MEOVV’s disappointing debut
On September 6, THE BLACK LABEL officially introduced their new girl group MEOVV. Debuting with a 5-member lineup, including the “world’s most beautiful child model” Ella Gross, MEOVV has attracted considerable attention from K-pop fans. As the first girl group under Teddy, YG’s main producer who previously made BLACKPINK a success, MEOVV brings with them high expectations.
At the time of the lineup introduction, MEOVV had several advantages with individual trailers highlighting their impressive visuals and charisma. Ella Gross is already quite famous. Member Anna from Japan is praised for her standard visuals. The third cat member, Sooin, is seen as a mix of Suzy and Lisa. MEOVV also features a “mini Park Min Young” Gawon and a “silver spoon” girl with an exceptional rich girl aura, Narin. Together, they create a sophisticated and luxurious visual ensemble.
However, the first teaser for the debut MV left much to be desired. Seen together, the five cats looked strangely dull. Fans pinned their hopes on the music, which was expected to be Teddy’s creation.
In the minds of many people, there was a desire for a debut song that would leave an impression like BLACKPINK’s iconic hits “Boombayah” or “Whistle”. Teddy is a hit maker, but he doesn’t always satisfy the majority.
With the single “MEOW”, the arrangement still bears Teddy’s signature: lively, with catchy music and highlighting a hip-hop spirit. However, Teddy did not play a major role in the production. For this debut song, Teddy only participated in writing the lyrics. The music was handled by THE BLACK LABEL team.
After the MV was released, the general feedback from viewers was “fashionable and chic visuals, but the music didn’t meet expectations.” Clearly, compared to the hits Teddy has created for BLACKPINK, “MEOW” is no match. Many have even criticized Teddy for losing his touch, being “one-dimensional” and not being able to create hits anymore.
These familiar criticisms usually surface whenever BLACKPINK releases new music, and this time they’re aimed at THE BLACK LABEL’s latest offering, which features Teddy at the top of the list.
MEOVV’s debut has left fans disappointed. It’s not hard to find complaints on K-pop forums. However, to be honest, the song isn’t that bad. There are still some listeners who were fascinated by it from the first listen.
The group’s debut music video garnered 6 million views in the first 24 hours, earning a decent ranking on the national music charts for a new group. Additionally, their promotional stages received positive reactions due to the girls’ confident stage presence.
BABYMONSTER faces similar criticism
BABYMONSTER may be YG’s most troubled girl group. The 7 girls waited almost a year since their lineup was revealed, with 2 trainees almost missing out on their debut. But the turmoil never stopped. During their debut in November 2023, BABYMONSTER was missing “ace” Ahyeon due to health reasons.
The song “Batter Up” featuring 6 members was overlooked in promotion. At the time, YG was struggling with BLACKPINK’s contract expiring and G-Dragon ending his exclusive deal. BABYMONSTER debuted quickly. The music video was criticized for the outdated outfits and style. And the music didn’t have Teddy involved.
In April 2024, Ahyeon officially returned. BABYMONSTER released their first mini album. Yang Hyun Suk introduced it as the “official debut” of the 7 girls. Many K-pop fans mocked YG, suggesting that the “change of direction” was due to the failure of their first debut. Thus, “Sheesh” was chosen as the first promotional title for BABYMONSTER.
The song “Sheesh” continued to be controversial. For the first time, the music of YG’s girl group was met with indifference by Korean listeners. The title track was not released on any digital music platforms upon its release.
A turnaround occurred when BABYMONSTER demonstrated their abilities through live performances. The group was praised for their stable skills and top-notch live singing. However, the music remained a drawback. YG’s signature maximalist and noisy arrangements were all that Korean audiences remembered about BABYMONSTER’s music.
The Fate of Two Girl Groups Debuting Under the Shadow of BLACKPINK
Teddy has not produced music for BABYMONSTER, and BABYMONSTER has faced criticism. Yet, even Teddy’s creation MEOVV was underrated because their debut song “didn’t sound very Teddy-like.” It seems the public is applying double standards to these two rookie girl groups simply because they are expected to be the “second BLACKPINK.” The five cats have become unwitting competitors to YG’s seven little devils.
A highly viral topic on K-pop forums compares MEOVV and BABYMONSTER’s debut products. The highly interacted comments all have one thing in common: MEOVV and BABYMONSTER are inferior to BLACKPINK.
Korean netizens’ comments on MEOVV and BABYMONSTER:
- Both groups disappointed me in terms of expectations. There is nothing exceptional. It seems that YG has run out of ideas, relying only on BLACKPINK’s reputation. No, the song seems to depend only on BLACKPINK’s name.
- MEOVV has one member with good expressions and impressive rap, but the group as a whole is pretty bland.
- BABYMONSTER seems to perform better, whether it’s rapping or singing. As for the dancing… it’s really terrible. The awkward dance moves… I was really mad watching it. But then I looked it up again to see how well they performed, and I was surprised. MEOVV is still unsure; we need to see more performances to know if the girls are up to par. Both are not necessarily bad.
- Compared to “Batter Up”, MEOVV is better haha. “Batter Up” was awful, really shocking…
- The advantage of Teddy Group is that Teddy is the main producer, so the expectations are high, but the lyric writing seems weak… It seems disjointed, quite fragmented.
- Both of them follow the path of BLACKPINK, but this is the advanced stage of BLACKPINK, not their debut.
- Even if BLACKPINK were split into two, they would still be better than these two groups.
- This is the consequence of debuting under the fame of BLACKPINK.
Both new girl groups have a special connection to the title “BLACKPINK’s Little Sisters.” That’s because the teams behind MEOVV and BABYMONSTER come from the entertainment empire that produced a global girl group. And because of that, both newcomers have an invisible responsibility to shoulder: meeting the public’s expectations for a girl group that can inherit BLACKPINK’s fame.
Debuting under the reputation of BLACKPINK, BABYMONSTER and MEOVV have many advantages to become famous, but they also face considerable pressure. Due to the immense influence of their predecessors, both new groups endure extreme scrutiny.
MEOVV AND MONSTERCHILD they still have a long way to go to prove their worth. It is clear that if there had not been such a strict BLACKPINK standard applied to evaluate the entire journey of BABYMONSTER and MEOVV, the disappointment would not have been so great.
