Blackpink's 7th anniversary, the history of K-pop girl groups

Blackpink's 7th anniversary, the history of K-pop girl groups... anticipation for their re-signing

Debut 7th anniversary coming up on the 8th...Currently on a world tour with 1.5 million attendees. Contract renewal with YG expected to be decided at the end of this month.

K-pop's leading girl group 'Blackpink' will mark their 7th anniversary on August 8th. The significance of this milestone for the group that made history in K-pop is great, but there is also much interest in how the four members and their agency, YG Entertainment, will wisely overcome the "7-year curse" that many K-pop groups face at the point of renewing their contracts after their initial 7-year period.

In July 2009, the Fair Trade Commission established standard contract terms for entertainers, including a clause that prohibits exclusive contracts between entertainment agencies and actors from exceeding seven years. Many groups have experienced a turning point when renewing their contracts after their 7th year debut.

Currently, Blackpink has scheduled their world tour "The Show" until August 26th in Los Angeles, USA. The industry expects that the renewal of Blackpink and YG's contract will be confirmed at the end of this month. In some cases, if the artist and the agency are willing to continue negotiations, they may maintain the existing contract conditions even after the expiration of the contract.

Blackpink, soon to make history in K-pop girl groups

BLACKPINK debuted on August 8, 2016 with their single 'Square One' featuring the double title tracks 'Whistle' and 'Boombayah'.

A team that gained attention by carrying the large planning agency YG on their backs with their flashy appearance. It was a "regular phrase" that appeared whenever Blackpink was evaluated. However, before enjoying worldwide popularity, each of the four members had a considerable amount of blood, sweat, and tears mixed in.

Jisoo (28), who dreamed of becoming an actress, started her idol trainee life relatively late. Jennie (27) was born in Korea and studied abroad in New Zealand. Rosé (26) was born in New Zealand and spent her childhood in Australia. Lisa (26), who is from Thailand. They trained for a long time and decided on their careers early on, so they didn't have many memories of their school days.

The Netflix documentary "Blackpink: Light Up the Sky," the first K-pop artist documentary, released in 2020, looked at human beings Jennie Kim (Jennie), Kim Jisoo (Jisoo), Rose (Park Chae-young), and Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), not just "celebrity Blackpink."

Directed by Korean-American Caroline Suh, who presented a well-made documentary with "Salt. Acid. Fat. Heat," the most important thing was the emotions of the members who left home at a young age.

In the documentary, Rose shed tears as she talked about her home and family. Being a trainee was not easy. The members were evaluated individually and as a group in front of their agency representatives and producers every month. At the beginning of their training, they were also focused on "competition." However, the Blackpink members had a positive outlook on their trainee life. Jennie said, "The time as a trainee is what makes K-pop K-pop." And when the four members started moving as one team one day, they became a family.

The name of the Blackpink team slightly denies the meaning of the pretty pink color, which is commonly associated with the color of the team's name. It contains a twist meaning of "not everything pretty". On the other hand, it can also be interpreted as meaning that they show off their intense charisma on stage like the color black, but also hiding their lovely charm. It also means that they are a special girl group, like the adjective "black" in front of a special product.

Their looks are not their only weapon. In particular, their second full-length album, "The Album," was based on intense hip-hop. Three of the eight tracks on the album emphasized a stronger energy to the point of receiving a 19+ rating.

Teddy Park, YG's signature producer, who gathers the members of Blackpink as "Blackpink's fifth member," said in "Blackpink: Light Up the World" that "Blackpink is a unique combination of various cultures." Despite the extremely limited media exposure, he appeared in this documentary for Blackpink.

Producer Yang Hyun-suk said at the launch of Blackpink, "I didn't want to make music pretty and cute just because we picked pretty members. I wanted to show various colors while maintaining YG's style."

The path that Blackpink is taking is soon to be the history of K-pop girl groups.

Last year, BLACKPINK topped both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart with their second full-length album 'The Album', making them the only K-pop group along with BTS to achieve this feat. Additionally, while BTS holds the record for the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 among K-pop groups with 27 songs, BLACKPINK is close behind with 9 songs.

Furthermore, they are not only making history among K-pop girl groups, but also among all girl groups worldwide. The last time a girl group topped the Billboard 200 was in April 5, 2008, when American group Danity Kane did it with 'Welcome to the Dollhouse', marking a gap of 14 years and 5 months. Moreover, they became the first female group in 21 years since Destiny's Child, which also included pop superstar Beyoncé in 2001, to top both the U.S. and UK charts at the same time.

In April, they also became the first K-pop artists to headline the world-renowned music festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and received a huge response. Their ongoing world tour 'The Album' is the largest ever for a K-pop girl group with an audience of 1.5 million people. Last month, they also held a concert in Paris, France, with an audience of 55,000 people at the Stade de France.

One of the other factors contributing to BLACKPINK members' popularity is their luxurious image. All four members, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé, are known as fashionistas. They are each referred to as "human Chanel, Dior, Celine, and Saint Laurent," respectively, and are actively working as luxury brand models. This is why they are also known as the "girl group that occupies the first floor of a luxury department store". They are the envy of many women and are seen as role models. Their strong music and these images also contribute greatly to their popularity.

While BTS has their fandom, ARMY, BLACKPINK has their fandom, BLINK. They have a considerable number of female fans as well as male fans. Even the rising American singer-songwriter, Selena Gomez, calls herself a BLINK. Currently, BLACKPINK's official YouTube channel has over 90.4 million subscribers, making them the number one artist in the world. They have 43 videos with views in the billions and their accumulated views have surpassed 32.5 billion, earning them the title of "YouTube Queens".

Various rumors regarding renegotiation

Various rumors are swirling about the future plans of the four Blackpink members. These include Teddy, the YG producer who has worked closely with Blackpink, leading the way for Double Black Label, and rumors of some members signing with foreign agencies or establishing personal agencies. However, none of these rumors have been confirmed.

Blackpink members and YG are currently in negotiations for a re-signing. While YG did not respond to past dating rumors about Blackpink members, recent confirmation of a relationship between Jennie and G-Dragon has caused further confusion.

Despite this, the industry predicts that Blackpink and YG will continue to protect the Blackpink brand in some way. As a K-pop girl group with a unique position, it is expected that they will continue to have a strong impact for the foreseeable future. Additional world tour dates are also expected to be announced.

Most importantly, YG is in a situation where the intellectual property rights of Blackpink are urgently needed. YG's main artists are Big Bang and Blackpink, but with G-Dragon's contract expiring and no other Big Bang members left in YG, Blackpink is crucial to YG.

Currently, YG's boy group, Treasure, is very popular in Japan and recently achieved their first million seller with their second album "The First Step: Chapter Two," but they still have room to grow. Rookie girl group, "Baby Monsters," is expected to be another representative team for YG, but they have not yet debuted. YG's stock price, which hit the 90,000 won range after going public in May, was 77,600 won as of the closing price on the 4th.