BABYS Members Are Going Viral For Debuting In Their 30s, Breaking K-Pop Idol Stereotypes

KEY POINTS

New South Korean idol duo, BABYS, will debut in their 30s
It is not common for K-pop idols to debut in their late 20s
BABYS will debut on June 20 with its single album, "Unlock It"

An upcoming South Korean girl dance duo went viral for debuting in their 30s, an uncommon age for idols to debut in South Korea.

BABYS is previously a dance team formed in 2020 before it will officially debut as a duo, with members Seoyu and Yeseo, next Tuesday.

According to kprofiles, the members Seoyu and Yeseo are born in the nineties. Seoyu – real name Son Seoyu – was born on Dec. 17, 1990, while the younger member Yeseo – real name Son Yeseo – was born on Sept. 24, 1992.

idol in their 30s making their debut…. this is what kpop NEEDS pic.twitter.com/i8XYK6oryo
— 𝓞 🌸 (@kyoongisms) June 13, 2023

It's common for K-pop entertainment agencies to have trainees and debuting idols at a young age. According to Statista, around 56% of K-pop trainees are over 19 years old, followed by those in the age group of 16 to 18 years old. Most of them are in the vocal and dancing sectors.

In 2022, Koreaboo published a list of K-pop groups with the oldest average debut ages in history. While most K-pop idols typically debut in their teens, the average age for the groups that entered the list is 20 to 21 years old — breaking the norm.

The groups (and their group average debut age) were SF9 (20), WayV (20.1), Mamamoo (20.3), 2NE1 (20.5), N.Flying (20.5), Onewe (20.6), Oneus (20.7), Monsta X (20.9) and Winner (21).

If debuting in their 20s is already considered old for idols, BABYS members debuting in their 30s will break K-pop idol stereotypes when it comes to age.

"[W]ow! [T]here are still idols debuting who are older than me. [A] miracle happened. [I'll] definitely gonna check them out," commented one netizen on the viral tweet about the group.

"Yeseo is literally a day older than me. I'M JUST SO HAPPY to see women my age doing things that weren't possible years ago," wrote another one, while another stated, "You're never too old to do what you like."

"Honestly, next we need to get rid of nonsense beauty expectations. They are so cute and pretty," said another one.

BABYS' first single, "Unlock It," which will be officially released on June 20, is a song where a deeply-in-love woman confidently expresses her heart in the hopes that her lover will actively approach and disarm her.

The duo's first single is composed by Any Massinga, a versatile producer who has worked with various K-pop artists like Chung Ha, Lovelyz, GFriend, BTOB, (G)I-DLE and DreamNote, to name a few.

K-pop fans can check more information and updates about the soon-to-debut duo on its official Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts.