'Blackpink in your area': Everything to know about the alluring group's members, tour and more

Olivia Munson, USA TODAY
Updated ·6 min read
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Since its debut in 2016, Blackpink has become one of the biggest groups to rise out of South Korea's music scene. From its record-breaking releases to the members' various projects, the girl group continues to make history.

And Blackpink made history once again by becoming the first Korean act to headline Coachella with performances on April 15 and 22.

With over 54.6 million followers on Instagram, 8.8 million followers on Twitter and 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Blackpink is one of the best-selling K-pop girl groups of all time.

Here is everything you need to know about the K-pop girl group Blackpink from its members to its milestones.

Who is Blackpink?

(L-R) Lisa, Jennie, Rosé and Jisoo of K-pop girl group Blackpink.
(L-R) Lisa, Jennie, Rosé and Jisoo of K-pop girl group Blackpink.

Blackpink is a four member K-pop girl group under YG Entertainment. Comprised of members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, the group debuted in 2016 with the song “Boombayah." The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard world digital song sales chart.

Throughout the years, Blackpink has released various albums and singles, including "Ddu-du Ddu-du" and "Kill This Love," which helped push the girl group into international stardom.

At the time of release, "Ddu-du Ddu-du" became the most-viewed music video in its first 24 hours by a K-pop group. The music video was also the first-ever song by a K-pop group to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube. After its release, "Kill This Love" was the the most-viewed music video in its first 24 hours, gaining 56.7 million views.

In 2020, the group was the subject of Netflix's first K-pop documentary, "BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky."

Since debut, Blackpink has had many collaborations, including "Kiss and Make Up" with Dua Lipa, "Sour Candy" with Lady Gaga, "Bet You Wanna" with Cardi B and "Ice Cream" with Selena Gomez.

Blackpink has toured across the globe. The group made stops in the U.S. during the "In Your Area" world tour in 2019 and the "Born Pink" world tour in 2022.

On April 16, it was announced Blackpink would return to the states for four stadiums shows.  During the "Born Pink Encore," the group will perform in:

  • East Rutherford, New Jersey – MetLife Stadium (Saturday, Aug. 12)

  • Las Vegas – Allegiant Stadium (Friday, Aug. 18)

  • San Fransisco – Oracle Park (Tuesday, Aug. 22)

  • Los Angeles – Dodgers Stadium (Saturday, Aug. 26)

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How many members are in Blackpink?

Lisa (from left), Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé of Blackpink
Lisa (from left), Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé of Blackpink

There are four members in Blackpink:

  • Jennie (Full name: Jennie Kim) Born Jan. 16, 1996 in Seoul, South Korea.

  • Jisoo (Full name: Kim Ji-soo) Born Jan. 3, 1995 in Gunpo, South Korea.

  • Lisa (Full name: Lalisa Manobal [also spelled Manoban]) Born March 27, 1997 in Buriram, Thailand.

  • Rosé (Full name: Roseanne Park, Korean name: Park Chae-young) Born Feb. 11, 1997 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Originally, Blackpink was supposed to debut with nine members but this was later changed.

Why are they called Blackpink?

During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in 2020, the group explained the reasoning behind its name.

It "kind of felt like those two colors represented us the most ‘cause we're very girly but at the same time we're very savage too," said Rosé in the interview.

Initially, the group had the tentative name "Pink Punk," which was created by YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk. This was later changed to Blackpink, according to a 2017 radio interview.

What are Blackpink fans called?

The fandom name for Blackpink is called "Blink."

The name derives from Blackpink. The "BL" comes from black and "INK" from pink, meaning that the fans start and end with Blackpink.

Blackpink makes history as Coachella headliners

Blackpink made history by becoming the first Korean act to headline Coachella after it was announced the group would perform at the festival in 2023.

Alongside headliners Bad Bunny and Frank Ocean, Blackpink is one of three main headliners for the famous two-weekend festival, which took place April 14 through 16 and April 21 through 23 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

This is the second time Blackpink performed at Coachella. In 2019, the group made history by becoming the first female K-pop idol group to perform at the festival.

Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie, and Rosé of BLACKPINK perform at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15, 2023.
Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie, and Rosé of BLACKPINK perform at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 15, 2023.

Blackpink makes Coachella history at 2023 festival, holds own without guests

Blackpink milestones

Blackpink has broke various records and has received many awards and accolades since its debut.

In 2016, Blackpink won the Rookie Singer Award at the Asia Artist Awards, Best of Next Female Artist at the MAMA Awards and Best New Artist at the Melon Music Awards. Blackpink won the award for Best Female Group at the MAMA Awards in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Additionally, the group won Artist of the Year at the 2023 Hanteo Music Awards.

The group has released two studio albums, one compilation album, three EPs, four live albums and four single albums. The group's second studio album "Born Pink" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking the first No.1 for an all-female group since 2008. Blackpink's first studio album "The Album" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Nine of Blackpink's songs have reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The group's collaboration with Selena Gomez "Ice Cream" peaked the highest at No. 13.

Blackpink holds the title of many "firsts" within the music industry. The group was the first girl group to top the Billboard Artist 100 chart. Blackpink is the first female Korean act to receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America with the 2018 single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du," which was certified gold.

The group is also the first Korean girl group to win a MTV Video Music Award, taking home the Song of Summer award for "How You Like That" in 2020.

Additionally, in 2019, Blackpink was the first female Korean group to be featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia. The group was also named Time's Entertainer of the Year in 2022.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blackpink: Everything you need to know about the K-pop group