Blackpink
Blackpink (Hangul: 블랙핑크; commonly stylized as BLACKPINK or BLΛƆKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment that consists of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted on August 8, 2016, with their single album Square One, which spawned their first number-one single in South Korea, "Whistle", and the first number one hit on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, "Boombayah".
Blackpink is the highest-charting female K-pop act on both Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, peaking at number 33 with "Sour Candy" (2020) and number 24 with Kill This Love (2019), respectively. They were the first K-pop girl group to enter and top Billboard's Emerging Artists chart and the first female K-pop group to have four number-one singles on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart. Blackpink is the most-followed female group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group on YouTube and has broken numerous YouTube records throughout their career. Singles "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" (2018) and "How You Like That" (2020) produced the most-viewed Korean music video in 24 hours and most-viewed music video overall in 24 hours; the former became the most-viewed music video by a K-pop group on YouTube.
They have been recognized as New Artist of the Year at the 31st Golden Disc Awards and the 26th Seoul Music Awards and as the most powerful celebrities in South Korea in 2019 by Forbes Korea.
History
2016–2017: Debut, rising popularity, and commercial success
Blackpink released their second single album, Square Two, with the singles "Playing with Fire" and "Stay" on November 1, 2016. The songs were produced by Teddy Park with R. Tee and Seo Won Jin. The group performed their on Inkigayo on November 6 and on Mnet's M Countdown on November 10, 2016. "Playing with Fire" was their second single to hit number one on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. In South Korea, "Playing with Fire" peaked at number three while "Stay" reach the top ten. Blackpink's commercial success in their first five months earned them several rookie awards at major Korean year-end music award shows, including the Asia Artist Awards, Melon Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Gaon Chart Music Awards. Additionally, Billboard named them one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016. Promotional preparations began in August 2016 with the release of teaser images, songs, and advertisements. YG Entertainment revealed the final line-up and name of the group on June 29, 2016. Blackpink was the first girl group to debut under YG Entertainment in six years, and their debut single album Square One was released on August 8, 2016, led by "Boombayah" and "Whistle". The two singles charted at number one and two on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, and Blackpink became the fastest act to achieve this and the third Korean artist to hold the top two positions, after label mates Psy and Big Bang. "Whistle" topped the digital, download, streaming, and mobile charts on Gaon in August 2016. The group also reached number one on the weekly, popularity, music video, and K-pop music video charts of China's biggest music-streaming service, QQ Music. Blackpink's first music show performance was aired on August 14, 2016, on SBS' Inkigayo. They won first place on Inkigayo 13 days after their debut and broke the record for the shortest time for a girl group to win on a music program after their debut. They wrapped up their promotions for Square One on September 11, 2016, with another win on Inkigayo.
On January 17, 2017, Blackpink revealed the name of their fan club—"Blinks", a portmanteau of "Black" and "Pink". On June 22, the group released a standalone digital single titled "As If It's Your Last". It was described as a "mixed genre of music" and a change of sound from their previous releases. The song debuted at number one on Billboard's World Digital Song chart dated June 22 after only one day of tracking, making it their third number one hit on the chart. The music video for the song later went on to break the record for the most-liked music video by a Korean girl group on YouTube. On July 20, 2017, Blackpink held a showcase at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, attended by more than 14,000 people with as many as 200,000 people attempting to purchase get tickets. The group made their Japanese debut on August 30, 2017, with the release of a self-titled Japanese extended play that included Japanese versions of their previous singles. Blackpink ranked among YouTube's Global Top 25 Songs of the Summer for 2017 with "As If It's Your Last".
2018–2019: International breakthrough, Blackpink in Your Area and world tour
In January 2018, it was announced that the group's debut Japanese EP would be re-released under the name Re: Blackpink. The digital version included the same songs as the original release, while the physical version included a DVD containing all music videos and six songs in the Korean language.
On July 7, the final stop of the tour was added for December 24 at Kyocera Dome Osaka as a Christmas gift for fans, which made them the first overseas girl group to perform at a domed stadium in Japan. They embarked on their first Japan tour, Blackpink Arena Tour 2018, in Osaka on July 24–25. On September 12, it was announced that the group would hold their first concert in Seoul titled "Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card" at Olympic Gymnastics Arena. On June 15, 2018, the group released its first Korean-language EP, titled Square Up. The lead single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted at number 17 on the Official Trending Chart in the United Kingdom, making them the first female K-pop group to enter the chart since its launch in 2016. The single also debuted as the highest-charting Hot 100 hit ever by a female K-pop act, opening at number 55 with 12.4 million U.S. streams and 7,000 downloads in the tracking week ending June 21, 2018. The single also debuted at number 39 on the US Streaming Songs tally, where Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to chart a track. Square Up also brought the group their first entry and the highest-charting album to date by an all-female K-pop group on the US Billboard 200, debuting at number 40 with 14,000 equivalent units. The EP also topped the Billboard World Albums chart. In South Korea, Square Up debuted at number one on Gaon Albums Chart. "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" peaked at number one on the digital, download, streaming, and mobile charts on Gaon in its second week, while "Forever Young" peaked at number two. YouTube's official tally saw the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" garner a total of 36.2 million views within 24 hours after its release, making it the most viewed online video in the first 24 hours by a Korean act and the second most-watched music video of all time in first 24 hours at the time.
English singer Dua Lipa released "Kiss and Makeup" with Blackpink, a new track for the re-released edition of her self-titled debut album, on October 19, 2018. "Kiss and Make Up" debuted at number 93 at the Billboard Hot 100, marking Blackpink's second entry in the chart and making them the only Korean girl group to score multiple entries on the chart. The song became also their second entry in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 36, and their first top 40 entry. They were the first female K-pop group and third Korean act overall to reach the top 40.
In October 2018, the group signed with Interscope Records in a global partnership with YG Entertainment; they were to be represented by Interscope and Universal Music Group outside of Asia. In November 2018, Blackpink announced additional tour dates for their In Your Area World Tour, which covered thirteen dates around Asia from January through March 2019. Jennie debuted her solo single, "Solo", at Blackpink's Seoul concert on November 11; both the song and its official music video were released the following day. Their first Japanese studio album, Blackpink in Your Area, was made available digitally on November 23 and physically on December 5, 2018. The album included Japanese versions of all of their previously released material and debuted at number 9 on the Japanese album chart, selling an estimated 13,000 copies in its first week.
Blackpink's third EP, Kill This Love, led by a single of the same name, was released on April 5, 2019. Blackpink performed at the 2019 Coachella Festival on April 12 and 19, 2019, and became the first female K-pop group to do so. The EP debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200, while the single reached number 41 on the Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting releases by a female Korean act on the Billboard charts. "Kill This Love" was included on to Billboard's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2019: "If there were doors remaining for Blackpink to bust through, they were evaporated by the first horn blasts of 'Kill This Love', a song that sounds practically biblical in its sonic might." The song "Forever Young", released as a B-side from the EP Square Up (2018), surpassed 2.5 million downloads in December 2019, making it the group's fifth song overall and they're second to achieve a platinum certification for downloads from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Blackpink made their American debut at Universal Music Group's 2019 Grammy Artist Showcase, an invite-only event at the ROW in Downtown Los Angeles on February 9.[54] The group appeared on several American television shows in February, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Good Morning America.[55][56][57] In March, they became the first K-pop girl group to cover Billboard magazine.
On October 16, 2019, a Japanese version of their EP Kills This Love was released to the Japanese market. The group embarked to Japan for a variety of promotional activities, including appearances on Japanese music television programs TV Asahi's Music Station and Fuji TV's Love Music.
2020: Upcoming studio album
On April 22, it was confirmed the group would be featured on Lady Gaga's sixth studio album Chromatica, on the track titled "Sour Candy", which was released as a promotional single on May 28, 2020. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song debuted at number 33, giving Gaga her 25th top 40 hits and Blackpink their first, becoming their highest charting song in the United States to date as well as the highest-charting song by a K-pop girl group. In Australia, the song debuted at number 8, becoming Blackpink's highest charting position in the country. It also became their first top-twenty single in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 17.
On May 18, YG Entertainment announced the group would premiere a pre-release single in June, followed by an additional release between July and August, to promote their first Korean full-length album in September. On June 2, YG Entertainment confirmed that following the release of the group's first full-length album, members Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo will release their solo projects, with Rosé’s solo album releasing first. Their single "How You Like That" was heavily teased on social media leading up to is digital release on June 26. In the midst of comeback preparations, YG Entertainment released a prologue of Blackpink's newest reality show, 24/365 with Blackpink, on June 13 ahead of launch through YouTube. The show will document their comeback alongside sharing their lives through vlogs.
Awards and achievements
Blackpink's accolades include three People's Choice Awards, a Teen Choice Award, five Gaon Chart Music Awards, four Golden Disc Awards, three Melon Music Awards, four Mnet Asian Music Awards, two Seoul Music Awards, and five Guinness World Records.
In January 2019, the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" became the most-watched music video by a South Korean group, surpassing BTS' "DNA". In November 2019, the video surpassed one billion views. In September 2019, Blackpink overtook One Direction as the music group with the highest number of subscribers on YouTube. In November 2019, Blackpink surpassed Fifth Harmony and Little Mix to became the most followed girl group on Spotify. Following the release of "How You Like That" (2020) and its music video, Blackpink broke several Guinness World Records, including those for the most-viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours and the most viewers for the premiere of a video on YouTube.
In 2019, Blackpink was listed on Time Magazine's "Time 100 Next", a list of 100 rising stars, which launched that year. Forbes Korea Power Celebrity has named Blackpink the most influential celebrities of Korea in 2019 and the third most influential celebrities in Korea in 2020.
Members
Other ventures
Philanthropy
In April 2019, Blackpink made a donation of ₩40 million to the Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief for the victims of the Sokcho wildfire in South Korea.
Endorsements
DiscographyIn May 2017, Blackpink became ambassadors for Incheon Main Customs. The group has endorsed and collaborated with several high-end brands including Puma, Reebok, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Dior Cosmetics, Moonshot, St. Scott London, Shibuya 109, Tokyo Girls Collection x CECIL McBee, and Sprite Korea. In July 2018, the group ranked first for brand reputation based on analysis by The Korea Reputation Research Institute. In November 2018, Blackpink became a regional brand ambassador for a Singaporean e-commerce platform, Shopee.
- Blackpink in Your Area (2018)
Filmography
- Blackpink House (2018, Vlive / YouTube / JTBC2)
- YG Future Strategy Office (2018, Netflix)
- Blackpink X Star Road (2018, Vlive)
- Blackpink Diaries (2019, Vlive / YouTube)
- 24/365 with Blackpink (2020, YouTube)
Headlining concerts
- Blackpink Japan Premium Debut Showcase (2017)
Headlining tours
- Blackpink Arena Tour 2018
- Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card
- Blackpink 2019 World Tour (In Your Area)
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