Blackpink’s 2016 arrival marked the beginning of a global phenomenon, with the group quickly becoming one of the top-selling acts in South Korea while shattering records and dominating the music scene.
As a group, with the group’s world record-breaking achievements cementing their status as a global sensation. As solo artists, Blackpink’s members have carved out their own identities, solidifying their status as entertainment powerhouses with distinct styles and talents.
Let’s catch you up on the world of Blackpink.
Blackpink, THE UNSTOPPABLE
Blackpink, the award-winning girl group, was handpicked by YG Entertainment after an extensive selection process that began in 2010.
Chosen from thousands of hopefuls, these four exceptional talents—Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa—stood out as the cream of the crop. Their rigorous training at YG, a pop star academy of sorts, shaped them into the global icons they are today. Still, even by YG’s standards, these four ladies are the label’s most successful alumni.
From the outset, they took the industry by storm. Their first single album, Square One, had two songs: Boombayah and Whistle. Both songs charted on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart at number one and two, respectively.
Their second single album, Square Two, earned them their second No.1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart and made them the first K-pop girl group to chart on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
The list of records Blackpink has broken since their debut could fill pages—and it still wouldn’t capture the full impact of their accomplishments and accolades.
After a string of record-breaking singles, EPs, and global tours, Blackpink delivered a show-stopping performance at Coachella in 2019 that generated a lot of buzz online.
So it was no surprise when, in 2023, they were invited back to headline—making history as the first Asian artist(s) to take on the festival’s highly coveted, top billed slot.
They featured on Sour Candy, a promotional single off of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica in May of 2020, before dropping their first full-length album, aptly titled The Album, on October 2 of that year.
To nobody’s surprise, it was ranked the fifth best-selling album worldwide on IFPI’s 2020 Global Album Sales Chart, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.
Shortly after, they released their first documentary film, Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, which premiered on Netflix on October 14, 2020 which covered the first years of their breakout success.
The documentary with footage from their training days, behind-the-scenes stories, and interviews with the members, as well as glimpses into the making of The Album. It was reminiscent of their YouTube reality shows, and gave fans (also known as “blinks”) a little glimpse of the girls’ private life at home.
With a video game release, Metaverse shows, numerous Guinness World Records, and collaborations with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, the world was Blackpink’s oyster.
Testament to their individual talent star power, each Blackpink member has launched a successful solo career, earning widespread acclaim.
These girls want it all—and they just might get it.
Jennie
Rapper and lead vocalist Jennie kick started her career with Solo, her first single, which topped the Billboard 200 chart in 2019. More recently, she dropped her second single Mantra, which has been streamed over 100 million times on Spotify since its Oct. 11 debut.
Jennie made her acting debut on The Idol, the provocative and titillating HBO show co-created by pop star The Weeknd. Her solo-career song was featured on the show’s soundtrack, One of the Girls, featuring co-stars The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp.
She’s also making waves in the fashion world. In June, she closed out Jacquemus’ 15th-anniversary runway show in Capri, Italy. She is a Chanel global ambassador and even designed a capsule collection for Calvin Klein in 2023.
Jisoo
Jisoo released Me, a single album with two songs, Flowers and All Eyes on Me, in March of 2023. The two-song album has surpassed 1 billion streams on YouTube since its release, with Flowers netting over 550 million views on YouTube.
Like her bandmates’ releases, Me found impressive commercial success. It broke the record for the best-selling album by a K-pop female soloist and became the first to sell a million copies in history.
She has since pivoted from music and has stepped into the world of acting. Jisoo has made appearances in multiple shows, including Snowdrop, Arthdal Chronicles, and is set to appear in Newtopia in 2025.
She also announced her role in the upcoming movie adaptation of the webtoon Omniscient Readers Viewpoint.
Lisa
Lisa hasn’t been slacking either. In Nov. 2021, she first dropped her debut single album, Lalisa, which featured two songs (which seems to be a pattern for the BLACKPINK members’ solo debuts), Lalisa, and Money.
The drop sold 736,221 copies and broke several records, Money became the first song by a female K-pop soloist to chart for multiple weeks, and the song has been streamed over 1.2 billion times on Spotify. Lalisa earned her first VMA and EMA as a solo artist.
A month later, she collaborated with Dj Snake, Ozuna, and Megan thee Stallion on the Latin trap song SG, which peaked at no.19 on the Billboard Global 200.
Just this year alone, she performed at Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes charity event held by the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron. She headlined the Global Citizen Festival, performed at the VMAs, and was part of the all-female lineup at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
For fans that just can’t get enough of Lisa, there’s good news: She is set to make her acting debut in 2025 in the HBO television series The White Lotus. A sneak peak of the show, released on Nov. 11, reveals the pop star will be an employee in the show’s namesake resort chain. As White Lotus fans know, the hotel staff is always at the heart of the series’ twists and turns, often pulling the strings behind the lavish chaos.
Rosé
Rosé dropped R, her single album with two songs, On the Ground and Gone. On the Ground was a smash hit and broke records—including one held for over eight years by her label mate Psy, of Gangnam Style fame.
In October, Rosé announced an upcoming album to be released on Dec. 6 on her Instagram. The album will be titled Rosie.
“I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine. Rosie – is the name I allow my friends and family to call me,” Rosé captions the post. “With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me. And yes, it’s a full length album.”
Rosie will be her first full-length album, and I for one absolutely cannot wait to hear what wonders she has in store—especially based on the the upcoming album’s lead single APT., a collaboration with singer-songwriter Bruno Mars.
APT made Rosé the first female K-pop artist to enter the Billboard Top 10 in history.
Blackpink Lives
Despite pursuing individual projects, each finding success in those pursuits, Jennie, Lisa, Rosé, and Jisoo have assured blinks everywhere that Blackpink is together.
Moreover, their label, YG Entertainment, confirmed the K-pop group had renewed their contract in Dec. 2023 in an announcement posted to their site.
The content is provided for informational purposes and is based on the author’s perspective. Trendy Matters has no affiliation with any of the people or organizations mentioned in this article.
