It’s turned every comeback into a global event and has funnelled the fandom’s streaming power into the kind of headline-making, spreadsheet-melting numbers that have seduced many a label executive. It’s not a failsafe plan - it draws constant fan criticism, petitions and boycott threats - but the old-school approach, in an era of oversaturation and instant gratification, has created heightened desire and demand. Groups now average two or three releases (known as ‘comebacks’) a year in a bid to grow and maintain fandoms, but YG Entertainment - one of South Korea’s oldest K-pop agencies - remained unapologetically committed to less is more. One release per year was once standard in K-pop, when there were fewer groups fighting for a share of a small domestic market. These milestones came via a fandom that had grown rapidly since late 2016, but who had to wait eight months for 2017’s single “As If It’s Your Last”, then an entire year for its follow-up “Square Up”. The four-track EP, Square Up, would go platinum in South Korea, “DDDD” would reach gold in the US, becoming their first billion-view video, and “ Kill This Love” would make them the first-ever Korean girl group to enter the UK singles chart. Success lay in the catchy titular refrain, the memorable finger-gun dance and a gloriously excessive video, but also in Blackpink themselves as aspirational but emulatable, aesthetically fierce but not intimidating, killer on stage but adorable off it. Nineteen-year-old Ally (not her real name), a Singaporean who runs a sizeable fan account on Twitter calls “DDDD” “their total breakthrough”. Their debut, Square One, was an overnight smash, the insistent build of “ Whistle” and cocky chorus on “ Boombayah” making for a short but thrilling introduction. There were big shoes to fill the beloved, trailblazing four-member girl group 2NE1 were over and Blackpink were expected to revive the bold EDM pop sound they’d embodied. How on earth did they do it? New-gen girl bandĪs the first girl group in seven years out of YG Entertainment (home to K-pop legends Bagbang, 2NE1 and formerly, Psy), excitement prior to Blackpink’s August 2016 debut had built to fever pitch. And all this with just a handful of songs in their repertoire. They’ve been front-row fixtures at runway shows and the faces of mega brands including Chanel, Puma, Louis Vuitton and Dior. That same year they also undertook the most financially successful concert tour by a Korean female group. Read more: 7 K-Pop Stars Shaping Fashion In 2020 In 2019, they broke three Guinness World Records with the single “ Kill This Love”, which has had more than 312 million plays on Spotify and over 824 million YouTube views - a mere fraction of the quartet’s billions of streams, downloads, views and followers. They were the first K-pop girl group to play at Coachella and to reach 1 billion YouTube views - now they’re the most-subscribed-to music group on the platform - as well as being the first girl group from any country to feature on Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list. You can see the full list of the world’s 53 best cities here, or read on to learn more about the cities that ranked in the top 20.It’s taken just four years for Blackpink to become one of the biggest girl bands in the world, with members Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa continuing to smash new records and forge new ground. “Now, after a prolonged period of limited travel, the world is opening up and people are itching to get back out there and explore cities again,” he says. It was also voted the number one place people would go if they could move to any other city.Īccording to Gleason, the 2022 list was more focused on what make cities great places to visit, including eating and drinking art, culture and museums and nightlife and party going. It was named the number one city on the list for resilience, as well as number three for art, culture and museums. But there were enough good things this year to keep NYC in the top 20. According to Gleason, only 23% of respondents said it’s a friendly city, 93% viewed it as expensive and 61% said it is not relaxing. New York City also had a big drop-down 15 slots from last year, when it was voted number five.
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