YG Entertainment’s new girl group member Chanya sparks controversy over age
YG Entertainment announced their upcoming new girl group with four already-selected members. The company revealed Evelli first on May 27, followed by 14-year-old Chanya from Thailand on June 15.
Chanya’s profile shows she’s a vocalist, has trained for 2 years and 8 months, and speaks Thai, English, and Korean.
Fans had mixed reactions. Many praised the group, especially welcoming a new addition to YG’s “Thai line.” But criticism quickly grew over Chanya’s young age.
“idk about y’all but stanning a group with members under 15 is so icky and weird especially with how evil both the internet and industry is” – @jaeuyvns
“2010 and trained for 2 years and 8 months… ” – @gawonsrosie
“Debuting at 14 after almost 3 years of training is criminal lmao a whole child literally” – @ppionaissante
Others called out YG for apparently trying to replicate BLACKPINK’s formula, noting Evelli being Australian like Rosé and Chanya from Thailand joining the mix.
“its so crazy to me how they want every gg of theirs to have the next lisa like bro chill” – @pporappippamed
“Yg promoting their new gg members before their supposed to be blackpink cb has to be the biggest set up . Like no matter how much you try you can never replace blackpink ” – @BP4ACES
“yg and their obsession to recreate bp just notice their gg having a thai member” – @jensetteur
The debut date for the group has not been announced yet.
Watch Chanya’s introduction here.
