BLACKPINK is currently one of the biggest girl groups globally composed of members Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa. Let’s take a look at their journey to stardom.
Right from the start, BLACKPINK has mesmerized the K-pop scene with their extraordinary talents. They have become a force to be reckoned with, surpassing even those who came before them. This group of four talented South Korean artists made their debut in 2016 and swiftly became one of the most sensational acts in the music industry. Let’s take a look at the incredible journey of BLACKPINK, from their humble beginnings to their rapid ascent as one of the most renowned names in global music.
#BLACKPINK 'Kill This Love' DANCE PRACTICE VIDEO HITS 500 MILLION VIEWS @Youtube
— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) February 1, 2024
BLINKs worldwide, thank you so much!
'Kill This Love' DANCE PRACTICE VIDEO
🎥https://t.co/PnNzn5mY6U#블랙핑크 #KILLTHISLOVE #DANCE_PRACTICE #안무영상 #500MILLION #YOUTUBE #YG pic.twitter.com/FrCNPxDVIb
Who Is Blackpink?
BLACKPINK (블랙핑크; stylized as BLΛƆKPIИK) is a four-member girl group formed by YG Entertainment. They debuted on August 8, 2016 with their digital single album, “Square One”.
2016: Debut with “Square One” and “Square Two”
On May 31, YG Entertainment began releasing individual teaser photos of the members for the agency’s then-unnamed, upcoming girl group on Instagram, starting with Jennie the same day. This was followed by Lisa on June 7, Jisoo on June 14, and lastly Rosé on June 21.
On June 29, YGE released photos of the group’s members together and revealed their name to be BLACKPINK.
On July 6, YGE published a dance practice video on the group’s YouTube channel as an introduction. On July 29, it was revealed that the group will debut on August 8. The tracks “Boombayah” and “Whistle” from their debut single album “Square One”, were revealed on August 5 and 6, respectively.
On August 21, BLACKPINK won their first music show award on Inkigayo, only 13 days after their debut. This makes them one of the fastest artists to win!
2017: “As If It’s Your Last”, Japanese debut
On June 22, 2017, the group released the digital single titled “As If It’s Your Last”.
On July 20, 2017, BLACKPINK held a showcase at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. The group made their Japanese debut on August 30, 2017, with the release of their self-titled Japanese mini album.
2018: Re: BLACKPINK, Square Up, BLACKPINK In Your Area
In January 2018, it was announced that the group would released a repackage of their debut Japanese mini album titled Re: BLACKPINK on March 28.
On June 15, 2018, the group released their first Korean mini album titled Square Up with “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” as the title track.
The group embarked on their first tour, BLACKPINK Arena Tour 2018, in Osaka, Japan 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. Later in the month, English singer Dua Lipa collaborated with BLACKPINK with the song “Kiss and Make Up”, as part of the complete edition of her self-titled debut album, which released on October 19, 2018.
On November 23, the group released their first Japanese studio album BLACKPINK In Your Area.
2019: First world tour, U.S TV debut, Kill This Love
On March 25, YGE released a teaser photo of Lisa, confirming the group’s upcoming EP Kill This Love, which would be releasing on April 5.Photos of the other members, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosé, and a photo of the whole group were released, respectively, from March 26 to 28.
The group became the first-ever female K-pop group to perform at Coachella, an annual music festival held in the United States, in April 2019.
On November 11, their song “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” became the first music video by a K-pop group to reach 1 billion views on YouTube.
2020: “Sour Candy”, pre-release singles and first full album
On April 22, it was confirmed the group would be featured in Lady Gaga’s sixth studio album Chromatica, on the track titled “Sour Candy.” On May 6, Gaga revealed on her Twitter account that “Sour Candy” would be released on May 29, the same day as the Chromatica album release.Following its release, the song became their highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, UK Official Singles Chart, and ARIA Chart, at number 33, 17, and 8, respectively.
On May 4, Star News reported that BLACKPINK was scheduled to release a new album “from early-June to mid-June”, with an exact date still to be confirmed. It was also stated that recording of the music had been completed, and while the filming schedule for the music video was “being adjusted”, the group was set to film the music video in May. Later that day, YGE later confirmed the news. The release will come a year-and-two-months after the previous release, Kill This Love. On May 17, it was revealed that the members had already completed recording over 10 new songs for their first full album, set to be released in September. Prior to this, a pre-release single, “How You Like That”, was released on June 26, 2020.
On July 23, YGE released a teaser poster for BLACKPINK’s second pre-release single, “Ice Cream”, a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Selena Gomez which was released on August 28. On July 28, a teaser poster was released for their first full-length album titled The Album, which was released on October 2, 2020.
On September 8, Netflix and Blackpink announced that BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky will premiere on October 14 as an all-access documentary, covering the four years since Blackpink’s ‘explosive’ debut in 2016 with video footage from their days training, the members’ home lives, behind the scenes stories and honest interviews with the members.
On November 20, American lifestyle magazine Variety announced that the group would be named “Group of The Year” in their 2020 Hitmakers issue. On December 2, the group announced their first online concert, entitled BLACKPINK: The Show, would be held on December 27 (later postponed to January 31, 2021) exclusively on YouTube.
2021: The Album -JP Ver.-
On June 2, 2021, YG Entertainment revealed that Blackpink’s first full-lenght album The Album will have a Japanese version, avialable in 12 physical versions via Universal Music Japan. The album, titled “The Album -JP Ver.-” was released on August 3. The next day, on August 4, a documentary film entitled Blackpink: The Movie was released into theaters in South Korea and worldwide, which included interviews with the group as well as live performances from The Show and the In Your Area World Tour.
2022: BLACKPINK The Virtual, “Ready For Love”, Born Pink
On July 6, 2022, YG Entertainment announced that BLACKPINK are in the final stages of recording their new album and it will be released in August. It was also stated that they will be going on a world tour later this year. On July 26, YG Entertainment revealed that BLACKPINK are in the middle of filming a music video. It was also stated that the music video has the highest production cost the company has ever spent. On July 12, YG Entertainment revealed that BLACKPINK would hold the first virtual in-game concert in PUBG Mobile, BLACKPINK The Virtual from July 22 to 24 and then from 29 to 31, including performances of the group’s hit songs as well as a special promotional track titled “Ready For Love” to be previewed during the event for the first time. It was released in full on July 29.
On August 1, a ‘Born Pink’ announcement trailer was posted on the group’s social media accounts announcing that the group will be releasing a pre-release single in August, an album in September, and starting a world tour in October. Later that day, YG explained that Born Pink is the project name for their upcoming releases. On August 8, YG announced that a pre-release single titled “Pink Venom” will be released on August 19, ahead of their second full-length album Born Pink on September 16.
BLACKPINK was named the 2022 Entertainer Of The Year by TIME Magazine which makes them the first girl group to receive the title of Entertainer Of The Year.
2023: Headlining Coachella, “The Girls”, contract renewal
On January 10, it was announced that BLACKPINK will be one of the headliners at Coachella, which makes BLACKPINK the first K-pop artist to ever do so.
On March 28, it was reported that BLACKPINK was invited to perform alongside Lady Gaga at the White House for a commemoration of South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to the United States. YG responded to the reports stating that they are still considering.
On May 19, they released the MV teaser for “The Girls” which serves as the OST for their game, BLACKPINK THE GAME, before its official release on August 23.
On September 21, it was reported that Rosé was the only member to renew with YG Entertainment while the others were looking to sign with different agencies to manage their individual activities. In response, YG stated that contract renewal is currently underway.[40] On September 25, News1 reported that Jennie and Jisoo have each established their own individual agencies for their individual activities while still in talk with YG Entertainment regarding group activities. YG simply answered that nothing has been confirmed regarding BLACKPINK’s contract renewals.
On December 6, 2023, YG Entertainment announced that all four members of BLACKPINK had renewed their exclusive contracts for group activites under the agency. However, on the 29th, YG confirmed that none of the members renewed their contracts for individual promotions.
