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From new Blackpink song to rookie group debut, YG gears up to improve intellectual property
K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment has unveiled its road map for the second half of 2025.
On Monday, YG executive producer Yang Hyun-seok released a video interview on the company’s official blog, sharing updates on the agency’s artists and upcoming rookie debuts.
The biggest highlight was the announcement of long-awaited comeback of girl group Blackpink. Yang revealed that new music from the group would be revealed “soon,” marking the group’s first official release in two years and eight months, since second studio album “Born Pink” came out Sept. 16, 2022.
Meanwhile, Babymonster, currently on the “Hello Monsters”world tour, will also present a new track. A prerelease single titled “Hot Sauce” is set for July 1, followed by a mini album on Oct. 1. “Hot Sauce” marks the group’s first release since the first full-length album “Drip” in November 2024.
“Hot Sauce” is a late-1980s-style hip-hop track with addictive energy, explained Yang. “We wanted to gift fans a fun track for the summer. I was curious how teenage Babymonster would interpret a genre from 40 years ago. The result exceeded expectations,” noted Yang.
Boy band Treasure is also returning with a new mini album on Sept. 1, followed by a new world tour starting in October. Yang assured the agency’s full support of Treasure with at least two new album releases a year.
Yang also revealed new artist debut plans. He confirmed the company is preparing two new boy bands and two new girl groups, adding that a boy band might be able to make its official debut in 2026. One of the girl groups is to be a four-member team.
To build anticipation, YG will begin releasing practice videos of the new girl group members starting May 28, following a strategy similar to that of Babymonster’s predebut exposure. “As we did before, we want the public to evaluate them exactly as they are,” said Yang.
An official debut date for the new groups has not been confirmed. The youngest group currently under YG Entertainment is Babymonster, having debuted in April 2024.
Concluding the video, Yang emphasized that YG has undergone major internal restructuring over the past year and is now focusing on accelerating rookie debuts and expanding the company’s intellectual property as a top priority.
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