Did someone say Blackpink in your area?
They may be the most powerful girl group in the world. But in the last two months, the four members of K-pop group Blackpink — Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa — have individually been on a tear. They each released their own solo albums; Lisa appeared in season three of The White Lotus; Jennie became the latest face of the Chanel 25 handbag; Rosé topped the charts with ‘APT’ featuring Bruno Mars at number two on the Billboard Global 200; while Jisoo completed her Asia tour — Lights, Love, Action! — following the release of her Amortage EP, and was cast in Korean drama series Boyfriend on Demand. Soon, following months of solo stardom, the four will reunite for a major Blackpink world tour, kicking off in July.
Since their explosive debut in 2016, Blackpink has dominated the K-pop genre. But unlike many K-pop bands, the group has also cracked the international music scene, to become the biggest girl group in the world. With a combined reach of 412.6 million across the band and individual Instagram pages, and a combined 151.7 million followers on TikTok, the influence of Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa is undeniable, presenting a major opportunity for brands that align.
The group’s mega-reach is the sum of its parts. As the Blackpink fandom (the Blinks) has grown globally over the last decade, each of Blackpink’s members have been tapped by some of luxury’s biggest names, including Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent and Tiffany. As they continue to hone their individual careers alongside the band, the quartet are creating more opportunities than ever for brands to sign them, dress them and align with their hefty fandoms.
Blackpink’s superpower is the individuality of its members. “Korea is very collectivist; for most groups, you don’t have a particular member who stands out… Blackpink is different,” says Hana Tolio, founder of The Art of Jeong, a cultural marketing agency based in Belgium. “They have four members who are very individually promoted, which you don’t usually get in South Korea. They each have their own personalities; none of them overlap. That individuality made them an international success in the Western world.”
Shaney Hwang, marketing coordinator at CJ ENM, which produces KCON, a global event platform celebrating K-pop and Korean culture through concerts and cultural experiences, explains that much of Blackpink’s appeal lies in its “seamless hybridisation” of Korean and Western pop attitudes, combining traditional K-pop choreography with striking visuals and personal branding. “Their success is due to the reciprocal effort between the group and their fans, who support them by attending concerts, purchasing luxury items [they promote] and amplifying their influence through online communities.”
