MUSIC
YG speaks out on BLACKPINK’s comeback, announces new rookie group to follow
On the 26th, YG posted a video titled 'BLACKPINK, BABYMONSTER, TREASURE, AND UPCOMING ROOKIES | YG ANNOUNCEMENT' on their official blog. This marks Yang's first interview of 2025 and his first official statement in about seven months.
In the video, Yang revealed that BLACKPINK's new song will be released soon. This will be their first new release in 2 years and 8 months since their second full album 'BORN PINK' in September 2022. Alongside the new release, BLACKPINK will embark on a large-scale world tour starting July 5.
BABYMONSTER will resume activities with a pre-release single 'HOT SAUCE' on July 1. They will follow up with a second single in September and a mini-album on October 1, continuing their activities throughout the second half of the year. Yang explained, "'HOT SAUCE' is an experiment to see what charm BABYMONSTER can bring to the late 1980s hip-hop style."
TREASURE will release a mini-album on September 1 and begin a new world tour in October. Yang added, "We will actively support them to release at least two albums every year."
Plans for launching new artists were also revealed for the first time. Currently, YG has two male trainee groups and two female trainee groups preparing for debut. The plan is to debut at least one male group by 2026. One of these groups has been confirmed as a four-member team, which Yang expressed a desire to debut soon.
Practice videos of the new girl group members will be released sequentially starting on the 28th. Yang stated, "Please evaluate their skills as they are, as they appear, and as they sound," and promised to transparently reveal the pre-debut process, similar to BABYMONSTER. However, he indicated that the official debut of the new girl group would be after focusing more on BABYMONSTER until the end of next year.
At the end of the interview, Yang emphasized that YG's internal system has undergone significant restructuring over the past year, stating, "We will showcase the changed face of YG starting from the second half of this year." The video concluded with the phrase 'THE FIRST MEMBER OF YG'S NEXT GIRL GROUP. STAY TUNED,' hinting at the emergence of a new team.
