Will Blackpink survive the 7-year curse?

As their seven-year exclusive contract with YG Entertainment is close to expiring, all eyes are on whether the members will continue their journey as Blackpink or go their separate ways. — Photo: YG Entertainment

YG Entertainment girl group Blackpink marked its seventh debut anniversary on Tuesday.

After making its debut in 2016 with singles Whistle and Boombayah, Blackpink has flourished as a popular world-renowned K-pop girl group enchanting the public with its imposing charm and topping major music charts in the US and in the UK.

But with their seven-year exclusive contract with YG Entertainment close to expiring, all eyes are on whether the members – Jennie, Lisa, Rose and Jisoo, will continue their journey as Blackpink, overcoming the 'seven-year curse' in K-pop, or go their separate ways.

The 'seven-year curse' in K-pop refers to the disbanding of most K-pop groups seven years after their debut due to the termination of their exclusive contracts with their agency.

Not only their debut singles but also the group’s other releases have all been hits, including Playing With Fire, Kill This Love, Lovesick Girls, Pink Venom, Shut Down, and more.

They have expanded their reach beyond Asia to the US and the UK.

Blackpink rewrote K-pop history for female groups last year with second studio album Born Pink released last September by topping the American main album chart Billboard 200 and the British Official Albums Chart Top 100 for the first time by a K-pop girl group.

They’ve been on world tour 'Born Pink' since last year, which has attracted around 1.5 million people worldwide so far.

The group also runs a YouTube channel that garners more than 90 million subscribers – the highest number for any existing singer.

They have 43 videos on their channel that have more than 100 million views each.

Their DDU-DU DDU-DU music video on YouTube surpassed 2.1 billion views for the first time in K-pop girl group history.

"Blackpink’s music, which revolves around the hip-hop genre along with K-pop characteristics, could satisfy global listeners. They contributed to obtaining the universality of K-pop. They even expanded their territory into fashion by becoming fashion icons. In the past, there weren’t many female Asian fashion icons," said Jung Min-jae, a music critic based in Seoul.

All members are currently ambassadors of luxury brands – Jennie for Chanel, Jisoo for Dior, Rose for Tiffany and Lisa for Celine.

It is unclear where this group is heading next as they have not yet announced either an extension or termination of their exclusive contract with YG.

Blackpink has its world tour concerts scheduled until the end of this month in major cities in the US but they do not have anything officially scheduled after that.

YG has repeatedly told local media that nothing has been decided yet.

There are speculations among industry insiders that the members are highly likely to continue their K-pop journey as Blackpink either with YG or with YG’s sub-label, The Black Label, led by Blackpink’s main producer, Teddy. – By Hong Yoo/The Korea Herald/Asia News Network