JYP Entertainment's New Girl Group OURBIRTHDAY Faces Backlash After Debut

JYP Entertainment, one of South Korea's "Big Three" agencies, recently launched its new seven-member girl group, OURBIRTHDAY. However, the group has been embroiled in controversy almost immediately after its debut. The official release of a dance performance video for their debut track, "HUNGRY," unexpectedly drew significant negative feedback from netizens, leading to comparisons with JYP's past iconic groups and sparking heated debate.

In fact, OURBIRTHDAY had already generated buzz over their stage names even before their official debut. On July 22, the group officially released their first digital single, "HUNGRY," along with the performance video. Previously released dance teasers had also quickly gone viral online.

However, many netizens criticized the choreography, finding it lacked highlights. They argued that the dance arrangement, members' skills, and stage presence were incomparable to JYP's previous girl groups. Some even directly stated that in a highly competitive K-pop market with a saturated idol scene, OURBIRTHDAY failed to bring enough freshness.

Numerous netizens left harsh comments, saying, "I can't believe this group is from the same company as TWICE, GOT7, Wonder Girls, 2PM, and miss A," and "The market is already so saturated, why launch a new group with no unique characteristics?" These comments questioned the necessity of JYP debuting a new girl group, putting OURBIRTHDAY under considerable pressure right after their debut.

Currently, the agency has introduced three members: Cho Hyejin (조혜진) from Korea, Achiraya from Thailand, and Hsieh Jiaxuan (謝佳軒) from Taiwan. This marks JYP's first new girl group in four years since NMIXX.

Among them, 17-year-old Taiwanese member Hsieh Jiaxuan garnered significant attention upon her first appearance, becoming JYP's second Taiwanese girl group member after TWICE's Tzuyu. With her delicate features and fresh aura, her reveal sparked heated discussions on Korean online communities, and many fans are eagerly anticipating her stage performance after her official debut.

However, what sparked even more discussion than her appearance was Hsieh Jiaxuan's stage name, "Baby." After its official announcement, many Korean netizens bluntly called it "one of the worst stage names in K-pop history." Reportedly, Hsieh Jiaxuan's birth name is Hsieh Jiaxuan (謝佳軒), and her English name is Angela Baby Hsieh, leading to the adoption of "Baby" as her stage name. However, due to the strong similarity between "Angela Baby" and the stage name of Chinese actress Angelababy (楊穎), many netizens found it easily confusing, unexpectedly igniting another wave of discussion.