BABYMONSTER MV “Choom” became a hit instantly and got a huge number of views. Because of this, people are once again arguing about their success on YouTube.
The MV dropped on May 4 with BABYMONSTER’s third EP, Choom, and quickly passed 14 million views shortly after release. Within days, it had surged past 25 million views and hit No. 1 on YouTube’s global trending chart. By May 7, the video had climbed to more than 36 million views, holding the top spot on YouTube’s worldwide trending ranking for multiple days.
The real argument online is how many of those BABYMONSTER Choom MV views were actually organic.
Why Fans are Doubting the Numbers
Across K-pop communities, many people are criticizing YG Entertainment for using too many YouTube ads. Fans and observers say the company is paying a lot to boost BABYMONSTER’s view counts. Some feel this inflates the view count, making it hard to tell how many people are actually watching the video naturally. It makes the group look more popular than they actually are.
People are also discussing how YouTube counts views on a video. Some say YG Entertainment labels their videos as “social” or “lifestyle” instead of “music.” Fans believe this helps the videos avoid the strict rules YouTube usually uses to check K-pop views.
This difference in numbers is what sparked the latest round of backlash. While the main view count went up quickly, some estimates circulating online suggested only around 14 million views were organic. The rest of the views are coming from ad traffic or views later filtered out. Multiple reports indicated that the official 24-hour view count for “Choom” was actually around 16.4 million views or 14 million.
Fans argue that YouTube ads are a standard industry tool for “discovery.” They believe that if someone watches a 30-second ad and doesn’t skip, it indicates genuine interest, even if YouTube Charts filters it out as “non-organic.
On social media platforms, critics have coined nicknames like “Ad-Monster” to suggest the group’s viral status is “bought, not earned.” Many people think that if a song is a “real” hit, its view count and chart ranking should match up. They notice that while BABYMONSTER has more views, other groups are higher on the charts. This makes them think those other groups are more popular, while BABYMONSTER’s views might just come from ads.
