New Music Industry Watch original article, unauthorized reproduction is refused
Author | CokeZero
"There is no return to this statement, because we never left your field of vision."
In January, the Coachella Music Festival officially announced that BLACKPINK will join Bad Bunny and Frank Ocean as the 2023 Coachella leading lineup, and they will present the grand finale on the main stage the next day. This is the first time a K-Pop artist's name has appeared at the top of the festival's lineup, and BLACKPINK's global dominance is evident.
Six years after its debut, BLACKPINK has become the world's first girl group, with more than 84 million YouTube fans, and the album has been airborne to the Billboard 200 champion and has been on the chart for 13 consecutive weeks, not only setting a new history for K-Pop girl groups, but also the leader in the history of girl groups.
HOW DID BLACKPINK ACHIEVE GLOBAL SUCCESS? Can their experience be replicated? THIS ARTICLE WILL REVIEW BLACKPINK'S PATH TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD.
BLACKPINK IS ALREADY A "GLOBAL PHENOMENON"
FROM SOUND SOURCE TO TOUR, BLACKPINK IS IN FULL BLOOM ACROSS THE GLOBE.
AS OF FEBRUARY 2023, BLACKPINK'S YOUTUBE ACCOUNT HAS GAINED MORE THAN 84 MILLION FANS, AND THE CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF VIEWS OF SIX VIDEOS HAS EXCEEDED 1 BILLION, OF WHICH "DDU-DU DDU-DU" HAS EXCEEDED 2 BILLION VIEWS. The latest regular second album "BORN PINK" airborne Billboard 200 champion and has been on the charts for 13 consecutive weeks, once again setting a new history for K-Pop girl groups. The MV of the precursor song "Pink Venom" exceeded 90.4 million views in just 24 hours after its launch, setting a record for any female artist in the world.
In addition to its impressive music results, BLACKPINK's four-year world tour "BORN PINK" continues to explode around the world: starting with last year's Seoul venue, BLACKPINK plans to perform in 27 cities in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania for an eight-month period, which is expected to attract 1.5 million viewers.
Individual members are also constantly setting new records of "firsts": for example, recently, Lisa won three Guinness World Records - the first solo K-Pop artist to win the MTV Video Music Award, the first solo K-Pop artist to win the MTV Europe Music Awards, and the K-Pop artist with the most followers on Instagram; JISOO became the first Asian woman to appear on the highly anticipated French Vogue solo cover.
In the process, conquering the United States, the world's mainstream music and cultural center today, became the key to BLACKPINK's career takeoff.
BLACKPINK signed with Universal Music's Interscope Records in 2018, announcing its official entry into the US market. In 2019, just a week after the release of the new song "Kill This Love", BLACKPINK ushered in the most important turning point on the road to beauty.
INVITED BY COACHELLA, THE LARGEST MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE UNITED STATES, BLACKPINK BECAME THE FIRST KOREAN GIRL GROUP TO APPEAR AT THE FESTIVAL. During the more than an hour-long performance, they sang 13 songs including "DDU-DU DDU-DU" and "Kill This Love", and their gorgeous makeup and bold stage performance not only conquered the audience who were not very familiar with K-Pop in the audience, but also achieved global live broadcast through Times Square, YouTube and other channels.
After the stage, Pink Ink received high praise from overseas audiences and media, and the topic of "BLACKPINK Coachella" once jumped to the first place in Twitter's global real-time trend. Whether it is Jennie, who was named one of the top ten stages of the Coachella Music Festival by Billboard, or Rosé, the "Australian Wild Rose", who has exploded the social circle with beautiful direct shoots, the personal charm of the members has been highlighted through this opportunity.
BLACKPINK ON THE 2019 COACHELLA STAGE
Coachella's direct stage shooting, off-site footage and other content continue to ferment on major social media networks, and countless "god sealing scenes" and "beautiful god pictures" are frequently published. The overseas success has once again promoted the explosive growth of BLACKPINK's popularity in Korea, as well as in traditional K-Pop radiation regions including China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
AFTER THE COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL, BLACKPINK'S SOUND SOURCE RESULTS WERE BOOMING. The hit singles "DDU-DU DDU-DU", "How You Like That" and "Kill This Love" continue to refresh the history of K-Pop girl groups in major music charts and YouTube traffic.
During this period, BLACKPINK also obtained more opportunities to cooperate with top European and American singers. In the cooperation with foreign artists, they have gradually gained stronger initiative and voice power.
Among them, the single "Ice Cream" with Selena Gomez not only became BLACKPINK's first song to break into the top 20 of the Billboard 100 chart, but also set a record for the length of time of Korean female artists in history. In their first official album "THE ALBUM" released in 21, they surprised to invite the popular American rapper Cardi B to help "Bet You Wanna".
BLACKPINK collaborates with Selena Gomez on the single "Ice Cream"
Starting from the Coachella Music Festival, with their unique "black" & "pink" double-sided charm, BLACKPINK began to officially shine in the world music scene.
WHY DOES BLACKPINK BECOME POPULAR ALL OVER THE WORLD?
As a pacesetter in the United States and even the TOP girl group in the universe today, how did BLACKPINK break the prejudice of Western society on "K-Pop = subculture", break through step by step, and kill in the mainstream music industry and fashion industry?
ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT BLACKPINK'S POPULARITY IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES IS LARGELY DUE TO "OPPORTUNITY" AND "GOOD LUCK", IT CAN BE FOUND THAT BLACKPINK'S SUCCESS IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES IS NO ACCIDENT. As an ambitious work launched by YG, Pink has been targeting the international market from the very beginning.
1. International member selection
Of the four members, three – Jennie, Rosé and Lisa – have overseas upbringing and educational backgrounds.
From left to right: Jennie, Rosé, Lisa
Born in Seoul, Jennie has spent five years studying abroad in Auckland, New Zealand; Born in New Zealand, Rosé won the 2012 YG Australian Trials and then moved to South Korea to become a trainee; Born in Thailand, Lisa was a member of the Thai dance group We Zaa Cool in her early years, as did BamBam from GOT7 and Ten from NCT.
BLACKPINK members are veritable multi-Chinese lingual people, fluent Korean and English are the basic equipment, and Lisa is called a "mobile translation machine" that masters four Chinese languages. The overseas backgrounds of the three members not only bring them a natural "international style" and "high-class sense", but also help them communicate and communicate more smoothly with local media and fans. ALL THIS EFFECTIVELY SHORTENS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN KOREAN MUSIC CULTURE AND EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN AUDIENCES, AND HELPS BLACKPINK INTEGRATE INTO EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN CULTURAL CIRCLES FASTER AND MORE NATURALLY.
2. Highly unified "Girl Crush" cultural brand
BLACKPINK is no longer a simple girl idol group, but a highly unified cultural brand with a full range of packaging from music to vision - urban sound effects, MV, delicate and recognizable makeup of members, bold clothing matching... Each link coordinates with each other and constantly reinforces its unique "Girl Crush" concept.
A FOREIGN CRITIC ONCE SUMMED UP THE COMBINED CHARACTERISTICS OF BLACKPINK: "THE SO-CALLED BLACKPINK IS A VIBRANT HOOK AND BOLD UNIQUE BEATS CONSTANTLY HITTING THE EARDRUMS, A STRONG HEAVY HAMMER BASS AND A TRUMPET THAT HITS PEOPLE'S HEARTS, AND A PERFECT COMBINATION OF SWAG HIP-HOP AND REBELLION AND FIRE." The tone of Girl Crush is embellished with a touch of sexiness and charm, conveying the power of women. ”
Although Girl Crush in the K-Pop context lacks a unified definition and standard, they all point to a force that conveys "breaking free from traditional femininity", "bold and confident", and can resonate with female audiences. It derives a variety of expressions, sometimes the provocation of a dark "bad girl", sometimes a tomboy-like dashing, and sometimes a sexy and cold cool girl.
One of the most typical Girl Crush groups is the senior sister group 2NE1 with BLACKPINK, and their 2011 hit "I AM the Best" perfectly shows the concept of Girl Crush in many ways. Avant-garde exaggerated hairstyles, studded jackets, baseball bats, 2NE1's symbolic collision colors, strong hip-hop drums and vocals, and direct lyrics such as "Girls are following me" all show cold and even somewhat "deviant" female images, breaking the stereotype that girl groups can only be sweet or sexy at that time.
2NE1
BLACKPINK inherits the style lineage of 2NE1 Girl Crush, and their "confident, powerful and even rebellious" Girl Crush combination concept and matching music and visual design meet the aesthetic needs of European and American fans.
As far as the music itself is concerned, Pink follows YG's iconic musical tradition of "swag and power". Compared with the bright and sweet music style of most girl groups, the strong rhythm and 100% penetrating singing of BLACKPINK songs are better integrated into the club culture of Western society. In the face of this immersive thrill and enjoyment, the language barrier of the lyrics becomes insignificant.
In addition to music, visual design is also an integral part.
BLACKPINK'S MUSIC VIDEOS OFTEN USE STRONG COLOR COLLISIONS AND VISUALLY STRIKING ARTISTIC DESIGNS - ICONIC ELEMENTS SUCH AS FIRE, GRAFFITI, LIGHTING, RUINS AND BURSTS, OR STRONG AND EXCITING SETS SUCH AS "CRYSTAL LAMP SWING" AND "TANK SHINING LIKE DIAMONDS" THAT HAVE FREQUENTLY APPEARED IN THE MV. The members' chic, confident physical performance, and cold and beautiful expressions all convey a fearless energy to the viewer, and this "unrestrained, fearless, self-assertive" is highly in line with the spiritual attitude and cultural identity of young groups in Europe and the United States.
3. High-end luxury brand image
IN ORDER TO ENHANCE BLACKPINK'S "SENSE OF PREMIUM", THE GROUP HAS ALWAYS IMPLEMENTED "MYSTICISM" - NO NEWS, NO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, NO FREQUENT EXPOSURE ON MEDIA PLATFORMS.
IN FACT, IN THE FEW PUBLIC EVENT OPTIONS, BLACKPINK ONLY ATTENDS EVENTS WITH A "VIP-ONLY" NATURE THAT CAN FURTHER HIGHLIGHT ITS "HIGH-CLASS" AND "LUXURY" BRAND IMAGE, AND THEY MUST BE SURROUNDED BY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE IN VARIOUS FIELDS.
WHEN IT COMES TO BLACKPINK, THERE MUST BE THEIR ANTI-HEAVENLY FASHION RESOURCES THAT CAN'T BE SKIPPED. With its own unique fashion sense, Jennie and Rosé's private clothes have gradually become a template for wearing on social networks, and content such as "XXX same makeup" and "XXX same hairstyle" has also become the traffic password on major stations. The 4 members have become the representative faces of top brands, Jennie is Chanel, Gisoo is Dior, Lisa is Celine, and Rosé is Saint Laurent.
There are more details to prove their strong appeal in today's fashion industry: for example, Lisa is not only Celine's first global spokesperson, but also Hedi Slimane, the brand's creative director, personally shoots her brand ads; A photo of her wearing a Celine coat or bag on INS sparked a rush to buy. Jisoo was appointed by Dior as a dual ambassador for global fashion and beauty, marking the first time the brand has used an Asian female artist as a spokesperson.
Members are known as the "daughters" of each brand, and they frequently appear on the covers of fashion magazines, brand campaigns and fashion weeks, which further reinforces the sense of luxury and fashion of the group. The perfect integration of music and fashion has given BLACKPINK an all-round and cross-disciplinary strong influence.
4. Extreme hunger marketing tactics
With such a high combination positioning, YG adopted an extremely sophisticated hunger marketing strategy to stimulate market demand.
In 2016, BP released his debut singles "BOOMBAYAH" and "WHISTLE", and returned with "Play With Fire" and "Stay" only 3 months later. Just when everyone believed that BP would continue to release songs this frequency, the release of the new single "As If It's Your Last" came 7 months later.
In the face of BP's endless "foot picking" blank period, fans can at first jokingly call BP "the first girl group in Korea to serve in the military", and they gradually turn to anger and even despair during the long wait.
However, it is undeniable that these negative emotions have effectively generated stronger desires from fans. They search, create, and consume all forms of BP-related content on the Internet, combining reality shows, stages, mixes, fan creations... ALTHOUGH IT NEVER OFFICIALLY RETURNED, BLACKPINK'S NAME NEVER DISAPPEARED FROM PUBLIC VIEW.
In the midst of the uproar, Pink Mo officially returned in June 2018 with the mini album "Square Up", the album ranked 40th on the Billboard 200 chart, and the much-anticipated title "DDU-DU DDU-DU" broke many records of Korean girl groups in the US music charts and YouTube: the sound source broke into the Billboard Hot 100 list for the first time and rose to 55th, setting the best record in the history of K-Pop girl groups; Its MV garnered more than 36 million views in just 24 hours, making it the most viewed Korean music video on YouTube at the time.
"Hunger marketing" is not a new marketing strategy, but in the current situation where Korean groups are crowded and every company is squeezing their heads to get as much exposure as possible for their artists, why does YG have the courage to let BP insist on choosing the strategy of "mysticism" and "rather lack than abuse"?
The "scarcity effect" in economics may explain this: when there are fewer things, the more people tend to think that they have high value. Product scarcity means that the availability of goods is limited, while stimulating strong consumer consideration.
BLACKPINK's very small number of songs, long blank period, and maximum restraint in exposure have led consumers to have a subjective perception of BLACKPINK's scarcity and superiority, thereby further expanding the demand of the fan circle and even the entire cultural market.
At a time when other groups need to enhance the public's impression of it through high-frequency exposure, the brand image of pink ink unique and full of high-end luxury has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and there is no need to enhance its brand recognition through unnecessary exposure. AND "WAITING", "SAVING", AND EVENTUALLY "BURSTING" ARE BLACKPINK'S HARVESTING STRATEGIES.
The fire may be fatal, but any success is no accident.
YG'S NEW GIRL GROUP, CAN REPLICATE THE SUCCESS OF BLACKPINK?
At the beginning of the new year, YG officially announced that it will launch a new girl group Baby Monster in 2023.
This is YG's female idol group launched after 7 years after the launch of BLACKPINK in 2016, the group consists of three Korean members Ahyeon, Haram, Rora, two Japanese members Ruka and Asa, two Thai members Chiquita and Pharita, the youngest of which was born in 2009, and the oldest is only 21 years old.
In the one-and-a-half-minute warm-up video, the members showed their daily training and participation in the assessment, and President Yang Hyunshuo (former) and various seniors also appeared to cheer for the newcomers. YG's chief producer introduced the seven members as the best of thousands of candidates, and he gave them high hopes to "become new stars who will amaze the world".
The video attracted a lot of attention as soon as it was released, and even before the group officially announced its debut date, Baby Monster's YouTube account subscriptions successfully exceeded one million in just 51 days, making them the fastest K-Pop pre-debut group in history to reach 1 million subscribers. Although it has not yet officially debuted, Baby Monster has already gained a large number of fans. They are the "monster newcomers" written by the whole network media, and they are already the "surprise blind box" that K-Pop circles are waiting for this year.
In the comment area of the performance video that has been released, many people have mentioned that the members of Baby Monster are full of YG flavor in terms of singing voice and temperament, and there are always some shadows of 2NE1 and BLACKPINK members from them.
Member of Baby Monster
Whether it is an international membership or a vocal and dance full of swag and power, the group undoubtedly has the "material foundation" to carry on YG's "Girl Crush" tradition and replicate BLACKPINK's successful experience.
But whether Baby Monster will copy the development path of powder, or whether the company will choose to do the opposite, creating a more "people-friendly" and distance-free combination image for baby monsters, everything is still full of mystery. However, there is no doubt that YG's vision is not limited to Korea, but is aimed at the broader overseas market. In the Chinese market, for example, their group accounts have been installed on major platforms, seven members have opened personal Weibo, and fan sites have emerged - it seems that YG and Baby Monster are ready to do something.
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