"YG's Youngest Groups Are Fierce"...TREASURE & BABYMONSTER's "Explosive First-Half Moves"

*This content was translated by AI.

'YG's Youngest' TREASURE and BABYMONSTER are simultaneously setting career highs in the first half of 2026 in the K-pop market, emerging as the central axis of YG's generational transition. Based on growth trends spanning albums, global charts, YouTube, and live performances, they have firmly established their presence as the next generation's key artists.

First, 'YG's Treasure,' TREASURE, lived up to its name. Through a global tour [PULSE ON] covering 14 cities and 27 shows, TREASURE connected with fans worldwide and, just two days after the tour concluded, returned with their 4th mini-album [NEW WAV], continuing their relentless activities.

This album, for the first time since their debut, is filled entirely with hip-hop-based tracks, declaring a new chapter for the group. It has been praised for generating strong synergy by combining YG's signature hip-hop style with the members' solid live performance capabilities. The result also carries added significance as it was directly overseen by YG's Chief Producer Yang Hyun-suk.

This was soon proven by the numbers. After achieving a million-unit first-week sales, the album swept both the Korean Hanteo and Circle charts, as well as the Japanese Oricon and Billboard Japan weekly album charts, securing the four major weekly album chart titles in Korea and Japan. The music video for the first English title track 'IF I,' which led the group's musical transformation, ranked number one on YouTube's 'Most Viewed Video in 24 Hours' and set a record for the fastest time to reach 100 million views for a K-pop song released this year, both a team record and the fastest for any K-pop song released this year. TREASURE, who also secured the number one spot on Mnet's 'M Countdown' immediately after the comeback, plans to continue its upward momentum through a fan concert series [NEW WAV : LIVE] covering 8 cities and 20 shows.

BABYMONSTER's sprint is also noteworthy. Their 3rd mini-album [CHOOM], released last May, sparked a dance challenge craze with its title track, which carried the ambition to turn the world into a dance floor, earning global fan support.

The commercial success was confirmed across various metrics. The album topped the iTunes album charts in 19 regions, claiming the number one spot on the worldwide album chart. The title track's music video immediately rose to number one on YouTube's Worldwide Trending and 'Most Viewed Video in 24 Hours' upon release. The official channel's subscriber count surpassed 12 million, setting a new record for the fastest time to reach this milestone for a K-pop girl group since debut.

Having seized the initiative with their outstanding skills, the group shocked the K-pop scene once again with an ultra-fast comeback via the digital single 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA' on the 8th. This track, which showcases a refreshing charm opposite their existing intense performances, has received praise for blending the members' solid rapping with crisp vocals, creating a representative summer song for this year. The music video also reached number one on the global YouTube daily popular music video chart immediately upon release and continues to maintain its popularity.

Riding this momentum, BABYMONSTER will open their second world tour [CHOOM] from the 26th to the 28th at Seoul Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium. With 18 cities and 29 shows already confirmed, the tour is expected to expand to a scale surpassing their first world tour as schedules for Europe, North America, and South America are gradually unveiled.

Like this, TREASURE and BABYMONSTER have consistently expanded their global fandoms by showcasing distinct musical colors while relying on their live performance competitiveness. With the strong results solidified in the first half as a foundation, attention turns to what milestones these groups, who are expanding their activity stages through large-scale tours, will set in the second half of the music industry.

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*This content was translated by AI.