BLACKPINK

**Blackpink** (Korean: 블랙핑크; RR: *Beullaekpingkeu*, stylized in all caps or as **BLɅϽKPIИK**) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Dubbed the "biggest girl group in the world", they are considered the most successful Korean girl group internationally and one of the leaders of the Korean Wave. They are stylistically associated with the "girl crush" concept in K-pop—exploring themes of self-confidence and female empowerment.

Blackpink debuted in August 2016 with their single album *Square One*, which featured "Whistle" and "Boombayah", their first number-one entries on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and the US *Billboard* World Digital Songs chart, respectively. It was followed by the single album *Square Two* in November, whose song "Playing with Fire" was the first by a Korean girl group to enter the *Billboard* Canadian Hot 100. The group expanded their global reach with "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" (2018), which was the first song by a Korean female group to enter the UK Singles Chart and receive a certification in the United States. Its music video was the first by a Korean group to surpass one and two billion views on YouTube, and remains the most-viewed by a Korean group to date. Their music videos for "Kill This Love" (2019) and "How You Like That" (2020) each set records for the most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release, with the latter breaking five Guinness World Records.

Blackpink is the highest-charting female Korean act on the US *Billboard* Hot 100, peaking at number 13 with "Ice Cream" (2020), and on the US *Billboard* 200, peaking at number one with *Born Pink* (2022). Blackpink's studio albums *The Album* (2020) and *Born Pink* each broke the record for the best-selling female album of all time in South Korea, becoming the first to surpass one million and two million copies sold, respectively. *Born Pink* was the first album by a girl group to reach number one on the *Billboard* 200 since Danity Kane in 2008 and set two Guinness World Records as the first album by a Korean girl group to top the *Billboard* 200 as well as the UK Albums Chart. The album's lead single "Pink Venom" (2022) was the first song by a Korean group to reach number one on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart and the first by a girl group to reach number one on the *Billboard* Global 200.

Blackpink have broken numerous records throughout their career; their Born Pink World Tour (2022–23) became the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group, and they were the first Asian act to headline Coachella. They have the most-subscribed and most-viewed music artist channel on YouTube, and are the most-followed and most-streamed girl group on Spotify. Blackpink's other accolades include several Golden Disc Awards, *Billboard* Music Awards, People's Choice Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards, among them the first Group of the Year win by a girl group in the 21st century. They were the first girl group to enter *Forbes*' 30 Under 30 Asia, and were named *Time*'s 2022 Entertainer of the Year. The group has been acknowledged as one of the most powerful celebrities in South Korea by *Forbes* Korea (ranking within the top three in 2019–23), and by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in as a global phenomenon helping spread K-pop worldwide.

## Career

### 2010-2016: Formation and pre-debut activities

Blackpink began forming when YG Entertainment held tryouts worldwide for preteen or teenage recruits to create a new girl group after launching its first major one, 2NE1, in 2009. According to the members, joining the label as trainees was akin to enrolling in a full-time pop-star academy, with Jennie describing the experience as "more strict than school" and Rosé comparing it to *The X Factor* with dorm rooms. For members who had left their lives outside of South Korea, the pace of training alongside the culture shock was especially difficult. Preparations for Blackpink's debut began as early as 2011, when YG Entertainment revealed on November 14 that their new girl group would debut in the early half of 2012 and feature at least seven members. Since then, numerous news and rumors surfaced surrounding the new girl group's debut being delayed, although there had been no official information. It was only on May 18, 2016, that YG Entertainment confirmed the girl group would debut that July, stating that the members were selected through years of stiff competition. The label later confirmed that Jang Hanna and Moon Sua, who were introduced to the public as potential members of the new girl group, were not included in the lineup.

Jennie was the first group member revealed, on June 1, 2016. She joined YG Entertainment as a trainee in 2010 after moving back to South Korea from New Zealand. She had been introduced to the public for the first time in 2012 in a photo titled "Who's that girl?" on YG Entertainment's website on April 10. Jennie continued to be promoted as a member of the new girl group through multiple collaborations: she starred in the music video for G-Dragon's "That XX" (2012) from his EP *One of a Kind* and featured in the songs "Black" (2013), from his album *Coup d'Etat*, and "Special" (2013), from Lee Hi's album *First Love*. Lisa was revealed as the new girl group's second member on June 8, 2016. She was the only individual among 4,000 applicants to pass the 2010 YG Entertainment audition in her native country Thailand and became the label's first foreign trainee in 2011. She was first introduced in May 2012 in a video that was posted on YG Entertainment's YouTube channel, titled "Who's that girl???". Lisa also appeared in the music video for Taeyang's "Ringa Linga" in 2013. She became a spokesperson for street-wear brand Nona9on in 2015 and cosmetics brand Moonshot in 2016.

Jisoo was revealed as the new group's third member on June 15, 2016. She joined YG Entertainment as a trainee in July 2011 and appeared in several advertisements and music videos in her pre-debut years, including the music videos for Epik High's "Spoiler + Happy Ending" (2014) from their album *Shoebox* and Hi Suhyun's "I'm Different" (2014). Jisoo also made a cameo appearance in 2015 drama *The Producers*. Rosé was the final member to be revealed, on June 22, 2016. She ranked first among 700 applicants in the 2012 YG Entertainment audition in Australia, after which she signed a trainee contract with the label and moved to Seoul to begin training. She featured in G-Dragon's track "Without You" (2012) from *One of a Kind*, credited as "? from YG New Girl Group" until her official public introduction.
On June 29, YG Entertainment confirmed that the new girl group would have four members instead of the originally planned nine and revealed its official name as Blackpink. According to a label representative, the group's name meant "pretty isn't everything" and symbolized that "they are a team that encompasses not only beauty, but also great talent". Jisoo later disclosed in a press conference that other group names under consideration included Pink Punk, Baby Monster, and Magnum. Blackpink released their first dance practice video on July 6, which garnered much public attention. On July 29, YG Entertainment confirmed that Blackpink's debut would be on August 8, 2016.

### 2016-2017: Debut, rising popularity and commercial success

Promotions for the group's debut began in the first week of August 2016 with the release of teaser images, videos, and advertisements. The first girl group to debut under YG Entertainment in seven years, Blackpink released their debut single album, *Square One*, on August 8, 2016, consisting of tracks "Boombayah" and "Whistle". They charted at number one and two, respectively, on the *Billboard* World Digital Song Sales chart, making Blackpink the fastest act to achieve such a feat and the third YG Entertainment artist to hold the top two positions simultaneously, after Psy and Big Bang. Upon release, "Whistle" quickly swept all the Korean music charts and debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. Blackpink's first music show performance aired on August 14, 2016, on SBS's *Inkigayo*. They won first place on *Inkigayo* fourteen days after their debut. They wrapped up promotions for *Square One* on September 11, 2016, with another win on *Inkigayo*.

Blackpink released their second single album, *Square Two*, consisting of tracks "Playing with Fire" and "Stay", on November 1, 2016. The group began promotions on *Inkigayo* on November 6 and on Mnet's *M Countdown* on November 10. "Playing with Fire" was Blackpink's second single to reach number one on the *Billboard* World Digital Song Sales chart and the first K-pop girl group song to chart on the *Billboard* Canadian Hot 100. In South Korea, "Playing with Fire" peaked at number three, while "Stay" placed in 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.
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%EB%B8%94%EB%9E%99%ED%95%91%ED%81%AC(BlackPink)\_-\_%EB%A7%88%EC%A7%80%EB%A7%89%EC%B2%98%EB%9F%BC\_171001\_%EC%BD%94%EB%A6%AC%EC%95%84%EB%AE%A4%EC%A7%81%ED%8E%98%EC%8A%A4%ED%8B%B0%EB%B2%8C.jpg|alt=Blackpink performing "As If It's Your Last" onstage|thumb|Blackpink performing "As If It's Your Last" at the Korea Music Festival held on October 1, 2017
On January 17, 2017, Blackpink revealed the name of their fan club—"Blink", a portmanteau of "black" and "pink". On June 22, the group released their first standalone digital single, "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 peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number 13 on *Billboard*'s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, becoming their first song to enter the Bubbling Under Hot 100. It debuted at number one on *Billboard*'s World Digital Song Sales chart one day after release, making it their third number-one single 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, as well as the most-viewed K-pop group music video in the first 24 hours of release. On July 20, 2017, Blackpink held a showcase at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, which was attended by over 14,000 people, with as many as 200,000 people attempting to purchase 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. The EP debuted and peaked atop the Oricon Albums Chart, making Blackpink only the third foreign artist to top the chart with their debut release. 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 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. 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 of all their music videos and six songs in the Korean language.
On June 15, 2018, the group released their first Korean-language EP, *Square Up*. In South Korea, the EP debuted at number one on Gaon Album Chart and was certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) for selling 250,000 units. *Square Up* brought the group their first entry and the highest-charting album by a female Korean group at the time of its release on the *Billboard* 200, debuting at number 40. The EP also topped the *Billboard* World Albums chart and led Blackpink to becoming the first female Korean group to top the *Billboard* Emerging Artists chart. The EP's lead single, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart while "Forever Young" peaked at number two; both songs were certified platinum by the KMCA for surpassing 2,500,000 downloads and 100,000,000 streams in the country. In the United States, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted at number 55 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and became the highest-charting song by a Korean girl group in the country, surpassing the record set by "Nobody" by Wonder Girls in 2009. It additionally marked the first time a Korean girl group entered the US Streaming Songs chart, entering at number 39. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 2019, making Blackpink the first Korean girl group to receive a certification in the country. In the United Kingdom, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted at number 78 on the UK Singles Chart and made Blackpink the first ever female Korean group to enter the chart. 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 the time. It became the most-watched music video by a South Korean group in January 2019 and became the first K-pop group music video to surpass one billion views in November 2019 and two billion views in January 2023.

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 across Osaka, Fukuoka and Chiba, but an additional show in Chiba was added due to overwhelming demand. A final tour stop was later added for December 24 at Kyocera Dome Osaka as a Christmas gift for fans, where Blackpink performed to a sold-out crowd of 50,000 people. 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. The concert was the first show of the In Your Area World Tour, which continued throughout 2019 and early 2020 in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. By the end of its run, the tour became the highest-grossing tour by a Korean girl group.
[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:181110\_BLACKPINK\_2018\_Tour\_(In\_Your\_Area)\_Seoul\_x\_BC\_Card\_(4).jpg%7Calt=A crowd at Blackpink's Seoul concert|thumb|A crowd at Blackpink's Seoul concert on their In Your Area Tour in 2018]]
On October 19, 2018, 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. "Kiss and Make Up" became the group's second entry in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 36, which became the first time a female Korean group reached the top 40. It also 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. The song was certified silver in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), marking the first time a Korean group received a certification in the UK. It was also the first song by a Korean group to be certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). On October 23, 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 across Asia from January to March 2019. 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. Their first Japanese studio album, *Blackpink in Your Area*, was made available digitally on November 23 and physically on December 5. The album included Japanese versions of all of their previous releases and debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart.
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. The group subsequently appeared on several American television shows, including *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert* and *Good Morning America*. That March, they became the first-ever K-pop girl group to cover *Billboard* magazine. Blackpink's third extended play, *Kill This Love*, was released on April 5, 2019, alongside a single of the same name. In South Korea, the EP debuted at number three on the Gaon Album Chart and was certified 2× platinum by the KMCA for selling 500,000 units in the country, while the lead single peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and was certified platinum for surpassing 100,000,000 streams in the country. *Kill This Love* also 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 group on the two major *Billboard* charts. The EP also became Blackpink's second number-one album on the *Billboard* World Albums chart. The song's music video broke the record for the most views within 24 hours on YouTube, accumulating 56.7 million views in that time. "Kill This Love" ranked at number 66 on *Billboard*'s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2019.

Following the EP's release, Blackpink performed at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12 and 19, 2019, making them the first female K-pop group to do so. 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". 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. 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*. In January of the following year, Blackpink were voted *Paper* magazine's 2019 K-pop Sensation of the Year in their annual Break the Internet Awards™ list.

### 2020-2021: *The Album* and The Show

On April 22, 2020, it was confirmed the group would be working with Lady Gaga on her sixth studio album, *Chromatica.* Their collaboration, "Sour Candy", was released as a promotional single on May 28, 2020. On the *Billboard* Hot 100, the song debuted at number 33, giving Blackpink their first top 40 hit and becoming the highest-charting song by a Korean girl group in the US. In Australia, the song debuted at number eight, becoming Blackpink's first top-ten hit as well as the highest-charting song by a Korean group in the country. It was also their first top-twenty single in the UK, debuting at number 17. 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. 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. 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.

The single "How You Like That" was heavily teased on social media in the lead up to its digital release on June 26. In South Korea, it peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for three weeks and was certified platinum for surpassing 100,000,000 streams in the country. "How You Like That" became Blackpink's fifth song to chart on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and tied "Sour Candy" as the highest-charting song by a Korean girl group in the US with a peak at number 33. Its music video broke five Guinness World Records, including the one for the most-viewed video in the first 24 hours of release, achieving 86.3 million views in that timeframe. The song ranked first in Youtube Music's Global Top 10 Songs of Summer 2020 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. On July 23, YG Entertainment announced that a second single, "Ice Cream" with American singer Selena Gomez, would be released on August 28. "Ice Cream" debuted and peaked at number 13 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, surpassing their own record for the highest-charting song by a female Korean act in the US. Its debut at number 39 in the United Kingdom made Blackpink the Korean artist with the most top 40 songs in the country at the time, with five.
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blackpink\_in\_2020\_for\_PUBG\_Mobile\_(derived).jpg|alt=Blackpink smiling for the camera|thumb|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. 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. *The Album* set a first-week sales record for a Korean girl group, with 590,000 copies sold in just one day after its release. Blackpink became the first-ever million-selling K-pop girl group with the album, which debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart and sold approximately 1.2 million copies in less than one month after release. It was ranked the fifth best-selling album worldwide on IFPI's 2020 Global Album Sales Chart. *The Album* peaked at number two on the *Billboard* 200 and the UK Albums Chart, making Blackpink the highest-charting Korean female act on each. The album's release also led Blackpink to become the first girl group to top the *Billboard* Artist 100. To promote the album, Blackpink performed "Lovesick Girls" on *Good Morning America* and *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* in the United States on October 21. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and was certified platinum for surpassing 100,000,000 streams in South Korea; in the US, it peaked at number 59 on the *Billboard* Hot 100. It also debuted at number two on the *Billboard* Global 200 and number one on the Global Excl. U.S., becoming Blackpink's first chart-topper on the latter.

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*. The commercial success 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; they were the first Korean artist to top the ranking since its inception in April of that year. On December 2, Blackpink announced their collaboration with YouTube Music for their first livestream concert. The live event, dubbed "The Show", was initially set to take place on December 27, 2020, but was rescheduled to January 31, 2021, due to new COVID-19 pandemic regulations introduced in South Korea. The concert featured the first-ever live performances of several songs from *The Album*, as well as of Rosé's song "Gone" from her first solo single album *R*. More than 280,000 people purchased memberships to access the show, and the concert was livestreamed across 100 countries.

Blackpink released a Japanese version of *The Album* on August 3, 2021, with Japanese versions for four out of the eight tracks ("How You Like That", "Pretty Savage", "Lovesick Girls", and "You Never Know"), which peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart. To promote the album, they appeared on Japanese music television programs such as TV Asahi's *Music Station*. On August 4, a documentary film entitled *Blackpink: The Movie* was released into theaters in South Korea and worldwide, which included exclusive interviews with the group as well as live performances from The Show and the In Your Area World Tour.

### 2022–present: *Born Pink* and second world tour

On July 6, 2022, YG Entertainment announced that Blackpink was in the final stages of recording for a new album, with plans to record a music video in mid-July and release a new song in August. They also confirmed that the group would embark on their second world tour at the end of the year. On July 12, YG Entertainment revealed that Blackpink would hold a virtual in-game concert called *Blackpink: The Virtual* in *PUBG Mobile* from July 22 to 30, including performances of the group's hit songs as well as a special track titled "Ready for Love" to be previewed during the event for the first time. "Ready for Love" was released in full with an animated music video on July 29.
On July 31, it was announced that Blackpink would release a pre-release single titled "Pink Venom" on August 19, ahead of their second album in September, followed by an accompanying world tour beginning in October. Upon release, "Pink Venom" topped the *Billboard* Global 200 for two weeks, becoming the first number-one song by a girl group as well as the first Korean song to top the chart for multiple weeks. It peaked at number two on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart and number 22 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and became the first song by a Korean group to top the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia. On August 28, Blackpink performed "Pink Venom" at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, making them the first female K-pop group in history to perform at the show, and won the award for Best Metaverse Performance for *The Virtual*.

On September 16, 2022, Blackpink released their second studio album *Born Pink* alongside the single "Shut Down", which became their second song to top the *Billboard* Global 200. "Shut Down" peaked at number three on the Circle Digital Chart and number 25 on the *Billboard* Hot 100. *Born Pink* debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 2,141,281 copies sold in less than two days of tracking and became the first album by a K-pop girl group to sell over two million copies. In the United States, it debuted at number one on the *Billboard* 200, the first album by a female Korean act to top the chart and the first album by a female group to do so since Danity Kane's *Welcome to the Dollhouse* in 2008. In the United Kingdom, *Born Pink* also became the first album by a K-pop girl group to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and marked the first time a girl group simultaneously topped the album charts in the United States and United Kingdom since Destiny's Child's *Survivor* in 2001. The album was the seventh best-selling album worldwide in pure sales during 2022 according to the IFPI. In December, the group was named 2022 Entertainer of the Year by *Time* magazine.
[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:221201\_BLACKPINK\_Born\_Pink\_Tour\_London.jpg%7Calt=Blackpink standing onstage, facing leftwards|thumb|Blackpink performing at The O2 Arena in December 2022]]
Following the album's release, Blackpink embarked on the Born Pink World Tour, which began in Seoul on October 15, 2022, followed by the tour's North American and European legs through December. The tour contained the first-ever live performances of several songs from *Born Pink* and the members' solo releases, consisting of the single albums *R* (2021) by Rosé, *Lalisa* (2021) by Lisa, *Me* (2023) by Jisoo, and the single "You & Me" (2023) by Jennie. On January 28, 2023, the group performed "Pink Venom" and "Shut Down" with musicians Gautier Capuçon and Daniel Lozakovich at the Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes charity event organized by the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, in Paris. The tour continued in 2023 with stadium shows across Asia as well as several concerts in Mexico and Australia.

Blackpink became the first Asian act to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15 and 22, 2023. On July 2, they became the first Korean band to headline a major UK festival with British Summer Time Hyde Park in London. Blackpink returned for an encore stadium tour starting in July in France and the United States. The encore leg set several historical records, including making them the first Korean girl group to perform in a stadium in Europe, the first girl group to perform at Allegiant Stadium, Oracle Park, and Dodger Stadium, and the third female act in history after Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to sell out back-to-back shows at MetLife Stadium.

On May 18, the group announced a promotional single titled "The Girls" which was released as part of the soundtrack for their mobile game, *Blackpink: The Game* on August 25, 2023. It was released alongside a physical version, which debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 160,460 copies sold in the first week, becoming the groups's fifth number-one album. At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, Blackpink was awarded Best Choreography for "Pink Venom" as well as Group of the Year, becoming the second girl group ever to win the latter award since TLC in 1999. The Born Pink World Tour concluded on September 17 with two finale concerts in Seoul; by the end of its run, it drew 1.8 million attendees in total, making it the most-attended concert tour by a Korean girl group. The tour ranked at number ten on *Billboard*'s 2023 Year End Top 40 Tours chart worldwide, leading the ranking of K-pop tours of the year. With a worldwide gross of $148.3 million from 29 reported shows, it broke the record held by Spice Girls' Spice World – 2019 Tour to become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time by a female group.

With Blackpink's contracts with YG Entertainment set to expire in August, the label released a statement to South Korean media in July confirming that contract renewals were currently under discussion, and later confirmed with another statement in November that they were "still negotiating with the artists regarding their exclusive contracts." On November 15, *Billboard* announced the *Blackpink: A VR Encore*, a version of the group's Seoul encore show made for virtual reality in partnership with Meta. Produced by the Diamond Bros, the 70-minute concert premiered in VR on December 26 in *Meta Horizon Worlds*. On December 5, 2023, YG Entertainment confirmed that all four members of Blackpink had renewed their contracts for group activities and promised a new album and world tour to come.

## Trivia

* Jennie was born in South Korea, but she lived in Auckland, New Zealand for 5 years.

* Rosé can turn her hands 360°.

* Lisa is the first non-Korean member of Blackpink. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand and moved to South Korea to pursue her dreams of becoming a K-pop star.

* Jisoo is the oldest member in the girlsband. She was born on January 3, 1995.