Fourth member of YG girl group BabyMonster, Asa, revealed

Asa, the fourth member of upcoming girl group BabyMonster [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

YG Entertainment introduced Asa, a 16-year-old Japanese trainee, as the fourth member of the agency's soon-to-debut girl group BabyMonster, on Wednesday.

A video of Asa was uploaded on Thursday to BabyMonster's official YouTube channel, showing her singing to “Look Alive (Remix)” (2018) by Joyner Lucas and showcasing her rap skills.

Two other members have been hinted at in a group performance video released last Thursday — Ruka and Rora. In a video uploaded last Thursday, members Ruka, Haram, Asa, Rora and Ahyeon danced to “Senile” (2014) by Young Money. Individual performance videos for Ruka and Rora are yet to be revealed.

Although it has been implied that the group will have seven members, the total number of members has not been confirmed. The agency is drip-feeding information about the group into the market, a common K-pop strategy used to build hype and demand ahead of the debut.

BabyMonster will be the first new girl group from YG since Blackpink made its debut in 2016.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]