyrics, composition, arrangement, and even the choreography.
He even appeared in an announcement video saying he reviewed choreo drafts from 10 different choreographers, thought all of them weren’t good, and decided to take matters into his own hands. I’m VERY curious to see those 10 different versions of choreographies because after seeing the final product, I personally think his involvement in the choreography may have been the wrong move.
If you’re going to release a song called CHOOM, I feel like they could’ve done something much more creative with the choreography and make it all about dancing. Either make it something really catchy and memorable, or use it as an opportunity to properly showcase the members’ dance abilities, which honestly haven’t been highlighted much in their career thus far. It feels like a missed opportunity in that regard.
So yeah, a lot of people have been blaming YG for being too hands-on with the group, especially since he’s never really been known for having the most trend-conscious musical taste or creative direction.
There have also been a lot of viral Korean shorts, posts, and videos about BABYMONSTER’s recent comebacks, mostly for negative reasons, and most of them repeat the exact same criticisms I mentioned above. And I feel like their domestic chart performance has been reflecting that sentiment.
Do you guys think these are legitimate contributing factors to their lack of domestic success right now, and do you agree with any of these sentiments?
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