With almost ten million subscribers on YouTube, it’s hard to believe that K-pop act Babymonster has been around for less than three years! But why not? They hit one million subscribers in just fifty two days and their debut video “Batter Up” had 22.59 million views in the first twenty four hours!! That’s crazy! Comprised of Ahyeon, Rami, and Rora from South Korea, Ruka and Asa from Japan, and Pharita and Chiquita from Thailand, Babymonster has taken the world by storm! Fast forward to 2025 and they’re touring North America for the first time as part of their Hello Monsters Tour, hitting Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey early on the year during the first leg of their tour, leading to six additional stops during the second leg of their tour. Unfortunately, Rami had to go on hiatus in May due to health issues resulting in the group becoming a sextet. This probably meant a lot of rejiggering of vocals and choreography in short order. It’s still amazing that this is Babymonster’s first world tour since they’re already playing huge arenas! On Saturday, August 30th, they stopped at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for their very first Canadian show.
Outside the arena, fans had lined up early for the show. It seems that the crowds had a higher percentage of Asians than those of bigger bands like Blankpink. Perhaps since Babymonster aren’t as mainstream in North America and are a bit more nich, their fanbase is accordingly the same. As with most K-pop shows, the lines at the merch areas were absolutely mobbed! Fans were rushing to get their favorite items before the show started. Meanwhile, videos and photos of Babymonster played non-stop on the three large screens behind the stage. As each member’s photo appeared, fans would cheer loudly for their favorite bias and for the group in general. It seemed like Pharita garnished the biggest cheers this night.
The show started around fifteen minutes late as the first notes of “Drip” resonated in the venue. With flames and sparks blasting up from multiple spots in front of the stage, Babymonster slowly rose up from under the stage on a platform. I was happy to see that they were singing much of the songs live although, at times, I thought I was still hearing the backing track. It’s possible that they were lip-syncing to a previous live recording so the songs don’t match the official songs but I’d like to think they were singing live. Together with the wonderfully choreographed dancing, it was a smashing start to the show! That continued with “Batter Up”, one of my personal favorite Babymonster songs. I think my illusion was shattered here when someone would move the microphone away from their face but the vocal would continue with no change. Oh well…after all, it is a K-pop show. Introductions and a bit of banter were followed up with “Clik Clak”, another banger!
With “Like That” and “Sheesh”, they had already covered five of their top six streamed songs!! That took us to a some videos of the group as kids and a costume change before the solo portion of the night. Rora’s cover of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” was probably one of my highlights of the show, although Chiquita was adorable with wings on her back as she covered Olivia Rodrigo’s “traitor”. The great thing was that the solos were mostly ballads so, I’m assuming” completely live. After the solos, the focus went to the backing band as they performed for several minutes. The following two songs “Love, Maybe” and “Dream” were also live ballads, preceding a pre-recorded video of Babymonster talking about their upcoming Toronto show, a nice unscripted chat eliciting many cheers, especially mentions of University of Toronto and the CNE! Later on in the set, their covers of Blackpink’s “Kill This Love” and “As If It’s Your Last” also elicited huge cheers! The show really seemed to go by too quickly as they announced only three more songs before we knew it! They wrapped up the main portion of their set with “Hot Sauce”, “Forever”, and “Love in My Heart” on the second stage in front of the runway, allowing them to get closer to their fans!
Before the encore, there was an audience sing-a-long to “Forever” before Babymonster re-entered the stage. Dressed in more casual wear and Ahyeon in cute glasses, their first four songs were “replays” of songs from earlier in the set although the vocals sounded “more live” although a backing track was often still used. They wrapped up the show with “Stuck in the Middle”, leaving every fan with a smile on their faces as they exited the venue into the Toronto night. I did hear some comments about their not being as polished as some of the bigger K-pop acts but there’s an authenticity in their spontaneous reactions and banter that, while sometimes seeming repetitive, was true and an insight into their real personalities. You get a better idea of who’s a true extrovert vs a hidden introvert and that’s nice to see. Babymonster continues their North America tour in Rosemont, IL (Chicago) as they have five more stops heading towards the west coast. Catch them while you can!!