Before the October 23 new song: a BABYMONSTER starter guide, from 'BATTER UP' at the plate to 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA' in a glass of ice

BABYMONSTER releases a new song at 1 p.m. (KST) on Friday, October 23. It's the group's first new song since the June 8 digital single 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA', and it arrives in the middle of the second world tour. We picked six songs to hear before then. Read the nine introductions to the Korean albums and singles on Bugs in order, and eight of them, every one except the ballad 'Stuck In The Middle', use the words 'confidence' or 'self-assured'. The word stays the same, but what each song compares that confidence to keeps changing. We linked the songs by following those comparisons. Song notes and credits come from the Bugs album pages, and scene times were noted while playing the official music videos ourselves.

At a glance

Year	Song	What the confidence is compared to	Start here
2023	'BATTER UP'	The next batter stepping up to bat	1:19 a bat marked 'BATTER UP'
2024	'SHEESH'	The exclamation the world will let out	0:19 a sheet of paper with a maze
2024	'DRIP'	Charm that never stops overflowing	1:15 news of a 'DRIP' cassette craze
2025	'PSYCHO'	Someone who thinks differently	1:18 'Why so serious?'
2026	'CHOOM'	A dance floor that ties the whole world together	2:05 a 'DEPARTMENT OF CHOOM' name board
2026	'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA'	A cool attitude inside a sweet name	0:00 a member beyond a glass of ice

2023 · 'BATTER UP'

A digital single released on November 27, 2023. The Bugs album notes call it the 'Debut Digital Single' and head a section "'BATTER UP': the next batter steps up". The song likens a bold ambition to the baseball call in which the umpire summons the next batter to the plate. It's a hip-hop track with a strong bass line that whirls harder toward the end. Member ASA is among the lyricists and composers. At 1:14 in the music video, 'BATTER UP' is written across the chest of a striped baseball uniform. At 1:19, a member rests on one shoulder a bat with the same words scrawled on it like graffiti. The following year's first mini album included a separate seven-member version of the song. Apple Music

2024 · 'SHEESH'

The title track of the first mini album, 'BABYMONS7ER', released on April 1, 2024. The album title swaps the T in the group's name for the number 7, standing for the seven members: RUKA, PHARITA, ASA, AHYEON, RAMI, RORA and CHIQUITA, the seven of today. 'SHEESH' is an exclamation you let out when amazed, and the album notes explain it as an ambition to make the world say 'SHEESH'. This time, the confidence becomes the sound that will burst from the listener's mouth. A baroque-style piano melody (in the manner of 17th- and 18th-century European music) and grand synthesizer sounds stand out. At 0:01 in the music video, a grand piano sits under a chandelier, and at 0:19 the paper on the piano holds not a single note, only a maze. At 2:31, the seven dance inside a maze lined with marble-patterned walls. The lead photo is from 2:39. Apple Music

2024 · 'DRIP'

The title track of the first full album, 'DRIP', released on November 1, 2024, and a double title track alongside 'CLIK CLAK'. The album notes open with "confidence with good reason" and say the album shows 'charm that never stops overflowing'. It's a hip-hop dance track built on EDM (electronic dance music), with several bass sounds standing out, and G-DRAGON is among its composers. At 0:01 in the music video, the label on a pink cassette tape is printed with 'BABYMONSTER 1st FULL ALBUM' and the tracklist. At 1:15 a breaking news report cuts in. The anchor caption reads 'ASA | News Anchor', and the headline is 'People Go Crazy over ‘DRIP’ Cassette Tape!'. At 1:24, the live report from the scene goes to 'RUKA | On-Site Anchor'. Apple Music

2025 · 'PSYCHO'

A track from the second mini album, 'WE GO UP', released on October 10, 2025. That July, 'HOT SAUCE' compared confidence to all kinds of spicy food, and the title track 'WE GO UP' was an ambition to climb higher. This song changes direction. According to the album notes, it uses 'PSYCHO' in a positive sense, for people whose special ideas change the world. It mixes hip-hop and dance with rock, and a separate music video came out on November 19. At 1:18, a member shrugs among giant eyeballs floating in midair, and the caption 'Why so serious?' appears. Apple Music

2026 · 'CHOOM'

The title track of the third mini album, 'CHOOM', released on May 4, 2026. Spelling the Korean word 춤 (dance) as it sounds, 'CHOOM', carries an ambition to turn the whole world into one dance floor. The second world tour now underway shares the name. The music video plays out like a heist, past a security checkpoint and green lasers. At 0:56 a member presses an ear to a knob that looks like a safe dial, and the word above it is 'VOLUME'. At 2:05, AHYEON's name board reads 'DEPARTMENT OF CHOOM' along with the charge 'CHARGED WITH A CRIME OF DANCING TOO EXCITEDLY'. At 2:29, the marks on the striped wall show not height but temperatures in Celsius, like '40°C' and '39°C'. 40°C (104°F) is what a thermometer reads during a burning fever. Apple Music

2026 · 'SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA'

A digital single released on June 8, 2026, about a month after 'CHOOM'. The title is filled with sweet things like sugar, honey and iced tea, but the album notes single out the cool, self-assured message that contrasts with that sweetness as its twist. It's a fast dance track driven by a heavy bass and a hook (the repeated key phrase) that sticks in your ear. The music video opens at 0:00 inside a glass with ice and lime, as a member, a green straw between the lips, looks out past the glass. At 2:00, a breaking-news screen like the one in 'DRIP' returns. The headline is 'BABYMONSTER AT THE CENTER OF GOSSIP CHAOS', and a caption beginning 'RUMORS SPREAD FASTER THAN FACTS' scrolls beneath it. Apple Music

October 23, 1 p.m.

On October 6, a 'COMING SOON' poster went up on YG LIFE, YG Entertainment's official blog. Only the right edge of a black circle glows, like a crescent moon, and that light is reflected in a long streak on the water below. There's no song title, just the group's name, '2026.10.23' and '1:00 PM KST'. According to the agency, the new song arrives on music sites at 1 p.m. that day.

According to the official tour page, the second world tour, 'CHOOM', began on June 26 at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul, then passed through Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan on September 22–23 and Jakarta on October 17. The next show is in Bangkok on November 7, and dates run through Hong Kong in January next year. What will the confidence that started at bat be compared to this time? You can hear it at 1 p.m. on the 23rd.