From left, BLACKPINK members Jisoo, Rose, Jennie and Lisa pose during the final concert of their world tour "BORN PINK," held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in southwestern Seoul's Guro District, Sept. 18, 2023. Courtesy of YG Entertainment
When BLACKPINK made its debut in the summer of 2016, the four-piece act garnered much attention as K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment's first girl group in seven years since 2NE1.
Setting astonishing milestones along the way, the group will celebrate the eighth anniversary of its record-breaking career on Aug. 8.
In celebration of the anniversary, the group released the concert film "BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] IN CINEMAS" on July 31. The film brings to the screen the group's concert in Seoul last year, a finale performance of its record-breaking world tour "BORN PINK." The group traveled to 34 different countries for about 66 concerts in front of over 1.8 million fans, becoming the K-pop girl group to have the largest audience on its world tour.
The four members, Lisa, Jennie, Rose and Jisoo, are set to reunite for the film's special event on Friday, walking down the pink carpet, which is the group's signature color, to meet the fans.
Smashing records
The group stormed onto the K-pop scene right after its debut, instantly shooting to stardom with its single album "SQUARE ONE," released on Aug. 8, 2016. The album's two tracks, "Boombayah" and "Whistle," landed on first and second on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, becoming the first rookie girl group to take the spots with debut songs.
Pop culture critic Kim Do-heon noted that BLACKPINK changed the perceptions of K-pop artists in the global music scene.
"In the past, when K-pop groups made their way into the global music market, they were viewed as challengers trying to compete with their music … But BLACKPINK has been garnering attention, showing the images and appearances that live up to the reputation of true pop stars," he said.
"They've created an image that many people aspire to as iconic figures, being on the same footing as Western pop stars, which makes them noteworthy."
BLACKPINK members, from left, Rose, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa pose during their debut showcase in southern Seoul's Gangnam District, in this file photo from August 2016. Courtesy of YG Entertainment
Releasing a string of hit songs, BLACKPINK has forged its career with various records, such as the most views in the first 24 hours and the fastest K-pop group to surpass 100 million views on YouTube with "Pink Venom" in 2022. The music video for "Pink Venom" scored over 90 million views on the first day of its release. With 94.5 million followers, BLACKPINK also holds the title of the most-followed music act on YouTube.
Including the YouTube records, the group has bagged a total of 12 Guinness World Records throughout the years. With its second studio album, "Born Pink," the group notched first place on the album chart of the United Kingdom's Official Charts and the United States' Billboard, earning another world record as the first K-pop girl group to top the charts.
The group recently hit the 13 billion streaming mark on Spotify, according to the streaming platform, earlier this month. It has scored over 100 million streaming counts with a total of 32 songs on the platform since its debut, making it the world's most-streamed girl band last year.
The group's most-streamed songs — "How You Like That," "Kill This Love," "Pink Venom," "DDU-DU DDU-DU" and "Shut Down" — have surpassed 4 billion in total on the platform.
"We were very pleased to witness BLACKPINK's remarkable growth over the past few years," Park Jung-joo, head of music at Spotify Korea, said in a release. "This #8YearswithBLACKPINK campaign is a great example of Spotify's efforts to support Korean artists in communicating more deeply with listeners around the world."
Scenes from BLACKPINK's music video "Pink Venom" / Courtesy of YG Entertainment
The group made history again last year as the first Asian act to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the U.S.' biggest music festivals, and the first K-pop artist to headline the U.K.'s major festival, BST Hyde Park.
Critic Kim said BLACKPINK has become more than just a K-pop group.
"BLACKPINK doesn't have as many album releases or singles compared to other K-pop groups. Regardless, they've become a group with enormous influence worldwide," he said.
"With their unique image and the individuality of each member, as well as their confident attitude reflected in their music, the group has built an extremely successful career, transcending beyond just a music group to its own brand."
Solo ventures
The members also began pursuing solo careers, starting with Jennie in 2018. Jennie became the first K-pop solo artist to make it into the U.S. iTunes top 10 chart with her solo debut song "SOLO." Rose and Lisa made their solo debuts in 2021 with "On The Ground" and "LALISA," respectively, setting new records.
Rose became the first artist to top Billboard's Global 200 chart with both group and solo acts. And Lisa garnered 1 billion streaming counts with the debut album's track "MONEY," setting the world record on Spotify at the time. "LALISA" also won her the best K-pop awards at MTV VMAs and MTV EMA in 2022.
BLACKPINK performs as the headliner at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held in Indio, California, on April 15, 2023. Courtesy of YG Entertainment
Jisoo also released her first solo album, "ME," last year, becoming the first K-pop female solo artist to sell over a million copies of an album by selling over 1.17 million albums within the first week of its release.
Last year, the members renewed their contract with their agency for their group activities, while parting ways to separate labels for their solo acts. Jennie was the first to establish her own label, Odd Atelier, last December. Lisa and Jisoo also started their own labels, Lloud and BLISSOO, respectively, this February, whereas Rose recently signed with the hip-hop label The Black Label led by producer Teddy.
The members continue to make headlines with their upcoming projects. Lisa is set to release her new single "New Woman" next week, while Jisoo will star in Coupang Play's new zombie series "Newtopia."
YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk teased an exciting future for BLACKPINK, reaffirming its commitment for the group's continuance. In a recent video posted on the agency's official blog, Yang revealed plans for the upcoming year, hinting at a comeback for the group.
"Many artists will simultaneously pick up their act in 2025," Yang said. "It will be the year that marks the beginning of BLACKPINK's comeback and world tour."