BLACKPINK is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The quartet consists of JISOO, JENNIE, ROSÉ, and LISA. The group’s name was conceived to contrast with the perception of femininity commonly associated with the color pink. When Blackpink debuted, their label YG Entertainment said the name intends to convey that the group embodies more than beauty. They are the highest-charting female Korean act on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 13 with “Ice Cream”, and on the Billboard 200, peaking at number one with their second studio album Born Pink, which is the best-selling album of all time by a female act in South Korea and the first to sell over two million copies.
Blackpink’s debut studio album, The Album, became the best-selling album of all time by a Korean girl group. Blackpink has broken numerous online records throughout their career. Their music video for “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” was the first by a Korean group to surpass one billion views as well as two billion views and is currently the most-viewed by a Korean group on YouTube. Blackpink’s music videos for “Kill This Love” and “How You Like That” each set records for the most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release, with the latter breaking three and setting two Guinness World Records. They are the most-subscribed music artist and own the most-viewed music channel on YouTube, and the most streamed girl group on Spotify.
To top it all off they have a vast array of accolades including the New Artist of the Year Award at the Seoul Music Awards, the first MTV Video Music Award won by a Korean girl group, the first Brit Award nomination for a Korean girl group. They were also recognized as Time‘s 2022 Entertainer of the Year.
How was the group formed? YG Entertainment held tryouts worldwide for preteen or teenage recruits to create a new girl group. 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. It was on May 18, 2016, that YG Entertainment confirmed the girl group would debut that July, stating that the members were selected through years of competition.
Jisoo (Kim Jisoo), is often referred to as Blackpink’s mood-maker. She has a quirky sense of humor and a knack for generating on-the-spot songs about any topic. Jisoo acted in a number of music videos and commercials in her days before Blackpink. Although she is the only member who does not speak English fluently, the vocalist is trilingual, able to speak Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
Jennie (Kim Jennie) is the rapper of the group. Jennie lived in New Zealand for a period before moving back to South Korea in 2010, and speaks fluent English in addition to Korean and Japanese. She was the first member of Blackpink to release an individual track, titled “SOLO.” The music video showcased her versatility as both a rapper and singer, while further establishing her as a fashion icon through the more than 20 outfits worn within the three-minute clip.
Rosé (Park Chaeyoung) was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. She participated in YG Entertainment’s auditions and placed first, she is fluent in English. She is the group’s main singer, and plays the guitar and piano and frequently covers both English and Korean songs.
Lisa (Lalisa/Pranpriya Manoban), the youngest member, who was born and raised in Thailand. Lisa was in a dance crew at a young age before she auditioned to become a K-pop idol trainee. Besides Thai, Lisa speaks Korean, which she started to learn after moving to South Korea in 2011, English, Japanese, and basic Chinese.
In 2020 Netflix paired with BLACKPINK and aired a documentary that gave a behind the scenes look at the band, it was entitled BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky. It gave a personal look into the band and was a huge hit for both BLACKPINK and Netflix.
Most recently this year BLACKPINK joined talk show host James Corden in one of his final “Car Pool Karaoke’s”, before he retired from the show. It gave a personal look into the band and you get to learn about their past while having a blast with singing with the talk show host. It’s quite easy to see why this girl group is lovable not only in Asia but all around the world. BLACKPINK are certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Email: neill@outloudculture.com
