5 Stories From BLACKPINK’s Trainee Days Every BLINK Needs To Hear
The BLACKPINK members have shared many stories about their trainee days, with some of them being quite touching and others being a little heartbreaking. Here are 5 stories from BLACKPINK’s trainee days every BLINK (BLACKPINK’s fandom) needs to hear.
1. The members clicked as soon as they were grouped together
In BLACKPINK’s documentary, BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky, the members revealed that when they were trainees, there were several more trainees and that different groups would be formed for monthly evaluation tests. Often, little fights would break out between groupmates over things like wanting more parts or wanting to be in the center.
While this was the case most of the time, when the BLACKPINK members (Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa) were grouped for the first time, everything just clicked.
Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa never fought over anything, and they worked so well together. It was eventually decided that these four would be the members of BLACKPINK!
2. Lisa inspired Rosé to become a good dancer
When Rosé became a trainee, she struggled a lot with dancing. Thankfully, Jennie was there, and she spent several months teaching Rosé the basics of dancing.
Rosé also had a bleak outlook on her career path as a dancer, but she got motivated to work harder when she looked at Lisa!
I had a mental breakdown realizing just how strongly I had to dance but I saw Lisa and began to grow my dream.
Lisa was so good at dancing. I wanted to dance well like Lisa.
— Rosé
3. Lisa aced everything when she was a trainee
In an interview, Caroline Suh, the director of BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky, spoke about Lisa’s bright personality and how much her fellow members love her.
Lisa’s personality is amazing. All the members appreciated Lisa and they all lit up when talking about Lisa. Lisa seemed to be someone who makes everyone feel good
— Caroline Suh
The BLACKPINK members also shared with Caroline Suh how Lisa would always ace everything when she was a trainee!
And the members mentioned that Lisa aced everything back when they were trainees. She’s humorous and she knows how to not take herself too seriously. So even after having become a huge star, she likes to joke around. She has one chill personality
— Caroline Suh
4. Jennie helped Jisoo a lot when she was struggling
When Jisoo became a trainee, she struggled since she had never sung or danced before.
Thankfully, Jennie was there to help Jisoo whenever she felt lost!
5. The members were poor when they were trainees
While BLACKPINK is from YG Entertainment, one of the biggest companies in K-Pop, they had quite challenging lives when they were trainees. In an episode of 24/365 With BLACKPINK, the members revealed that they didn’t have much money for food when they were trainees.
Back then, we didn’t have money to get food every day. When we did grocery shopping once a month, we would always get things like eggs and strawberry jam.
— Jennie
The members then revealed that their old dorm was infested with cockroaches and centipedes!
We even once lived with cockroaches!
— Jennie
It wasn’t until much later that BLACKPINK moved to a nicer dorm.
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4 Remarkable Personal Brand Lessons From BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK has evolved into a K-pop act like no other, soaring in popularity around the world. From their 55.4 million YouTube subscribers, it is clear that this girl group is redefining the genre, and with the audience to make it happen. Last time on Forbes, we discussed what BLACKPINK could teach us about personal branding. Today, we dive into what we can learn from each of the group members about building a brand that goes global.
Inspire your audience, like Jisoo
Jisoo is BLACKPINK’s oldest member and vocalist. She has become known for her invention of “dot style” makeup, which was featured in the group’s music video for “How You Like That”. Fans on Twitter and Instagram picked it up and began posting their own takes on Jisoo’s look.
Kiss Me and Dior Beauty have made Jisoo the face of their beauty brands, lending to her influence over the beauty industry around the world. In fact, her endorsement of the company really came through in BLACKPINK’s Ice Cream music video, where Jisoo wears a baker-style cap from Dior. Jisoo, along with BLACKPINK, inspire their audience constantly with their look, music, and more.
Find your niche, like Jennie
Jennie is the main rapper of the girl group, known for her bold performances in music videos and on stage. She became the first member of BLACKPINK to release a solo track with just under 600 million views on YouTube, paving the way for other members of the group to do the same.
Jennie found inspiration for her own rapping style from artists such as Rihanna, along with Lauren Hill and TLC. She even picked her outfits in music videos and performances to match her solo track debut. Her strength as a rapper only adds to BLACKPINK’s brand, and her defined niche makes her standout to fans.
Be memorable, like Rosé
Rosé is the group’s main vocalist, with a voice that fans can easily pick out from every song BLACKPINK has released. Her unique and identifiable vocal tone gives her an edge every successful singer needs. In fact, she placed first in auditions for YG Entertainment - the company that trains K-pop acts.
Her voice has also been described as sweet youthful, which makes sense considering the audience BLACKPINK has attracted. She has crafted her own way of delivering vocal performances, and that is what makes her a memorable piece of the group, and gives BLACKPINK a glowing brand.
Consistently bring it, like Lisa
Lisa is the main dancer of the girl group, popular among fans for consistently delivering dance moves with unmatched finesse. She has been dancing since childhood, and actually earned a spot as trainee with YG Entertainment at only thirteen years old. Key to constantly giving great performances is, of course years of honing her skill, and hours practicing new routines.
She delivers choreography with ease, every time, whether it is on stage or in video, making dance moves that are often central to viral music videos. Fans point out smooth movements followed by powerful hits as being key to her dance style. This consistency lets BLACKPINK rise as a brand that performs with excellence at every turn.
Unite your strengths, like BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK’s brand is only as strong as the girls who make it. Together, they consistently deliver incredible performances, with memorable vocals, trend-setting styles, and K-pop rapping like no other. Together, they have cultivated a brand that mixes bold and feminine traits. With a dynamic brand like this girl group, it is not so hard to see why they have become a global and commercial success.