Babymonster sets first-week sales record for girl group debut album

Babymonster, the latest girl group from YG Entertainment, has set a new record for first-week album sales for the first album of a K-pop girl group, the agency said Monday.

The group’s first EP, “Babymons7er,” sold 401,287 copies in its first week after being released last Monday, YG said, citing data from Hanteo Chart, a leading local tracker of album sales.

The figure marks the highest first-week debut album sales for any K-pop girl group, surpassing the previous record of 380,056 copies set just a week ago by ILLIT, another highly anticipated rookie group. The ranking excludes single albums.

In the K-pop industry, first-week sales are considered an important measure for an artist’s popularity and the size of his or her fandom.

YG predicts the final debut-week sales number will increase when overseas exports are factored in.

Babymonster also performed impressively on global music charts. The debut album ranked high on the Worldwide iTunes Album chart upon its release, while its main track, “Sheesh,” arrived at No. 69 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart, the highest ranking for a K-pop girl group this year.

Babymonster is a seven-member girl group composed of Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Rami, Rora, Chiquita and Ahyeon, originating from three different countries — South Korea, Japan and Thailand. The group debuted with the single “Batter Up” in November in Ahyeon’s absence due to health reasons.

“Babymons7er” marks the group’s first album featuring all seven members, including Ahyeon, who returned after a monthslong hiatus.