YG Entertainment has a long history of keeping its acts in “the dungeon” (ie: not letting them release much material for months/years at a time). This is still the case for many acts, but occasionally the agency also blitzes the market with new song after new song. BABYMONSTER have been in one of these phases this year, with new single Deserve their fifth track to be promoted with a music video in 2026. As befitting of the fall/winter months, the ladies have pulled things back for a ballad.
Listeners like me often complain that BABYMONSTER don’t get much chance to show off their strong vocals on their many hip-hop flavored tracks. However, there’s a middle ground between sing-talk/chanted banger and overwrought ballad. Artists could belt out a huge dance track, for example. Deserve carries that kind of drama, but the shifting tempo never kicks into anything more than a canned stomp.
YG ballads have tended to be huge highlights in decades past, succeeding on incredible melody that sticks around for the long run. Deserve bludgeons us with plenty of bombast, but the songwriting sounds like the kind of vacuous Top-40 fare currently clogging the American charts. Yes, the group sing the chorus loudly, but the actual melody is as dull as can be. It’s essentially the same couple of notes pounded out in staccato, aiming for ultimate catharsis but sounding more like a commercial for a campaign ad. It’s too bad, because it’s nice to hear the group singing with such intensity. They deserve much stronger material to showcase that skill.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
Grade: C-
Watching my dog trying to pick on his injured paw he refuses to let heal would have been more entertaining than this song.
Rating’s the same
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my honest reaction to this song:
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Choosin’ Texas clears this song. Probably the same rating as you.
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Look, its not too awesome lyrics-wise. Baemon songs never are. But the delivery is so good to me, and I feel like I’d ever listen to baemkn song for the vocals anyway. There’s a reason I hated sugar honey ice tea, and
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It’s because the entire song was just talking in autotune. Not even trying, honestly. So compared to their previous release, this one is a choice between being snowed on and finding a pot of gold. I also did prefer this to the other song released by their senior at the same time, Tarantino. I couldn’t make it past the first chorus on that one.
God, I wish you could edit comments on WordPress.
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I honestly don’t get this band, there’s something so blandly westernised about them, like a real band version of Kpop Demon Hunter but less catchy.
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Let’s not forget the way YG has been acting like their artists are too good for the Korean market lately, even though mot of these kpop artists would never be accepted in the west because the cultural gap is simply that big
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Ehhh. Babymonster is pretty popular in the west. Realize they already had a 6-7 city tour in the US before they even hit their 2 yr anniversary. All of their shows in pretty large arenas.
The Korean market is small. All of these labels are trying to build up their fanbases outside of Korea and in the West.
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Right, but they’re still rookies. They are most definitely more popular in the international market. That doesn’t make them too good for Korea. They’d have to build themselves up from home, correct me if I’m wrong because if Kpop is losing its K then bring Sabrina Carpenter to HYBE, they bith have those concepts exceot one can actually execute it well.
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Speaking as a huge international monstiez, I hate my fandom.
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Eh. Rookies? They debuted 2.5 yrs ago, so I wouldn’t call them that anymore.
They are already popular in Korea just looking at their current tour numbers in Seoul. Three sold out nights. There’s no 5th gen gg doing better than them. ILLIT surprisingly struggled somewhat to sell tickets in Seoul. And they’re performing in smaller venues in Japan compared to Babymonster.
So, yeah. Like I said, the Korean market is small to begin with. All of the labels have been trying to grow their market share and to do that you have to cater to those markets. YG is doing it right…
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There’s simply no way baemon is doing better than ive lmao
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Ah I guess Ive may be considered 4th gen. Still. I guess I’m always surprised by baemon’s apparent selling power because I never hear them talked about either internationally or in Korean fandom spaces. It feels like generally they have a very intense fandom but limited appeal with the GP.
My impression is that right now Rescene are the biggest 5th gen group with the Korean GP. KiiiKiii are also gaining in popularity since their last comeback. IVE and Aespa continue to lead the pack of girl groups in general.
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Yup, IVE is fourth gen. The debate about fifth gen is going on and on, and honestly, who cares? A group can be good without much popularity, or mediocre with much more popularity, or simply talented and popular (or mediocre AND unpopular)
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I live in the Middle East and for some reason, they’re INSANELY popular over here, I think about 80% of all girl group fans I see online listen to them. I don’t know why. Probably because of Blackpink being equally huge here?
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Ooh! I live in the middle east too! They are extremely popular over here just like you said. I feel like I worded my comment wrong, I meant that groups should first build from Korea instead of acting like they’re too good for home. I think Baemon might work towards that in the coming future.
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Babymonster is a curious case among girlgroups as their career profile is more similar to boygroups with bigger fandom size (hence the many sold-out concerts early on) but less presence among casuals (hence the abysmal chart history especially domestic). Its no secret that girlgroups had no longevity in south korea (hence the famous 7-years curse) so I think YG moves to pritiorize international fanbase were right in the long run.
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Likely it was a purposeful move to make BM more popular internationally right from debut. Korean audiences are key to longevity, imo, this is part of why Twice stuck around so strong for as long as they did, but in this modern day and age, international audiences make for better virality.
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Yep, this is the one that showcases their vocals for their fans. OMG so stable.
It seems to be a song that teens and tweens will think says something important, but for the rest of us it sounds like another teen or tween song about what they think a relationship is about. Song is set too high in pitch for their abilities – those “high notes” are more shrill intoning on a hope and prayer than singing.
To paraphrase, “Babymon, you deserve better”.
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Ha, most of their fans are like 8 so you can kind of see why they’d do that.
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This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for from Babymonster. A good Ballad single to show off their vocals and they killed. So good. Rora is at the top when it comes to 5th gen vocals. Even compared to 4th gen she’s one of the best. They all sounded great though…any of them can be a main vocalist in pretty much any other group (other than NMIXX).
Lyrics were solid although it’s always weird seeing these Kpop groups sing about experience they’ve never experienced. But they nailed the emotion.
8/10
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I agree I’ve always found it odd when groups sing about a heartbreak they never went through but they did a really good job putting in the right emotion. Their vocals were so good!
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Didn’t think Babymonster’s music could be more ear-piercing. I am humbled.
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Didn’t think Babymonster’s music could be more ear-piercing. I am humbled.
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You already commented this a few minutes ago. You did not need to comment this again.
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(The double post is probably a wordpress hiccup)
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Didn’t think Babymonster’s music could be more ear-piercing. I am humbled.
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Baemon is a great example of how great vocals abilities could not save lazy songwriting and can YG please teach ahyeon that its okay not to shrill during high notes. Nobody would want to replay a track that figuratively destroy their eardrums…..
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Yes great vocal abilities, then your commenting on how the vocals are so terrible and no one would ever listen to it purposfully….Ahh makes total sense. Also guess Im nobody cuz I love her vocals.
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Well hello to you too Mr. Nobody, its good that you love her vocals despite the hazardous health risk from hearing it. I guess love can really did make someone become not only blind but also deaf. A destroyed eardrum could take months to heals so let me give your condolances early.
As your brain seems to fail to decipher my words (maybe from constant exposure to noise pollution?) let me give you a kind follow-up explanation. I could not depreciate the other members’ abilities just because ahyeon voice decided to take a plunge and literally become a distressed wet cat in action, but I also could not honestly say the listening experience was excellent in good conscience either thanks to the aforementioned noise nuisance. Hence the contradiction in my comment. Sorry for the confusion that my honest well-thought words caused you Mr. Nobody, my apologies.
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Sorry I was having trouble deciphering your words, I didn’t realize what you were trying to say. Though I don’t believe comments on me as a person were nessesary to get you point across. I can like her voice without being deaf.
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Wow, is Ahyeon the worst main vocal in kpop? Her voice is absolutely dreadful.
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See there are some thoughts we keep to ourselves, this is one of them. You can say you don’t like her tone but in this song she wasn’t straining her voice (yet) and she is undeniably talented. Also even if she was terrible you have no business telling a literal child how to do their job.
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A literal 19 year old child!
Them kids be gettin older by the day lmao.
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I hope you weren’t expecting her to morph into eight to be called a kid…
She IS a kid. Most new-gen idols are kids. Let them be kids. It’s mostly on the industry. It’s not that deep.
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Have some compassion for your seniors.
Bad enough I have to suffer through Ahyeon’s assault on me eardrums but now I’m supposed to feel bad about calling her out on it.
If she really is a kid then it’s straight to bed without dinner for making such a ruckus in me living room.
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Ok well she isn’t singing in your ears? You always have the option to turn it off, you know. Without having to come rambling on about it. Sure, this is a critic website. CRITIC. Not blatant hate, the way you’re going on. Nobody’s holding a knife to your throat or a gun to your forehead forcing you to listen. The “off” button is right there.
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Trust me, that song is off and staying off!
But I can’t in good conscience let my fellow man blindly wander into this banshee’s wail.
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BaeMon are like the Nickelback of k-pop, universally despised yet somehow shockingly successful. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong here but I think they are on track for the most videos with 100M+ views of any group worldwide in 2026. But they are ignored by Western media because k-pop is manufactured trash, and also by Korean media because they are marketing to an international rather than Korean audience.
Anyways this is why I usually don’t comment on songs I don’t like…with high confidence I can say I will never listen to this song again, but clearly somebody out there is.
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