Blackpink in Your Area
October 2, 2022
After two years of no group activity, Blackpink released their new album Born Pink on September 16, 2022. Along with the pre-release song, “Pink Venom,” their second album has 8 songs ranging from hip-pop to synth-pop. Born Pink hit Number 1 on the Billboard 200, the first girl group to do so in 13 years.
Originating from South Korea, Blackpink is a four-member group that YG Entertainment formed. Members include Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Debuting in 2016 with the songs “Whistle” and “Boombayah,” they found early success, but it wasn’t until two years later did their popularity really skyrocket. With the release of “Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du,” Blackpink’s dominance has been going nowhere but up since then.
Back when they first debuted in 2016, they were the first Korean girl group to chart on the Canadian Hot 100. Fast-forward 2 years later, and they have the most viewed video by a K-pop group, the song being “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du,” which then was the first video by a K-pop artist with one billion views on YouTube (Wikipedia). When “How You Like That” came out in 2020, five Guinness World Records were broken by Blackpink including most viewers for a video premiere on YouTube (1.66 million) and most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours of release, 86.3 million views (though both of these records have since been broken)(Guinness World Records). This year, Blackpink and fellow member Lisa won 2 awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, Best Metaverse Performance Winner with BLACKPINK The Virtual PUBG, and Best K-Pop with “Lalisa.” This achievement made Lisa “the first solo female K-pop star and Korean soloist to win a VMA” (Rolling Stone). Along with many other musical accomplishments, Blackpink has been making their mark on the music business, performing at Coachella, the VMAs, and various late-night shows.
While being successful in music, Blackpink also has had an impact on the fashion industry. All members of Blackpink are ambassadors and have endorsement deals from luxury designer brands. Jisoo is an ambassador of Dior Beauty, Jennie has a contract with Chanel Korea Beauty, Rosé with Tiffany & Co and Yves Saint Laurent, and Lisa is an ambassador of Celine. Each member has been a part of Paris Fashion Week, modeling for their endorsement brands and attending since 2019. In 2021, Rosé attended the Met Gala, making her the first female K-pop idol to attend, along with rapper CL (Billboard). Their many fashion appearances have made the Korean group well known in the apparel industry.
Several members also are skilled actresses. Member Jisoo made her acting debut in December 2021 with Snowdrop. This show made her named the Outstanding Korean Actress at the 2022 Seoul International Drama Awards. With Jennie making her first acting appearance in a month, this makes two out of four members present in the acting world. This October on HBO, The Idol is said to be the start of Jennie’s acting career, starring celebrities including Lily Rose-Depp, Troye Sivan, and The Weeknd (Kbizoom). As a group, Blackpink has had their own documentary on Netflix, Blackpink: Light Up the Sky which shed light on the road to their performance in 2019 at Coachella (CNN Entertainment). With other members expressing their interest in acting, there will probably be more Blackpink appearances in the media as time passes.
With the support of their fan base, “Blinks,” Blackpink has had sold-out concerts from Europe to Oceania. With their new album, Blackpink announced a world tour to go along with it, going to North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, lasting from October 15, 2022, to June 21, 2023 (Billboard). The influence of Blackpink only continues to grow with the release of their new album. Sophia Mou (9) stated, “Blackpink spreads Korean culture to the people who listen to their music and inspires others to pursue their passion.”