ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

8 Things To Know About BLACKPINK, Your New Obsession

Photo: JC Olivera/Getty Images.
When the Coachella lineup dropped earlier this year, fans delighted at the big-name headliners, including Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande. But many may have noticed an unusual groundswell of excitement on social media for a name that may be less familiar stateside, but nonetheless occupies the coveted marquee real estate reserved for the festival's biggest acts: BLACKPINK.
The four-member girl group is one of the fiercest, most promising acts out of Korea right now, and already poised for world domination. With a world tour set for this year — including several North American arena stops — tight choreography, enviable style, and killer hooks and raps to go with it, members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are ready to become your newest obsession. Ahead, we have the answers to your burning questions.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
BLACKPINK, also stylized as BLΛƆKPIИK, was formed in 2016 by YG Entertainment.
The Seoul-based group debuted three years ago with four members: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. They were the first girl group that management giant YG Entertainment had created in six years, since the immensely successful (and Emma Stone-approved) 2NE1. The name "BLACKPINK" was given to the group to symbolize the multi-dimensional nature of its members. "Blackpink actually means to say that 'pretty isn't everything'," said a YG rep. "It also symbolizes that they are a team that encompasses not only beauty, but also great talent."
Their fans are called "Blinks."
A portmanteau of the words "black" and "pink," Blinks are the band's loyal supporters, accounting for their 14.9 million followers on Instagram as well as 1.6 million on Twitter. At concerts, you'll spot many carrying BLACKPINK's signature hammer lightstick.
Credit: YG Entertainment
Each member of BLACKPINK plays a distinctive role and adds their own fuel to the band's girl power.
Kim Jisoo, who goes by Jisoo, is BLACKPINK's 24-year-old lead vocalist, who is trilingual in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. While she tends to clam up when asked to speak English, she's in no way a wallflower: she's an adventurous eater, has a rich belting voice, and is charmingly quirky.
Kim Jennie, who goes by Jennie, is the 23-year-old vocalist and main rapper of the group. She speaks Korean, Japanese, and a fluent English speaker with a distinguishable New Zealand accent, since she spent much of her youth there. Jennie is known for her duality — one minute gushing over her dogs, and the other fiercely spitting bars. She's a frequent fashion week attendee and loves cooking. She also recently released a solo track titled, "Solo."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Park Chaeyoung, who goes by Rosé, is the 22-year-old main vocalist of BLACKPINK. She speaks Korean, Japanese, and is fluent in English, as she was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, and later Melbourne, Australia before moving to Korea. A multi-instrumentalist, Rosé plays guitar and piano, and is known for her velvety, sweet voice.
Lalisa/Pranpriya Manoban, who goes by Lisa, is the youngest (maknae) of the group at 21, and was born in Thailand before later moving to Korea. She speaks Korean, English, Japanese, Thai, and some Chinese. A veritable triple threat, Lisa is the group's lead rapper and sings, but is known primarily for her killer dancing. Her stage presence is magnetic, and she always seems to have a mischievous glint in her eye while she's serving looks and breaking it down.
BLACKPINK's music video for their song “DDU-DU DDU-DU” became the fastest K-pop visual to reach 500 million views on YouTube.
The group's summer 2018 song was a massive hit, and remains the highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 hit ever by a female K-pop group. They chose to perform the song for their U.S. television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and recently on GMA.
Embed Video
They're known for their unapologetic badass attitude and bittersweet flare.
BLACKPINK has already amassed a massive following with technically only nine songs under their belt — the large majority of which are slick EDM-pop tracks with hard-hitting hooks. Notable songs to check out include "As If It's Your Last" and "Playing With Fire." They also teamed up with Best New Artist Grammy winner Dua Lipa for "Kiss and Make Up," a bilingual track and the group's second entry into the Billboard Hot 100.

More from Music

ADVERTISEMENT