BLACKPINK As ‘Group of The Year’ of ‘2020 Hitmakers’ Special List by Variety
HINA
On Thursday, Dec. 3, Variety Magazine announced who won what in their "2020 Hitmakers" list. There, the YG Entertainment girl group was named Variety's "Group of the Year".
Dubbed as "K-pop's biggest girl group", BLACKPINK was selected to be "Group of the Year" for their numerous achievements this year. Following their legendary 2019 Coachella performance, the group took center stage by collaborating with A-list artists, notably Lady Gaga for "Sour Candy" and Selena Gomez for "Ice Cream."
"Ice Cream" peaked into Top 40 in the radio charts, garnering over 40,000 spins ever since it was released in August. BLACKPINK commented on the song, saying that it is filled with a bubbly and lively charm. They think that "Ice Cream" is a song people enjoy because of how easy it is to chill out to!
Variety also acknowledged BLACKPINK's first-ever full-length album, simply titled "THE ALBUM", that was released back in October. The album not only has tracks in both English and Korean, but they also have star-studded features! As mentioned previously, Selena Gomes featured on "Ice Cream." Rapper Cardi B too made an appearance on "THE ALBUM" for the song "Bet You Wanna".
The eight-song album topped the charts in 57 different regions around the globe and secured BLACKPINK as the first-ever million-selling K-pop girl group. A quarter of those albums come from the United States, proving their influence in the West.
BLACKPINK has spoken to Variety about their new album. The girls revealed that releasing their first full-length album is their proudest moment of the year, saying that they were excited to show the world their music after a long time of working on it.
Variety also mentioned the group's high-profile Netflix documentary, "BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky," which is directed by Caroline Suh. The documentary helped BLACKPINK break into the Western market fully, with the documentary being extremely successful worldwide. BLACKPINK stated that they hope the documentary inspires others.
They said:
"It is a story about these girls who come from different backgrounds and all worked extremely hard and did not give up. Now they are living their dream."
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, BLACKPINK has been unable to meet their BLINKs face-to-face. The group has revealed that they wish to communicate with fans and that it is sad they are unable to physically meet them. Still, the girl group is trying to make memories with their fans in different ways.
BLACKPINK said:
"We wish to community and enjoy or music with our fans. It is sad that we have not been able to directly meet our fans, but we have been trying our best to make memories with them through different platforms. BLINKs, thank you so much for loving our music and always being there and supporting us! We love you!"
Congratulations, BLACKPINK!
Back in October, BLACKPINK released their first-ever full-length album "THE ALBUM" with the title track "Lovesick Girls". "THE ALBUM" peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and the UK Album Chart, solidifying BLACKPINK as the highest-charting K-pop group on the charts. The group sold 1.2 million copies of the "THE ALBUM" in less than a month of its release, securing them as the first-ever million-selling Korean girl group.
------------------------------------
BLACKPINK Drop Official Trailer For Their Online Concert
"The Show" This Month
YouTube Music has announced a Livestream concert featuring the K-pop group, set for launch on Dec. 27 at midnight ET. The event, available exclusively on BLACKPINK’s YouTube channel, will include first-time performances of songs from “The Album,” released in October.
Members of BLACKPINK, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, will also go live on its YouTube channel on Thursday at 9 p.m. PT to personally introduce “The Show” to their fans.
“We wanted to end the year with something very special for our Blinks who have been waiting so patiently for us,” - said Blackpink.
“We hope everyone can comfortably enjoy our first-ever livestream concert ‘The Show’ at home and hopefully join in on some special perks we’ve prepared for those who join our channel. Overall, we’re super excited to share this fun moment with our Blinks and we can’t wait till ‘The Show.'”
Fans can now purchase access to “The Show” here or on Blackpink’s YouTube channel. The streamer offers two purchase options, standard ($29.99) and plus ($39.99), to attend the virtual concert and to access other membership perks including custom emojis and behind-the-scenes content.
“‘The Show’ is going to be epic… a wow moment,” said Lyor Cohen, global head of music at YouTube.
“BLACKPINK are one of the biggest and best artists in the world and we’re so honored to be partnering with such great talent and the YG team for this first-ever, can’t miss livestream experience. What a great way to end the year and celebrate Blackpink and their YouTube fans around the world!”
The K-pop quartet released their debut album last month and released hit tracks with Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga earlier this year. Blackpink topped several YouTube records since their debut in 2016, and is currently the second most-subscribed artist on the streamer with nearly 54 million followers.
Check out a BLACKPINK members' message to fans in light of their online concert announcement below, as well as full details!