BlackPink, the name of the group, familiar?
I think even friends who don't often care about Hallyu or even the entertainment industry should have heard the name of this group from various channels to a greater or lesser extent, because they are so popular, yes, I am not just talking about Korea, but around the world. However, it is such a popular group that has repeatedly angered Chinese fans with their shallow knowledge in their careers, and their behavior is strange, so today I will take you to review this girl group.
Who is BlackPink?
Blackpink is a K-pop girl group from South Korea founded by YG Entertainment. Since releasing their debut album in 2016, the group has risen to fame with strong live performances, innovative music, and eye-catching imagery. Blackpink consists of Jisoo, Jennie, ROSÉ and Lisa.
As one of the most prestigious K-pop music labels, YG is extremely careful in selecting members. As a result, all members are now considered to be one of the best in the industry. According to Naver, South Korea's largest search site, Blackpink is a pun that combines two opposing words, black and pink. Among them, "black" symbolizes strength, while "pink" alludes to elegance and femininity. The combination of the two represents the group's desire to show a strong and independent side, while retaining their femininity.
Debut is the pinnacle
Blackpink's debut single album, Square One, which included hits "Whistle" and "Boombayah," was an immediate success. The two songs reached Billboard's World Digital Songs Sales chart in 2016, peaking at number one and number two, respectively.
An interview with Rolling Stone magazine revealed that Blackpink draws inspiration from multiple musical genres, including pop, hip-hop and electronic dance music. In a separate interview with CNN, the group also mentioned Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez as their musical inspiration.
Break into the mainstream Western market
Despite being from South Korea, Blackpink has made a significant impact in Western markets, with its songs ranking on major platforms including Billboard's 100 hottest songs! They are currently the first female K-pop group to have multiple Billboard titles.
Collaborations with Western artists have been crucial to Blackpink's expansion in Western markets. In 2018, Blackpink co-released the song "Kiss and Make Up" with British singer Dua Lipa, which became a number one song in several countries.
In addition, Blackpink collaborated with global superstar Lady Gaga on the song "Sour Candy" from her album Chromatica in 2020, and they continue to make waves in the Western music scene, performing at important festivals like Coachella.
Overall, among their prolific recordings, Blackpink is best known for these big hits: "DDU-DU DDU-DU," "Kill This Love," and "How You Like That."
Record
Blackpink won the Guinness Book of World Records for his musical achievements. To date, they are the most streamed girl group on Spotify, an achievement that earned them a Guinness World Record. In addition, they were the first Hallyu girl group to win the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, among many other accolades.
In addition to his music career, Blackpink members have been involved in various independent projects. They appeared in commercials, fashion shows and even in movies, expanding their influence beyond music.
Despite its great success, Blackpink has faced some controversy and challenges throughout his career. As public figures, their actions and statements are often scrutinized, which can lead to opposition from fans or netizens.
Endless controversy
Member Jenny Kim has been criticized by Allkpop and other media for her performance in the HBO series The Idol. In that controversial TV clip, she and the dancer were criticized for a series of large-scale movements, which were complete sexual innuendo. Some viewers felt that her performance was almost adult-level and unsuitable as a K-pop idol, while others criticized the director and her agency for choosing her to play such a role knowing that there would be large-scale action.
What is even more strange is that Jenny Jin is obviously an idol produced by a well-trained well-known manufacturer, and her professionalism has also been challenged and questioned by the industry: her performance on the stage has been criticized countless times, obviously a professional idol, but she still has to row on the stage, and even some fans feel the feeling of being fooled.
Most seriously, his discriminatory treatment of white Europeans and Asians has repeatedly brought himself to the forefront. Facing Asians is a natural cold face, born people do not want to talk to the image of a goddess; And facing white Europeans and Americans is a completely different picture, and it is not too much to describe it as flattering and flattering, and for a time was labeled as "admiring foreign countries" and "yellow-skinned white-hearted banana people".
Park Chae-young, another member of the group, has also been caught up in a drug storm, and according to the Times of India, she was accused of using drugs based on a photo because drug-related items were allegedly seen in a photo with actor Kang Dong-won. However, YG Entertainment was quick to refute the allegations. Nevertheless, the incident caused some damage to her reputation in a short period of time.
Bizarre manipulation that angers Chinese fans
Earlier this month, Blackpink's official Twitter account posted a tweet referring to their Macau fans as "Macanese" after a concert in Macau, according to the New Ming Daily. This rhetoric has angered Chinese netizens, who see it as ignorance and arrogance about basic history and culture.
The Global Times also pointed out that the term "Macanese" angered Chinese netizens because it was associated with Portuguese colonial influence and Portuguese descendants, which did not represent real Macau residents.
Blackpink, who holds concerts on Chinese territory, refers to their fans as "Chinese," and it seems that they have always avoided the term Chinese fans.
According to Dev Discourse, some fans accused Blackpink of deliberately avoiding the word "Chinese" in their posts and interpreting their choice of words as a deliberate snub to Chinese fans, even conflating the incident with the ongoing trend of so-called "Korean artists appropriating Chinese culture and challenging China."
Amid an online outcry, Blackpink quickly revised the post, changing the address from "Macanese BLINKS" to "Macau BLINKS." However, according to the Global Times, some fans still believe that the group deliberately avoids calling their fans Chinese directly, and continues to feel offended by Blackpink.
This isn't the first time Blackpink has angered Chinese fans. Earlier, KBIzoom reported that Jenny Jin caused criticism and accusations for what Chinese fans did at a concert in Hong Kong in January: the action was completely paddling, singing without making a sound just humming, interacting with fans was also completely cold, without the smile and enthusiasm that a professional idol should have. All of this has been accused of racism and favoritism towards non-Chinese markets.
According to Allkpop's report, during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the incident of Jin Jenny's public support for South Korean athlete Hwang Dae-heon, a representative of South Korea's shameless sportsmanship, has repeatedly insinuated and attacked the Chinese team and even risen to the national level in black and white, and Jin Jenny, who chose brainless support because of narrow national pride, can only be described as ignorant and short-sighted.
epilogue
Admittedly, this group has indeed set off a climax around the world, and the excellent stage strength and the charm of the four people and four colors have spread virally through various channels, so countless fans will be crazy for them. However, under the premise that this group obviously treats China with discrimination and prejudice (I know Lisa has been here and what she thinks about here, but sorry, honor is not due to personal exclusivity, and responsibility cannot be borne by individuals), when they repeatedly provoke the sensitive nerves and bottom line of Chinese fans, I still want to ask fans to polish their eyes.
Let it cool when it should be cool.
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