A lot of people call it Hallyu (Korean Wave). South Korean pop culture has grown in prominence to become a major driver of global culture, seen in everything from K-Dramas on Netflix to Korean skincare regimens dominating the cosmetics industry. At the heart of Hallyu itself, is the ever-growing popularity of K-pop or Korean pop music.
K-pop has become a truly global phenomenon thanks to its distinctive blend of addictive melodies, slick choreography, production values, and an endless parade of attractive South Korean performers who spend years in grueling studio systems learning to sing or dance in synchronized perfection. One of them is Blackpink. It's taken just a few years for Blackpink to become one of the biggest girl bands in the world, from breaking streaming records to causing a storm on the front row of a fashion show, so let's examine together how the four-piece girls became so successful on building their huge brand.
Get To Know Blackpink A Little Bit Better
Some of you probably wondering "who's Blackpink"? Well let me tell you then, they're the most popular K-Pop girl groups in the game right now where their songs often occupy the highest positions on the world's music charts, and even their concert tickets can be sold out in just a few minutes because of their immense popularity. A multitalented K-pop group that's been breaking records as their music captures the attention of a global audience. Yes, it's the four women of Blackpink, namely Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosé .
Blackpink is the second girl group under YG Entertainment after 2NE1 (To Anyone/Twenty-One) and debuted with a digital single album titled "Square One". They debuted as a group in 2016, comprise a multilingual performance powerhouse connecting with fans across borders and across nations. The four members of South Korean girl band, who get their name from the mixture of tough "black" and flirty "pink" of their songs, have been global superstars since the release of their August 2016 hit single "Boombayah" and "Whistle".
Their debut was heavily promoted in the K-pop scene as Blackpink was the first girl group from YG Entertainment in seven years. "Boombayah" flew straight out of the gate to hit No. 1 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart. Their debut songs "Boombayah" and "Whistle" won an award from the music show Inkigayo, after only 13 days since their debut. They also have one of the strongest fanbases ever since the beginning called "BLINKS," a combination of "black" and "pink", stretching far beyond South Korea and already powering their rapid ascent.
In the same year, Blackpink made a comeback by releasing an album titled "Square Two" and making the songs "Playing With Fire" and "Stay" as the main singles. Just like their debut, on this comeback, these songs won on the music shows Inkigayo and M Countdown. The commercial success obtained by Blackpink has also made them win various awards, such as The Asia Artist Awards, Golden Disc Awards, to the Gaon Chart Music Awards. In fact, Billboard also named it one of the best K-Pop groups in 2016.
Blackpink is the highest-charting female K-pop act on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first ever K-pop girl group to top the Billboard 200 at number #1. They are also the first and the only K-pop girl group to have entered and topped Billboard's Emerging Artists chart. Blackpink's song "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" is currently the most-watched music video by any K-pop group on Youtube, boasting a staggering 1.9 billion views. The group's social media following are also breaking records. For example, Lisa, the group's main dancer, and youngest member, is the most-followed K-pop artist on Instagram with more than 80 million followers and rank 39 in the world for the most-followed account.
Since debuting in 2016, Blackpink has been busy not only making music, but collecting accolades left and right. Besides climbing up the charts with their well-received releases, catchy tunes, and killer fashion style, the quartet of Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo has been raking in numerous firsts as an all-female K-pop group. Billboard charts records? Check! New Guinness World Records? Yup! Surpassing Justin Bieber in Youtube subscribers and becoming the most subscribed musical artist in Youtube history? Done! and that's just several of the notable accomplishments the four ladies of Blackpink have achieved in just a few years.
Meet The 4 Blackpink Members
1. Jennie
Jennie was the first member revealed by YG Entertainment to debut under the name of Blackpink on June 1, 2016. Her real name is Kim Jennie, she was born on January 16, 1996 in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She lived in New Zealand for a moment before she finally moved back to South Korea in 2010 and speaks fluent English, Japanese, and Korean. In Blackpink, Jennie has a position as a rapper as well as a songwriter. Jennie has been a trainee at YG Entertainment when she was only 14 years old, since 2010 to be exact. She is also considered to be a "YG Princess" because she was the longest trainee, had multiple pre-debut activities, and was one of YG's best trainees so it's obvious that she would be the first member revealed.
