2010–2016: Formation and pre-debut activities Blackpink began forming in 2010 when
YG Entertainment held tryouts worldwide for preteen or teenage recruits to create a new girl group after launching its first major one,
2NE1, the previous year. According to the members, joining the label as
trainees was akin to enrolling in a full-time pop-star academy, with
Jennie describing the experience as "more strict than school" and
Rosé comparing it to
The X Factor with dorm rooms. For members who had left their lives outside of South Korea, the pace of training alongside the culture shock was especially difficult. Preparations for Blackpink's debut began as early as 2011, when YG Entertainment revealed on November 14 that their new girl group would debut in the early half of 2012 and feature at least seven members. Consequently, numerous news stories and rumors surfaced surrounding the new girl group's debut being delayed, although there had been no official information. It was until May 18, 2016, that YG Entertainment confirmed the girl group would debut that July, stating that the members were selected through years of stiff competition. The label later confirmed that Jang Hanna and
Moon Sua, who were introduced to the public as potential members of the new girl group, were not included in the lineup. Jennie, the group's main rapper and lead vocalist, was the first member revealed on June 1, 2016. She joined YG Entertainment as a trainee in 2010 after moving back to South Korea from New Zealand. She had been introduced to the public for the first time in 2012 in a photo titled "Who's that girl?" on YG Entertainment's website on April 10. Jennie continued to be promoted as a member of the new girl group through multiple collaborations: she starred in the music video for
G-Dragon's "
That XX" (2012) from his
EP One of a Kind and featured in the songs "Black" (2013), from his album
''Coup d'Etat'', and "Special" (2013), from
Lee Hi's album
First Love.
Lisa, the group's main rapper and main dancer, was revealed as the second member on June 8, 2016. She was first introduced in May 2012 in a video that was posted on YG Entertainment's
YouTube channel, titled "Who's that girl???". Lisa also appeared in the music video for
Taeyang's "
Ringa Linga" in 2013. She became a spokesperson for YG's streetwear brand
Nona9on in 2015 and its cosmetics brand
Moonshot in 2016.
Jisoo, the group's lead vocalist, was revealed as the third member on June 15, 2016. On June 29, YG Entertainment confirmed that the new girl group would have four members instead of the originally planned nine and revealed its official name as Blackpink. According to a label representative, the group's name meant "pretty isn't everything" and symbolized that "they are a team that encompasses not only beauty, but also great talent". Jisoo later disclosed in a press conference that other group names under consideration included Pink Punk, Baby Monster, and Magnum. Blackpink released their first dance practice video on July 6, which garnered much public attention. On July 29, YG Entertainment confirmed that Blackpink's debut would be on August 8, 2016.
2016–2017: Debut, rising popularity, and commercial success " at the
2016 Melon Music Awards|alt=Blackpink performing "Playing with Fire" onstage Promotions for the group's debut began in the first week of August 2016 with the release of teaser images, videos, and advertisements. The first girl group to debut under YG Entertainment in seven years, They charted at number one and two, respectively, on the
Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, making Blackpink the fastest act to achieve such a feat and the third YG Entertainment artist to hold the top two positions simultaneously, after
Psy and
BigBang. Upon release, "Whistle" quickly swept all the Korean music charts and debuted at number one on the
Gaon Digital Chart. Blackpink's first music show performance aired on August 14, 2016, on
SBS's
Inkigayo. They won first place on
Inkigayo fourteen days after their debut. They wrapped up promotions for
Square One on September 11, 2016, with a second win on
Inkigayo. Blackpink released their second single album,
Square Two, consisting of tracks "
Playing with Fire" and "
Stay", on November 1, 2016. The group began promotions on
Inkigayo on November 6 and on
Mnet's
M Countdown on November 10. "Playing with Fire" was Blackpink's second single to reach number one on the
Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and the first K-pop girl group song to chart on the
Billboard Canadian Hot 100. In South Korea, "Playing with Fire" peaked at number three, while "Stay" placed in the top ten. Blackpink's commercial success in their first five months earned them several rookie awards at major Korean year-end music award shows, including the
Asia Artist Awards,
Melon Music Awards,
Golden Disc Awards,
Seoul Music Awards, and
Gaon Chart Music Awards. Additionally,
Billboard named them one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016. " at the Korea Music Festival in 2017|alt=Blackpink performing "As If It's Your Last" onstage On January 17, 2017, Blackpink revealed the name of their
fandom—"Blink", a
portmanteau of "black" and "pink". On June 22, the group released their first standalone digital single, "
As If It's Your Last". According to Jisoo, it involved a change of sound from their previous releases, which featured a "black" concept, and marked their first single with a brighter "pink" concept. The song peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number 13 on
Billboards
Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, becoming their first song to enter the latter chart. It debuted at number one on
Billboards
World Digital Song Sales chart one day after release, making it their third number-one single on the chart. The music video for the song later went on to break the record for the most-liked music video by a Korean girl group on YouTube, as well as the most-viewed K-pop group music video in the first 24 hours of release. On July 20, 2017, Blackpink held a showcase at
Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, which was attended by over 14,000 people, with as many as 200,000 people attempting to purchase tickets. The group made their Japanese debut on August 30, 2017, with the release of a
self-titled Japanese extended play (EP) that included Japanese versions of their previous singles. The EP debuted and peaked atop the
Oricon Albums Chart, making Blackpink only the third foreign artist to top the chart with their debut release. Blackpink ranked among YouTube's Global Top 25 Songs of the Summer in 2017 with "As If It's Your Last".
2018–2019: International breakthrough and first world tour On January 6, 2018, Blackpink released the first episode of their first reality show,
Blackpink House, which comprised 12 episodes released throughout 2018 following the four members spending 100 days of vacation as they moved into their new dorm, via their official
V Live and YouTube channels. On March 28, Blackpink re-released their debut Japanese EP under the name
Re:Blackpink. The digital version included the same songs as the original release, while the physical version included a
DVD of all their music videos and six songs in the Korean language. in 2018|alt=Blackpink smiling upon receiving an award On June 15, 2018, the group released their first Korean-language EP,
Square Up. In South Korea, the EP debuted at number one on the
Gaon Album Chart and was certified
platinum by the
Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) for selling 250,000 units.
Square Up brought the group their first entry and the highest-charting album by a female Korean group at the time of its release on the
Billboard 200, debuting at number 40. and led Blackpink to become the first female Korean group to reach number one on the
Billboard Emerging Artists chart. The EP's lead single, "
Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, while "
Forever Young" peaked at number two; both songs were certified platinum by the KMCA for surpassing 2,500,000 downloads and 100,000,000 streams in the country. In the United States, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted at number 55 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and became the highest-charting song by a Korean girl group in the country at that time, surpassing the record set by "
Nobody" by
Wonder Girls in 2009. It additionally marked the first time a Korean girl group entered the US
Streaming Songs chart, entering at number 39. In the United Kingdom, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted at number 78 on the
UK singles Chart and made Blackpink the first female Korean group to enter the chart. YouTube's official tally saw the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" garner a total of 36.2 million views within 24 hours after its release, making it the most-viewed online video in the first 24 hours by a Korean act and the second most-watched music video of all time in the first 24 hours of release at the time. It became the most-watched music video by a South Korean group in January 2019 and became the first K-pop group music video to surpass one billion views in November 2019 and two billion views in January 2023. "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" was named the
Song of the Year by South Korean research company
Gallup Korea's annual public survey conducted in 2018. in 2018 Blackpink embarked on their sold-out first Japan tour,
Blackpink Arena Tour 2018, in
Osaka from July 24 to 25 to promote their Japanese
EP. The tour was initially set for six shows across Osaka,
Fukuoka and
Chiba, but an additional show in Chiba was added due to overwhelming demand. A final tour stop was later added for December 24 at the
Kyocera Dome Osaka as a Christmas gift for fans, where Blackpink performed to a sold-out crowd of 50,000 people. On September 12, it was announced that the group would hold their first concert in Seoul, Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x
BC Card, at the
Olympic Gymnastics Arena. The concert was the first show of the
In Your Area World Tour, which continued throughout 2019 and early 2020 in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. By the end of its run, the tour had become the highest-grossing tour by a Korean girl group. On October 19, 2018, English singer
Dua Lipa released "
Kiss and Make Up" with Blackpink, a new track on the re-released edition of her
self-titled debut album. "Kiss and Make Up" became the group's second entry on the
UK singles Chart, peaking at number 36, which made it the first top-40 hit by a female Korean group. The song was certified silver in the UK by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI), marking the first time a Korean group received a certification in the UK. It was also the first song by a Korean group to be certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). On October 23, the group signed with
Interscope Records in a global partnership with YG Entertainment; their representation outside Asia was to be handled by Interscope and
Universal Music Group. In November 2018, Blackpink announced additional tour dates for their In Your Area World Tour, which covered various dates across Asia from January to March 2019. Jennie made her solo debut with her single "
Solo" at Blackpink's Seoul concert on November 11; both the song and its official music video were released the following day. Their first Japanese studio album,
Blackpink in Your Area, was made available digitally on November 23 and physically on December 5. The album included Japanese versions of all of their previous releases and debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart. in 2019|alt=Blackpink on the red carpet of the 2019 Golden Disc Awards Blackpink made their American debut at the
Universal Music Group's 2019
Grammy Artist Showcase, an invite-only event at the ROW in
Downtown Los Angeles on February 9, 2019. The group subsequently appeared on several American television shows, including
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and
Good Morning America. That March, they became the first K-pop girl group to cover
Billboard magazine. Blackpink's third extended play,
Kill This Love, was released on April 5, 2019, alongside its
lead single of the same name. In South Korea, the EP debuted at number three on the Gaon Album Chart and was certified 2× platinum by the KMCA for selling 500,000 units in the country, while the lead single peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and was certified platinum for surpassing 100,000,000 streams in the country. The song's music video broke the record for the most views within 24 hours on YouTube, accumulating 56.7 million views in that time. "Kill This Love" ranked at number 66 on
Billboards list of the 100 Best Songs of 2019. Following the EP's release, Blackpink performed at the 2019
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12 and 19, 2019, making them the first female K-pop group to do so. The group's Coachella set was well received by both critics and fans alike, with Gab Ginsberg of
Billboard calling the show "electrifying" and "unforgettable". On October 16, 2019, a Japanese version of
Kill This Love was released to the Japanese market, peaking at number five on the Oricon Albums Chart. The group embarked on a variety of promotional activities in Japan, including appearances on Japanese music television programs
TV Asahi's
Music Station and
Fuji TV's
Love Music. In January of the following year, Blackpink was voted
Paper magazine's 2019 K-pop Sensation of the Year in their annual Break the Internet Awards list.
2020–2021: The Album and The Show On April 22, 2020,
Lady Gaga confirmed that Blackpink would be featured on the track list of her sixth studio album,
Chromatica. Their collaboration, "
Sour Candy", was released as a
promotional single on May 28, 2020. On the
Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 33, giving Blackpink their first top 40 hit and becoming the highest-charting song by a Korean girl group in the US. In Australia, the song debuted at number eight, becoming Blackpink's first top-ten hit as well as the highest-charting song by a Korean group in the country. It also debuted at number 17 in the United Kingdom. On May 18,
YG Entertainment announced the group would release a pre-release single in June, followed by an additional single release between July and August, to promote their first Korean studio album. On June 2, YG Entertainment confirmed that following the release of the studio album, members Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo would release individual projects, with Rosé's coming first. In the midst of the group's comeback preparations, YG Entertainment released a prologue of Blackpink's newest reality show,
24/365 with Blackpink, on June 13, ahead of its launch on YouTube. The show documents their 2020 comebacks while sharing their daily lives through vlogs. The single "
How You Like That" was heavily teased on social media in the lead-up to its digital release on June 26. In South Korea, it peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for three weeks and was certified platinum for surpassing 100 million streams in the country. Its music video broke five
Guinness World Records, including the one for the most-viewed video in the first 24 hours of release, achieving 86.3 million views in that timeframe. The song ranked first in
YouTube Music's Global Top 10 Songs of Summer 2020 and won
Song of Summer at the
2020 MTV Video Music Awards, making Blackpink the first Korean female act to win at the award show. YG Entertainment later announced that a second single, "
Ice Cream" with American singer
Selena Gomez, would be released on August 28. "Ice Cream" debuted and peaked at number 13 on the
Billboard Hot 100, surpassing their own record for the highest-charting song by a female Korean act in the US. Its debut at number 39 in the United Kingdom made Blackpink the Korean artist with the most top 40 songs in the country at the time, with five. Blackpink released their first Korean studio album,
The Album, on October 2, 2020, with "
Lovesick Girls" as its third and main single. Leading up to the exclusive video premiere of their music video for "Lovesick Girls", Blackpink appeared on YouTube's new original music show
Released as its first featured artist, which included "unfiltered access" moments of the group.
The Album set a first-week sales record for a Korean girl group, with 590,000 copies sold in just one day after its release. Blackpink became the first million-selling K-pop girl group with the album, which debuted at number one on the
Gaon Album Chart and sold approximately 1.2 million copies in less than one month after release. It was ranked the fifth best-selling album worldwide on IFPI's 2020 Global Album Sales Chart.
The Album peaked at number two on the
Billboard 200 and the
UK Albums Chart, making Blackpink the highest-charting Korean female act on each. The album's release also led Blackpink to become the first girl group to reach number one on the
Billboard Artist 100. To promote the album, Blackpink performed "Lovesick Girls" on
Good Morning America and
Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the United States on October 21. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and was certified platinum for surpassing 100,000,000 streams in South Korea; The group's first documentary film,
Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, premiered on
Netflix on October 14, 2020, and covered the four years since the group's debut in 2016. The documentary included footage from their training days, looks at their home lives, behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with the members, as well as glimpses into the making of
The Album. The commercial success of
The Album, combined with the group's Netflix documentary, resulted in Blackpink topping
Bloombergs Pop Star Power Ranking for October; they were the first Korean artist to top the ranking since its inception in April of that year. On December 2, Blackpink announced their collaboration with YouTube Music for their first livestream concert. The live event, dubbed "
The Show", was initially set to take place on December 27, 2020, but was rescheduled to January 31, 2021, due to new
COVID-19 pandemic regulations introduced in South Korea. The concert featured the first live performances of several songs from
The Album, as well as of Rosé's song "
Gone" from her first solo single album,
R. More than 280,000 people purchased memberships to access the show, and the concert was livestreamed across 100 countries. Blackpink released a Japanese version of
The Album on August 3, 2021, with Japanese versions for four out of the eight tracks ("How You Like That", "Pretty Savage", "Lovesick Girls", and "You Never Know"). The Japanese edition of
The Album peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart. On August 4, a documentary film entitled
Blackpink: The Movie was released in theaters in South Korea and worldwide, which included exclusive interviews with the group as well as live performances from The Show and the In Your Area World Tour.
2022–2023: Born Pink and second world tour On July 6, 2022, YG Entertainment announced that Blackpink was in the final stages of recording for a new album, with plans to record a music video in mid-July and release a new song in August. They also confirmed that the group would embark on their second world tour at the end of the year. On July 12, YG Entertainment revealed that Blackpink would hold a virtual in-game concert called
Blackpink: The Virtual in
PUBG Mobile from July 22 to 30, including performances of the group's hit songs as well as a special track titled "
Ready for Love" to be previewed during the event for the first time. "Ready for Love" was released in full with an animated music video on July 29. in 2022|alt=Blackpink standing onstage, facing leftwards On July 31, it was announced that Blackpink would release a pre-release single titled "
Pink Venom" on August 19, ahead of their second album in September, followed by an accompanying world tour beginning in October. Upon release, "Pink Venom" topped the
Billboard Global 200 for two weeks, becoming the first number-one song by a girl group as well as the first Korean song to top the chart for multiple weeks. It peaked at number two on South Korea's
Circle Digital Chart, number 22 on the
Billboard Hot 100, and became the first song by a Korean group to top the
ARIA Singles Chart in Australia. On August 28, Blackpink performed "Pink Venom" at the
2022 MTV Video Music Awards, making them the first female K-pop group in history to perform at the show, and won the award for
Best Metaverse Performance for
The Virtual. On September 16, 2022, Blackpink released their second studio album,
Born Pink, alongside the single "
Shut Down", which became their second song to top the
Billboard Global 200. "Shut Down" peaked at number three on the Circle Digital Chart and number 25 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Born Pink debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 2,141,281 copies sold in less than two days of tracking and became the first album by a K-pop girl group to sell over two million copies. In the United States, it debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, the first album by a female Korean act to top the chart and the first album by a female group to do so since
Danity Kane's
Welcome to the Dollhouse in 2008. In the United Kingdom,
Born Pink also became the first album by a K-pop girl group to reach number one on the
UK Albums Chart, and marked the first time a girl group simultaneously topped the album charts in the United States and United Kingdom since
Destiny's Child's
Survivor in 2001. The album was the eighth best-selling album worldwide across all formats during 2022, according to the IFPI. In December, the group was named 2022
Entertainer of the Year by
Time magazine. Following the album's release, Blackpink embarked on the
Born Pink World Tour, which began in Seoul on October 15, 2022, followed by the tour's North American and European legs through December. The tour contained the first live performances of several songs from
Born Pink and the members' solo releases, consisting of the single albums
R (2021) by Rosé,
Lalisa (2021) by Lisa,
Me (2023) by Jisoo, and the single "
You & Me" (2023) by Jennie. Blackpink released the reality show
Born Pink Memories on YouTube starting on December 2, which documents behind-the-scenes vlogs of the entire
Born Pink era, from comeback preparations to touring. On January 28, 2023, the group performed "Pink Venom" and "Shut Down" with musicians
Gautier Capuçon and
Daniel Lozakovich in Paris at a charity event organized by the First Lady of France,
Brigitte Macron, titled Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes. The tour continued in 2023 with stadium shows across Asia as well as several concerts in other continents. |alt=Blackpink with their hands raised, surrounded by feathers Blackpink headlined the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15 and 22, 2023, making history as the first Asian act to serve as a headliner. The group's headlining set at Coachella was received positively by fans and critics, who praised their confident, energizing performance and described it as a historic moment for the representation of K-pop on a global stage. On July 2, Blackpink became the first Korean band to headline a major UK festival with
British Summer Time Hyde Park in London. Blackpink returned for an encore stadium tour starting in July in France and the United States. The encore leg set several historical records, including making them the first Korean girl group to perform in a stadium in Europe, the first girl group to perform at the
Allegiant Stadium,
Oracle Park, and
Dodger Stadium in the United States, and the third female act in history after
Beyoncé and
Taylor Swift to sell out back-to-back shows at
MetLife Stadium. On May 18, the group announced a song titled "
The Girls", which was released as part of the soundtrack for their
mobile game,
Blackpink: The Game, on August 25, 2023. It was released alongside a physical version, which debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 160,460 copies sold in the first week, becoming the group's fifth number-one album. At the
2023 MTV Video Music Awards, Blackpink was awarded
Best Choreography for "Pink Venom" as well as
Group of the Year, becoming the second girl group since
TLC in 1999 to receive the latter honor. The Born Pink World Tour concluded on September 17 with two finale concerts in Seoul; by the end of its run, it drew 1.8 million attendees in total, making it the most-attended concert tour by a Korean girl group. The tour ranked at number ten on
Billboards 2023 Year End Top 40 Tours chart worldwide, leading the ranking of K-pop tours of the year. With a worldwide gross of $330 million, it broke the record held by
Spice Girls'
Spice World – 2019 Tour to become the
highest-grossing concert tour of all time by a female group. The Born Pink World Tour also became the highest-grossing tour by an Asian act in history.
2023–present: Contract renewal and third world tour With Blackpink's contracts with YG Entertainment set to expire in August 2023, the label released a statement to South Korean media in July confirming that contract renewals were currently under discussion and later confirmed with another statement in November that they were "still negotiating with the artists regarding their exclusive contracts." On November 15,
Billboard announced
Blackpink: A VR Encore, a version of the group's Seoul encore show made for
virtual reality in partnership with
Meta. Produced by the Diamond Bros, the 70-minute concert premiered in VR in
Meta Horizon Worlds. On December 5, 2023, YG Entertainment confirmed that all four members of Blackpink had renewed their contracts for group activities and promised a new album and world tour to come. A concert film celebrating the group's eighth debut anniversary entitled
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] in Cinemas was released in theaters across 110 countries worldwide starting on July 31, 2024, consisting of their performances from Seoul's Gocheok Dome alongside footage from other cities on the tour. They also held a fan sign event in Seoul on August 8, the date of their eighth anniversary, to which 88 fans on Weverse received invites through a lucky draw. YG Entertainment's founder Yang Hyun-suk confirmed a 2025 comeback and world tour from Blackpink in a video released in July 2024 detailing the label's upcoming plans. in 2025 Blackpink released the first teaser video for their upcoming tour on February 5, 2025. On February 19, the group announced dates for a world tour kicking off on July 5 at
Goyang Stadium in Goyang and then heading to stadiums in North America and Europe, including London's
Wembley Stadium, making them the first K-pop girl group to perform at the venue. The tour's title was revealed as the
Deadline World Tour on May 16. On June 23, YG Entertainment announced that Blackpink would first reveal their comeback single at the tour's first show in Goyang. Following its debut performance on July 5, the single "
Jump" was officially released on July 11 through YG Entertainment in a new distribution partnership with
the Orchard, replacing the group's previous distributor Interscope. It became their third song to top the
Billboard Global 200 and their fourth to top the
Billboard Global Excl. US, making Blackpink the female act with the most number ones in the latter chart's history. The song also debuted at number 28 on the US
Billboard Hot 100, earning the group their tenth entry on the chart. On January 14, 2026, Blackpink officially announced their third Korean extended play
Deadline will be released on February 27, alongside its second single and lead track "
Go". Upon release, the EP sold 1,461,785 copies in its first day and broke the record for the highest first-day sales for a K-pop girl group in Hanteo Chart history. Blackpink became the first girl group in Hanteo Chart history to have two or more albums sell over 1 million copies on the first day of release, following
Born Pink.
Deadline debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 1,756,992 copies sold in less than two days of tracking, becoming the group's sixth number-one album. In the United States,
Deadline debuted at number eight and became Blackpink's third top-ten album on the
Billboard 200. ==Artistry==