Blackpink
Blackpink is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Regarded by various publications as the "biggest girl group in the world", they are recognized as a leading force in the Korean Wave and an ambassador of the "girl crush" concept in K-pop, which explores themes of self-confidence and female empowerment.
Blackpink debuted in August 2016 with their single album Square One, which included "Whistle", their first number-one hit on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart, and "Boombayah", their first number-one on the US Billboard World Digital Songs chart. The group's domestic and global popularity grew with the chart-topping single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", the first song by a Korean female group to enter the UK Singles Chart and receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Its music video was the first by a Korean group to surpass one and two billion views on YouTube. Their music videos for "Kill This Love" and "How You Like That" set records for the most-viewed music videos within the first 24 hours of release; the latter topped the Circle Digital Chart and set five Guinness World Records.
Blackpink's debut studio album, The Album, was the first album by a female act in South Korea to sell one million copies. Their 2022 follow-up, Born Pink, was the first to sell two million copies and the first by a Korean girl group to top the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. The album's lead single "Pink Venom" 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 earned two further chart-toppers on the Global 200 with "Shut Down" and "Jump". Their Born Pink World Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group and Asian act in history, while they became the first Asian act to headline Coachella in 2023.
With 40 billion streams and 20 million records sold worldwide, Blackpink is one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. They are the most-subscribed music act and most-viewed band on YouTube, and the most-followed and most-streamed female group on Spotify. Blackpink's accolades include several Golden Disc Awards, MAMA Awards, People's Choice Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards; they were the first girl group to win Group of the Year at the latter awards in the 21st century. Outside of music, they have endorsement deals in various industries and incorporate fashion into their public image. For their work as advocates for climate change awareness, the group was invested as honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire in 2023. Blackpink was the first girl group to enter Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia and was named Times 2022 Entertainer of the Year. The group has been ranked among the top of the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list and recognized by former South Korean president Moon Jae-in for spreading K-pop and Korean culture worldwide.
Career
2010–2016: Formation and pre-debut activities
Blackpink began forming in 2010 when YG Entertainment held tryouts worldwide for preteen or teenage recruits to create a new girl group after launching its first major one, 2NE1, the previous year. 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. Consequently, numerous news stories and rumors surfaced surrounding the new girl group's debut being delayed, although there had been no official information. It was until 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, the group's main rapper and lead vocalist, was the first 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" from his EP One of a Kind and featured in the songs "Black", from his album Coup d'Etat, and "Special", from Lee Hi's album First Love. Lisa, the group's main rapper and main dancer, was revealed as the 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 YG’s streetwear brand Nona9on in 2015 and its cosmetics brand Moonshot in 2016.
Jisoo, the group's lead vocalist, was revealed as the 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" from their album Shoebox and Hi Suhyun's "I'm Different". Jisoo also made a cameo appearance in the 2015 drama The Producers. Rosé, the group's main vocalist and lead dancer, 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" 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 BigBang. 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 a second 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.
On January 17, 2017, Blackpink revealed the name of their fandom—"Blink", a portmanteau of "black" and "pink". On June 22, the group released their first standalone digital single, "As If It's Your Last". According to Jisoo, it involved a change of sound from their previous releases, which featured a "black" concept, and marked their first single with a brighter "pink" concept. The song peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number 13 on Billboards Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, becoming their first song to enter the latter chart. It debuted at number one on Billboards 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 in 2017 with "As If It's Your Last".