BLACKPINK

BLACKPINK (Hangul: 블랙핑크; stylized as **BLACKPINK** or **BLΛƆKPIИK**) is the latest girl group to come out of YG, debuting in 2016, 7 years after 2NE1. They were formed to be the "pretty" and "softer" version of their senior girl group. (See; YGverse). As of 2019 they are the only girl group under YG, and also the most succesful one, due to BIGBANG's army enlisment.

## Pre-debut (2011 - 2016)

Yang Hyun Suk first mentioned creating a new girl group, back in November of 2011. Following him mentioning a new girl group in the making (Nov 8), on the 21st, YG posted a teaser picture about a trainee, named Kim Eunbi, who was set to debut with the girls.

Jennie became a trainee in August of 2010. Making her the first among the now-members to join the agency. Lisa signed to be a trainee in September/October of 2010, after she placed 1st at the YG auditions held in Thailand. Jisoo became a trainee at YG in July of 2011. She explained in an interview, that every one in her family likes to sing, so she wanted to became a singer. Rosé was the last one to become a trainee, as she joined the agency in May of 2012, after passing the auditions in Australia.

On the 6th of April 2012, a video of two trainees, Kim Eunbi and Kim Euna was posted. Later both of them got dropped from the girl group. Slowly the original line-up of 7 girls decreased to 5.

On the 10th, a picture of Jennie was posted under the caption 'Who's that girl?'.

The first picture of Jisoo was revelead on 4th May of 2012, under the caption "Who's that girl?".

A few days later, on the 11th a video and picture of Lisa was posted as well, again using the caption 'Who's that girl?'. August 29th, a video of Jennie is posted on the official YG channel. In the video they revelead her name, age and the languages she speaks.In the video the also used the original name of the group, which was PinkPunk. August 31st, Jennie stars in the music video of G-Dragon, for his song 'That XX'.Reports back then claim that the girls were set to debut that year on September with more than 7 members but for unknown reasons was pushed back January 2013.

YG started 2013 by naming Mystery Girl #2 from the black and white teaser photo as Kim Jisoo. The agency revealed her as the second official member of the upcoming girl group along with 2 new photos. A few days after, a new practice video of Jennie Kim was unveiled to the public. In the video, Jennie is seen sing-rapping to Lotus Flower Bomb by Wale feat. Miguel. Moreover, Jennie was featured on “Special”, a track from Lee Hi’s first full-length album.

Though the girls were supposed to debut early that year, YG later announced another postponement through “FROM YG” on June 19. He said that they are planning to debut the girls on October 2013 with the remaining 6 members adopting an unconventional debut promotion. He further disclosed that the members are multilingual who are fluent in Korean, English and Japanese. Unfortunately, Kim Euna dropped out and left the agency before the supposed debut.

Regardless of the delay that year, the revealed members were still seen on some of YG artists’ projects. For one, Jennie continued to lend her voice to her seniors – this time to Big Bang’s Seungri for the song, “GG BE’ and G-Dragon’s “Black” for their respective comebacks. She even had a chance to perform live, predebut, on music shows to promote “Black”.

It was in 2014 when we first saw Lisa as a product endorser when she joined iKON’s B.I. and Bobby in modelling for YG’s clothing line, Nonagon/Nona9on. In addition that year, Jisoo took part in Epik High’s “Spoiler” + “Happen Ending” music video and acted as a couple with iKON’s Bobby on HISUHYUN’s “I’m Different” music video. It was also revealed then that Kpopstar contestant, Jang Hanna, joined YG with the possibility of her joining the new girl group which was reportedly to be making a debut on November 2014. Sadly, Kim Eunbi withdraws from the group due to health reasons.

2015 is no doubt Kim Jisoo’s year! Jisoo has landed 4 endorsements that year! She had promotional shoots and commercial filmings for various products and services namely, Samsonite Red, Nikon, AngelStone, Smart Uniform. She even had the opportunity to be on print and tv with Hallyu star Lee Minho and labelmate group, iKON. Jisoo has also cameo-ed with YG Fam actors, Kang Seungyoon and Sandara Park on KBS’ drama, “The Producers”, as fictional regular casts of KBS’ variety show, “2 Days, 1 Night”.

Early 2016, Lisa and Jisoo continued to impress us with their amazing visuals through Nonagon and Smart Uniform. Adding to the growing list of Jisoo’s endorsements is LG Mobiles’s Stylus2 & X Series with iKON. As soon as the summer heat of 2016 was felt, YG once again hyped fans by announcing that the new girl group is finally going to debut on July with Teddy, YG’s resident producer, leading the production of the girls’ debut repertoire. It was also reported that international choreographers and high-quality directors were involved in the upcoming girl group’s debut preparation and promotion. YGE has also debunked the idea of previously revealed YG trainees, Jang Hanna and Moon Sua, joining the group.

The members of the group was said to be revealed one by one every week starting on June 1 2016. Jennie was first and YG posted 7 photos of her, each conveying different concepts and expressions. Next was Lisa with photos highlighting her slender body and long legs. On June 15, it was Jisoo’s turn exuding with sweet and innocent aura. Last but certainly not the least, Rosé’s photo teasers were unveiled along with the information that she’s a Korean who was born and raised in Australia. YG also confirmed that she was the featured singer on G-Dragon’s 2012 track, “”결국” (In The End/Without You). A week following that, on June 29th, YG revealed that the group is complete and is named “BLACKPINK”, a name to mean that the group is not just pretty visuals but also talented individuals. It was further explained that while “PINK” is described to be feminine and pretty, the group’s visual is not only what they have to offer as the “BLACK” at the front of their name symbolizes a premium meaning like that of specially labelled products suggesting the members are talented as well.

Ahead of the debut, YGE posted onto BLACKPINK’s official Youtube channel a dance practice video of the group covering Parris Geobel & The Royal Family’s choreography to Rihanna’s “B\*\*\*\* Better Have My Money”. Furthermore, BLACKPINK opened their official Instagram account and Facebook page.

On the 29th of July, YG announced their debut date to be 888, August 8th at 8PM KST along with a teaser photo followed by reports that BLACKPINK has completed filming 3 music videos and that Teddy already finished the upcoming girl group’s debut album after 2 years of preparation.

It was August 3 when YGE started its countdown to BLACKPINK’s debut. Individual and group photos were uploaded on YG’s official blog site containing phrases like IN YOUR AREA” and “SQUARE ONE”. The agency also said that the upcoming girl group will debut with 2 singles showcasing them for the first time through Naver VLive/VApp on August 8 at 3pm KST. The girls will have their debut stage on SBS Inkigayo on August 14.

Finally, on August 5, revealed one of its debut singles, “BOOMBAYAH”, a song produced and written by Teddy with the help of Bekah Boom. This song’s music video is directed by Seo Hyun Seung who is behind 2NE1’s “I Am The Best”, “Fire” and “I Love You” as well as Big Bang’s “Fantastic Baby” music videos. Four renowned foreign choreographers have also participated in creating the moves for BLACKPINK’s debut single/performance.

The group was previously rumored to be named Dream/Dreamers, TLC-F (combination of International pop group TLC and 1st generation female Kpop group Fin.K.L), and Pink Punk (as seen on Jennie Kim’s trainee practice video) at some point in time. It was also revealed in the past that there were at least 10 to a dozen girls vying to be part of the so-called “YG SNSD”. Also, as seen on Lisa’s first video teaser (Who’s That Girl???: The 5th), there were about 7 female trainees dancing  in the background with Eunbi, Euna and Jennie clearly spotted. Initially, from 10-12, it has shrunk to 6, then to 4 as we know now.

Reports back then say that G-Dragon will be the main producer of the group and just recently there were news published that he produced a song or two for them too.

## 2016 Debut, first comeback

Blackpink was the first girl group to debut under YG Entertainment in seven years after 2NE1, with their debut single album *Square One*, which was released on August 8, 2016. The two lead singles charted at number one and two on the *Billboard* World Digital Songs chart, and Blackpink is the fastest act to do so and the third Korean artist or group 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. They also reached number one on the weekly, popularity, music video, and K-pop music video charts of China's biggest music-streaming website 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*.

Blackpink released their second single album *Square Two* with the lead singles "Playing with Fire" and "Stay" on November 1, 2016. The songs were produced by Teddy Park with R. Tee and Seo Won Jin. They performed their comeback stage 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 no. 3 while "Stay" managed to reach the 10th spot.

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.

## 2017 As If It's Your Last, Japanese debut

On January 17, Blackpink named their fan club "Blink", a portmanteau of "Black" and "Pink".

On June 22, The group released a digital single titled "As If It's Your Last". The song was described as a "mixed genre of music", 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. It had an attendance of more than 14,000 people and it was reported that around 200,000 people tried to get tickets for it.

The group made their Japanese debut on August 30, 2017, with the release of their self-titled Japanese extended play.

Blackpink was ranked among YouTube's Global Top 25 Songs of the Summer for 2017, with their single "As If It's Your Last".

## 2018–2019: International breakthrough and first world tour

On January 6, 2018, Blackpink released the first episode of their first reality show *Blackpink House*, which comprised 12 episodes released throughout 2018 following the four members spending 100 days of vacation as they moved into their new dorm, via their official V Live and Youtube channels.[72] On March 28, Blackpink re-released their debut Japanese EP 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.[73]

Blackpink at Seoul Music Awards in 2018
On June 15, 2018, the group released their first Korean-language EP, titled *Square Up*.[74] 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.[75] The single also debuted at number 55 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, with 12.4 million U.S. streams and 7,000 downloads in the tracking week ending June 21, 2018, making Blackpink the highest-charting Korean girl group on the chart.[76] The single also debuted at number 39 on the U.S. Streaming Songs chart, making Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to enter the chart.[76] *Square Up* also brought the group their first entry and the highest-charting album by an all-female K-pop group at the time of its release on the *Billboard* 200, debuting at number 40 with 14,000 equivalent units.[77] The EP also topped the *Billboard* World Albums chart.[76] In South Korea, *Square Up* debuted at number one on Gaon Albums Chart.[78] "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.[79][80][81][82] 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 of release at that time.[83]

Blackpink attending a fansign event for *Square Up* held at the AK Plaza in Bundang, June 24, 2018

Blackpink embarked on their sold-out first Japan tour, Blackpink Arena Tour 2018, in Osaka from July 24 to 25 to promote their Japanese EP. The tour was initially set for six shows throughout Osaka, Fukuoka and Chiba, but an additional show in Chiba was added due to overwhelming demand.[84] A final stop of the tour was later added for December 24 at Kyocera Dome Osaka as a Christmas gift for fans, where they performed to a sold-out crowd of 50,000.[85] On September 12, it was announced that the group would hold their first concert in Seoul, Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.[86] The concert was the first of the In Your Area World Tour, which continued throughout 2019 and early 2020 in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. The tour ultimately became the highest-grossing tour by a Korean girl group by the end of its run.[87]

On October 19, English singer Dua Lipa released "Kiss and Make Up" with Blackpink, a new track on the re-released edition of her self-titled debut album.[88] "Kiss and Make Up" debuted at number 93 on 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.[89] The song also became their second entry in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 36, and their first top 40 entry. They were the first female Korean group and third Korean act overall to reach the top 40.[90]

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.[91] In November 2018, Blackpink announced additional tour dates for their In Your Area World Tour, which covered thirteen dates across Asia from January to March 2019.[92] Jennie made her solo debut with her single "Solo" at Blackpink's Seoul concert on November 11; both the song and its official music video were released the following day.[93] Their first Japanese studio album, *Blackpink in Your Area*, was made available digitally on November 23 and physically on December 5.[94] The album included Japanese versions of all of their previous releases and debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart, selling an estimated 13,000 copies in its first week.[95]

Blackpink performing at the Amsterdam stop of their In Your Area World Tour on May 18, 2019
Blackpink made their American debut at the Universal Music Group's 2019 Grammy Artist Showcase, an invite-only event at the ROW in Downtown Los Angeles on February 9, 2019.[96] The group subsequently appeared on several American television shows, including *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert* and *Good Morning America*.[97][98][99] That March, they became the first-ever K-pop girl group to cover *Billboard* magazine.[100]

Blackpink's third extended play, *Kill This Love*, was released on April 5, 2019 alongside a single of the same name.[101] *Kill This Love* debuted at number 24 on the *Billboard* 200, while the lead single reached number 41 on the Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting releases by a female Korean act on the two major *Billboard* charts.[102] "Kill This Love" ranked at number 66 on *Billboard*'s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2019.[103] 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 their second to achieve a platinum certification for downloads from the Korea Music Content Association, after "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du".[104] Blackpink performed at the 2019 Coachella Festival on April 12 and 19, 2019, making them the first female K-pop group to do so.[105] The group's Coachella set was well received by both critics and fans alike, with Gab Ginsberg of *Billboard* calling the show "electrifying" and "unforgettable".[106][107]

On October 16, 2019, a Japanese version of *Kill This Love* was released to the Japanese market, peaking at number 17 on the Oricon Albums Chart.[108] 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*.[109] Blackpink were voted *PAPER* magazine's K-pop Sensation of the Year for the 2019 edition of their annual Break the Internet Awards™ list.[110]

## 2020–present: *The Album* and The Show

On April 22, it was confirmed the group would be collaborating with Lady Gaga for her sixth studio album, *Chromatica*, on the track titled "Sour Candy", which was released as a promotional single on May 28, 2020.[111] On the *Billboard* Hot 100, the song debuted at number 33, giving Gaga her 25th top 40 hit and Blackpink their first, becoming the group's highest-charting song in the United States at the time, as well as the highest-charting song by a K-pop girl group. In Australia, the song debuted at number eight, becoming Blackpink's highest-charting hit in the country.[112] It was also their first top-twenty single in the UK, debuting at number 17.[113]

On May 18, YG Entertainment announced the group would release a pre-release single in June, followed by an additional single release between July and August, to promote their first Korean studio album.[114][115] On June 2, YG Entertainment confirmed that following the release of the studio album, members Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo would release individual projects, with Rosé's coming first.[116] In the midst of the group's comeback preparations, YG Entertainment released a prologue of Blackpink's newest reality show, *24/365 with Blackpink*, on June 13, ahead of its launch on YouTube. The show documents their 2020 comebacks alongside sharing their daily lives through vlogs.[117] The single "How You Like That" was heavily teased on social media in the lead up to its digital release on June 26.[118][119] It debuted at number 12 on the Gaon Digital Chart with just one day and 16 hours of tracking and peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital, Download, and Streaming charts in its second week.[120] "How You Like That" became Blackpink's fifth song to chart on the *Billboard* Hot 100 (peaking at number 33), and its music video broke five Guinness World Records.[121] The song ranked first in Youtube Music's Global Top 10 Songs of Summer 2020[122] and won Song of Summer at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, making Blackpink the first Korean female act to win at the award show.[123] On July 23, YG Entertainment announced that a second single, "Ice Cream", with American singer Selena Gomez, would be released on August 28.[124][125] "Ice Cream" debuted and peaked at number 13 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, making it Blackpink's highest-charting song on the chart.[126]

Blackpink in 2020
Blackpink released their first Korean studio album, *The Album*, on October 2, 2020, with "Lovesick Girls" as its third and main single.[127] Leading up to the exclusive video premiere of their music video for "Lovesick Girls," Blackpink appeared on Youtube's new original music show *Released* as its first featured artist, which included "unfiltered access" moments of the group.[128] *The Album* peaked at number two on the *Billboard* 200 and the UK Album Chart, making Blackpink the highest-charting Korean female act on each chart.[129][130] The album also set a first-week album sales record for a Korean girl group, with 590,000 copies sold in just one day after the physical album's release.[131] Blackpink became the first-ever million-selling K-pop girl group with *The Album*, selling approximately 1.2 million copies in less than one month after release.[132] Blackpink performed "Lovesick Girls" on *Good Morning America* and *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* in the United States on October 21.[133]

The group's first documentary film, *Blackpink: Light Up the Sky*, premiered on Netflix on October 14, 2020 and covered the four years since the group's debut in 2016. The documentary included footage from their training days, looks at their home lives, behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with the members, as well as glimpses into the making of *The Album*.[134] The successful release of *The Album*, combined with the group's Netflix documentary, resulted in Blackpink topping *Bloomberg*'s Pop Star Power Ranking for the month of October; Blackpink are the first Korean artist to top the ranking since its inception in April of that year.[135][136]

On December 2, Blackpink announced their collaboration with YouTube Music for their first livestream concert. The live event, dubbed as "The Show," was initially set to take place on December 27, 2020, but due to new COVID-19 pandemic regulations that were introduced in South Korea, it was rescheduled to January 31, 2021.[137] The concert featured the first performances of several songs from *The Album*, as well as of Rosé's song "Gone" from her first solo single album *-R-*.[138] It was later revealed that more than 280,000 people purchased a membership to get access to the show.
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## Members

 Jennie (제니)
 Rosé (로제)
 Lisa (리사)
 Miyeon (미연)

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## Discography

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### Korean

#### Live albums

* *BLACKPINK 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul* (2019)

#### Mini albums

* *Square Up* (2018)
* *Kill This Love* (2019)

#### Digital singles

* "Square One" (2016)
* "Square Two" (2016)
* "As If It's Your Last" (2017)

#### Collaborations

* "Kiss and Make Up" Template:Small (2018)
* "Sour Candy" Template:Small (2020)
* "Ice Cream" Template:Small (2020)

#### Other releases

* "So Hot (TheBlackLabel Remix)" (2017)
* "Awesome Phone Song" (2020)

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### Japanese

#### Studio albums

* *BLACKPINK In Your Area* (2018)
* *Kill This Love -JP Ver.-* (2019)

#### Live albums

* *BLACKPINK Arena Tour 2018 "Special Final in Kyocera Dome Osaka"* (2019)
* *BLACKPINK 2019-2020 World Tour In Your Area - Tokyo Dome* (2020)

#### Mini albums

* *BLACKPINK* (2017)
	+ *Re: BLACKPINK* Template:Small (2018)

#### Other releases

* *Natsukoi Basket♪* Template:Small (2020)

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## Concerts

### Solo concerts

* BLACKPINK 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card (2018)

### World tours

* BLACKPINK 2019-2020 World Tour [In Your Area] (2019-2020)

## Endorsements

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* Moonshot (2016)
* Classic (2016)
* St. Scott LONDON (2016–17)
* LG G6 (2017)
* TREVI Stylish Sparkling Water (2017)
* Shibuya 109 (2017)
* Dior Cosmetics (2017)
* Popteen Japan (2017)
* Zipper Japan (2017)
* S Cawaii! (2017)
* Numéro Japan (2017)
* PUMA Suede Bow Japan (2018)
* Sprite (2018)
* Tokyo Girls Collection x CECIL McBEE (2018)

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* Louis Vuitton (2018)
* Olens Korea (2018)
* Adidas Korea (2018)
* CRUUM Japan (2018)
* GUESS Korea (2018)
* Shopee Indonesia (2018)
* Vinyl Makeup (2018)
* KitKat Japan (2018)
* Mise en scene (2018)
* Wooribank (2019)
* Paradise City (2019)
* Samsung (2019)
* Pepsi (2020)
* PUBG Mobile (2020)
* GLOBE (2021)
* Tokopedia (2021)

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