They are taking their ‘first step’ in the most meaningful place in North America, the global pop mecca. It is the ‘Kia Forum’, a famous LA landmark and the heart of Western music, and even the name is familiar to us.
YG‘s ‘monster rookie’ Baby Monster has announced their North American tour schedule for next year, which includes an entry into the ‘Kia Forum’ in LA. The title has more weight to it as it announces its North American schedule early as part of its ‘world tour’ announced at the beginning of the new year.

According to its agency YG Entertainment, Baby Monster will be holding its world tour ‘Hello Monsters In North America’ at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on February 28th next year, followed by the LA Kia Forum on March 2nd.

The Prudential Center in Newark and the LA Kia Forum are large arenas that boast a seating capacity of over 17,000. The Kia Forum, for which Kia acquired the naming rights, is familiar to pop fans as a place where many ‘global stars’, such as BTS, Justin Bieber, and Sam Smith, have held local concerts.

Another notable aspect of this tour is that by specifically referring to North America rather than simply America, it hints that another big market, ‘South America’, could also be included in the lineup of venues.

Those inside and outside the industry predict that Baby Monster’s influence in South America will also be significant, given his 7.7 million subscribers on the global platform YouTube and numerous clips with hundreds of millions of views.

Baby Monsters‘ first world tour, ‘Hello Monsters’, has completed an early schedule of 15 shows in 7 regions, starting with the K-Pop Dome in Seoul, followed by LA and Newark in North America, and Osaka and Fukuoka in Japan. Baby Monster, who officially debuted last April, has been on a rampage, completing the so-called 3-stage combo of ‘debut album-season song-first full-length album’ within the year.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com