i don't think blackpink would've had as much international success had it been 9 members actually. one of the things that made blackpink so accessible is how memorable they are. four members with short and easy to pronounce names (especially for english speakers) with very different auras and personalities. i could show someone one blackpink mv and introduce each member and just like that they know the whole group.
Also their styles are so consistent. Like Jisoo with long black hair, Lisa with her bangs, rosé being blond and Jennie usually has dark hair. Then Jisoo's outfits/styling is usually chic, Lisa baddie, rose soft and sweet, and Jennie a mix of baddie and channel It makes them easier to recognize to non-fans
Yeah they are distinct and consistent, it's really easy for westerners to keep track of who is who. Like you can take essential any American off the streets and the would be able to recognise the members as the same person from video to video.
I don't even think it would have helped much with the fighting within the fandom, bc if BP had like 9 members I can really see them becoming a Jennie and friends type of group
yeah i agree. one thing that general audiences internationally are unwilling to deal with is big groups with a lot of members. 5 members seems to be a kind of soft limit for how big of a group people are willing to accept. there are maybe a handful of successful bigger groups but the ones that really see huge success are usually 5 members or fewer like one direction or nsync or spice girls
if we are talking about "kpop is a business", bp is a prime example of how multiple top marketing campaigns, paired with background media pr, business dealings, brand sponsorships, working simultaneously successfully would look like. it became so successful, too successful, that the company who made it loss control over their product.
That's funny, because that would mean giving them more songs would have made it easier for YG to keep hold of them. But because they have individual influencer brands, they can just go anywhere.
@@Sherluck93 Exactly. If Blackpink was actually promoted as a group, the group would be more famous than the members which would've been better for the fandom (more songs) and YG (more power). Because of the way they were promoted the members (specially Jennie and Lisa) are way more powerfull than the company and the group (as a brand).
I think that’s what makes them unique, yes there sometimes is parts where they’re different but if you have ever watched them in concert live you’d know them being different adds on and they can ACTUALLY work together
so true! they work in duos, its a unique dynamic but it doesnt work with purely duos. itzy is a good example of where this duo dynamic goes right, lia and chaeryoung with yeji and ryujin, yuna is a glue that unites them smoothly.
maybe another example of a bad duo-dynamic would be if twice was formed by dahyun+chae, jihyo+nayeon and mina+momo, without the members who can provide a smooth experience by their versatility (sana, tzuyu and jeongyeon) it'd feel like 3 groups clashed together
aespa has a really good dynamic, people only see the most popular duos (Jiminjeong and Ningselle), but truly you can pair up any member and the connection is amazing
I've always thought Chae, Yuna and Yeji were the ones that made Ryujin and Lia work well together, kinda like a 3 member bridge. But Yuna being the glue work well too.
When you said something about them not being harmonious, I thought of Fifth Harmony. Now, they’re not as messy as Fifth Harmony and they actually like each other, but they definitely have some similarities in terms of cohesiveness. They also had a slight solo fan problem but that was mostly with Camila and of course they had their own favoritism accusations. However, favoritism scandals happen with almost every pop group.
The word you are looking for is SYNERGY. Blackpink’s doesn’t have any. This means Blackpink as a whole isn’t bigger than the sums of its parts. Its members.
@@HailToTheMeep Blackpink is probably the group with the most Synergy I’ve ever seen. WTF are yo on about? They quite literally complete each other. Lisa for Jisoo and dance, Rose for Lisa and singing, Jennie for Rose and Rap and Jisoo for all members with her looks and personality. They fill each others holes. Because the fans are vile and nasty doesn’t mean they have no synergy. 😂😂😂😂
@@veewooshi9882 I can't believe that still in 2024, BlackPink having already 8 years on the industry, and their oldest member being almost 30 year old woman, fans are still reacting like kids when valid personal opinions are made...
@@veewooshi9882 That’s not SYNERGY. That’s the opposite. Not only that, but based on your argument that they complimented each other, you are actually agreeing with me. I don’t appreciate your immature attitude. You can disagree. You don’t have to swear.
@@abc_jv_xyz and that's the complete.group you can't create a well rounded group with member having very similar strengths and styles they need to be different in order to create a complete pallete
Honestly, I really like how the BP members are all so different and have strong personalities ... with bigger groups I often times find myself not really getting invested in the members, usually only knowing one member by name ... but with Blackpink they all have something that makes them stand out to me ... like non of them are background characters for lack of a better word ...
I feel jisoo not really fitting blackpinks concept contributed to the disliking of jisoo's solo, because imo her solo fits her so well! Jisoo fits the Elegant concept, like Jisoo fits IVE's concept more than she fits blackpinks concept. I hope if she ever releases more solo music (which i doubt she will since she seems to be more focused on modeling and acting) i hope shell stick to the more elegant concepts
@@tssjdI get what you're saying but As if It's your last is a take on the girl crush concept, just in a slightly cuter tone. It's basically teen crush. Then Lovesick Girls I would say is somewhere near girl crush just not as badass. Now Stay is a different concept but that's just one title track. Blackpink are known for their girl crush concepts. For being "badass, im better than you, we're the best, etc" just because they have a few outliers in their discography doesn't mean they are diverse
@@tssjd i am a blink, but it's true, blackpink is a primarily girl-crush girlgroup. they have explored other concepts as in the songs you mentioned, but around 7 out of their 10 releases are girl-crush and there's nothing wrong with that.
It's funny cause she was invited to join sm entertainment and would probably end up debuting in red velvet, while Wendy from red velvet did audition to yg but she didn't get to join it because of her weight at the time! Imagine if in another paralel reality this had happened, i think it would make a lot more sense for Jisoo to debut in red velvet and for Wendy to debut in blackpink since Jisoo fits more the elegant korean concepts while Wendy is a little more westernized compared to her members, she is the only one that speaks english and her voice would save blackpink's vocal line. Also Jisoo would receive a better vocal training and would probably sing 10 times better
imo blackpink made it too big too early. they never had to struggle for commercial success. add on top of that enormous breaks between comebacks, and you get a formula where the girls practically aren't even practicing together anymore. maybe if the circumstances were different and yg was less stubborn about its management style, they could have been more cohesive. 2016 blackpink was pretty cohesive - in fact, you could say the same up to 2020. they all had strong individuality but they still made sense as a group. i believe the huge hiatus after lovesick girls where each member was focusing on solo projects was the tipping point for them.
i think that in kpop groups not all members need to be extremely close but they still need to be able to vibe w/ eachother. also i agree that there should be rosie and jisoo unit because their vocals match really well imagine them doing a elegant or fairy-ish concept omgg (also massive rosie stan too lol)
Almost everything you said is true. But with that being said, I think with every criticism you said is exactly the reason Blackpink was or is successful, especially in the western market. Blackpink was never designed for the Korean market. It was designed to break K-pop into the western market. Which it did. Unfortunately for K-pop, they had no other groups to take advantage of Blackpinks success in U.S. market. The other K-pop groups are the same boring song and dance concept. It fits old Korean K-pop fans, but it doesn't impress U.S. fans. Lastly K-pop is built off everyone in the group pretty much matching and being the same, creating harmony in the group. Blackpink didn't have that harmony. They maintained their individuality, because they all had charisma and stand out talent. As for Blackpink making further music together. I'm not that will happen. Even though they signed some kind of contract with YG for group activities. I think that contract was just to save YG'S stock Value and to save face in the K-pop industry. Not to mention YG is desperate to have control of their Idols. The girls of Blackpink are beyond their control. Jisoo obviously doesn't want to be a Idol, she wants to be a actor. Rose, I haven't figured out what she wants yet. Jennie wants to be everything in the music and entertainment industry. And Lisa is looking to move on to the Western market and style of music, and become the first K-pop Idol to become a Rockstar in America. I'm pretty much convince she has given up on K-pop totally. For all her success, I don't think K-pop was very nice to her.
Rose has a broadcast channel in her instagram which she shares her releases and also some recordings. It felt very personal actually and now she’s been doing some ost for series like Pachinko. For Rose it’s pretty clear that she wants to write and produce her own songs at the same time marketing herself through brand deals and mingle with the industry in the west. It is the same with Jennie, aside from the fact that she’s also currently busy with her solo album she also markets herself through global campaigns and is still a force despite the enormous hate train she has on her comments in social media. Jisoo from the start has already established that she went for YG to act and not be an idol but she used being an idol as an opportunity to break out the acting industry, nothing wrong with that but you could see in a sense that her solo debut was for the fans who are restless to hear her sing not that there’s anything wrong with that but it’s obvious that Jisoo wanted to act more than sing. For Lisa she’s going on the same route with Jennie and Rose, she’s definitely using a lot of connections and networking in the west. She doesn’t entirely give up on kpop as her bop is still kpop coded but she’s leaning on more on her fans outside of Korea and is currently in brand deals like LV. This girls are doing the same thing as they had in YG but more branched out and freer now with their own labels so it’s no surprise that BP as a group would have another comeback by the next year.
It is not always necessary for all members to fit the vibe of the group. I've been a fan of SHINee for a very long time, and each SHINee member has a very distinctive vibe. Onew is soft and gentle, Jonghyun was bold and loud in his sensuality, Key has the diva vibes, Minho is the manly and athletic one, and Taemin is the soft but sexy one. What they did was, created their own genre. SHINee music is very distinguishable from other 2nd gen groups because they have a sound that everybody associates with SHINee. Yes, they had creative freedom, which unfortunately, BlackPink never had as a group.
SHINee's personalities blend like a charm too; because they've been together for so long, they have the dynamic of a family. Kibum is the Mother; Minho is (more recently) the Father Jinki and Jonghyun are kinda like the older simblings And Taemin is SHINee's lil' shit of a demon baby. And we love him. It's quite an appealing dynamic ro the public. Not to mention, the memes people have made about them.
hmmm I don't agree with the term vibe. as a group, their vibe is immaculate that's why they have such amazing songs and performances! BUT their personalities on the other hand, are sooo different yet they vibe so well! i have been and will always be a shawol so i'm so happy someone mentioned this legendary group! 🥰
BP as 9 girl crew sounds absurd. They ‘worked’ because of the four individuals. A category of one. Contrast. Look at G&R for comparison - biggest rock crew in last 50 years. Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy - wildly different music influences, all stand as solo projects. The contrast is what made BP stand out.
Exactly I was baffled when I first heard her point.them 4 with uniquely different colors and contrasts is what made them stand out not to mention even Jennie said in LUTS documentary that it has always been a four of us
@@BillyWhaler hmm interesting having 5 member would cause them to have a proper centre but this member would also be the odd one out as Jennie already said it has always been 4 of them
Not a kpop listener so forgive me if some terminology is wrong - but what i saw as unifying for bp was how extremely talented each member was. like a reverse supergroup
four strong female members that could stand on their own as soloist but forms a whole new level of a beast when together. had their run as a fairly known group, now has careers as solo artists but is still whole as a group and fans trust that concerts as a group is only a matter of when. with each members covering each other's solo songs, not to prove that one is better than the other but to show camaraderie and pay tribute to each other's unique artistry. they do have pairings, but doesnt mean that they could only pair up with that specific person. though they do have those pairings, you could mix and much all 4 members, might it be duos or trios, and youd have harmonious twist on those unique pairings not caring about hate comments saying that they are not close anymore, doesnt even need to prove themselves. fans know and secured about it hence fans themselves dont care either. think i heard that somewhere around, in fact they recently just celebrated 10 years together as a group.
In years?! Hold on in which tome zone are you cause if we talk about meeting up ,they always do.if we talk about group content then last septembre they Finished the tour @@AC-ri2ph
Istg Natasha’s thumbnails also make me laugh the video could be about the most serious/saddest thing ever and then Natasha is just sitting there serving LOOKS
solo stans practically ruined blackpink but yg is the one that gave them ruin to run edit: by ruined i mean the fandoms and people's perception of the fandom
There is still a good percentage of ot4 blinks and only stans respectful towards other members (know some) or is your songs no longer being broadcast on music platforms, members or group are already being forgotten or are losing popularity, your MVS are no longer broadcasting them? , by contrast, remains the most popular female group and one of the most reproduced on any platform, (yt, spotify, etc.), although they have been inactive for almost 2 years, only stans, has not achieved its purpose, including its own agency 😅
With these comments you would think that they'll fall in their comeback...I think being unique is what makes them popular & you can't replace any member
I don't know how to put the exact feeling i got from bp into words, but for me, blackpink just is "the blackpink", as big as they're now because they're 4 solist in a group. Each member is so complete and capable in every aspect that it brings up this feeling of "they're so incredible good, and work so damn well that even if you break them apart, they'll still be as good". And thats why they're the biggest gg and not one of the hundreds "harmonic" groups that "works better together", it's cuz bp is unique from start to finish. The members are artists of their own, all of them are so powerful by themselves that when you put them together, it's just perfect. It just make sense.
i do agree they’re soft launching the disband, especially since they all went to different companies and are never seen together theses days unless it’s work related, sad but also good for them, i hope they’re happier now
This is fascinating to me because I always wondered why I never connected with Blackpink, but "4 solo artists in one group" has cleared it up for me. They really don't feel like a cohesive group. Plus I only like a few of their songs, so that and their lack of overall unity has left me uninterested. Other groups I like feel like an actual unified group.
I totally agree with the vibe matching when it comes to groups. For example, Mamamoo has guite strong 4 members who can be solos but their vibe matches greatly despite it. When together the members dials down to match everyone while BP tries to shine all so bright which can look disharmonious(is that even a word lol).
6:47 exactly, having two pairs of two different vibes in a four member group makes sense to me cause I feel like they make a perfect balance, and I think that was the original concept for the group, since the previous name was gonna be pinkpunk which ultimately became blackpink, and that duality translates well as a group concept and their members: BLACK (Lisa & Jennie) PINK (Jisoo & Rosé) IMO of course.
Blackpink just can't be compared with other kpop GGs. They never pretend to be a group of 4 members with the same vibe. It's way too obvious and not a bad thing at all. I think that's actually one of the reason why they are so popular, anybody can feel related with any of the members. Also the way they performs is not comparable with the mainstream type of performance in kpop, where the most important thing is the synchronization while dancing, use playback and look cute. The way Blackpink perform is more 'free' and 'occidental', which is also the YG style.
You have good points to consider, and I think what makes BP "attractive" is the marked difference between the styles of its members, where in a group you have 4 different styles The first time I saw the group I thought they were 4 great soloists in a group That of course generates division among the followers and YG was very Machiavellian in taking advantage of this situation. In each group there is always a "popular" member and it is the one that the company promotes but here you have 4 artists with different vibes and two of them with a scenic force that they tend to call the reflect It was inevitable that there would be a division of the fandom, on the one hand the "official" blink and on the other the stans. And the latter took center stage Now having the "popular" Korean member And the popular representative member of foreign idols, who became a symbol of struggle and resistance to the Korean system, With their respective stans, an "explosive cocktail" Now that they had to renew the group contract but their solo careers are in their hands, the difference will be more marked. I don't know how long they signed the renewal for. but I don't see a long future, and they know it.
I understand what you're trying to say about a group full of strong and very different personalities, but I think it depends on how you handle it at the end of the day. I'd like to use the group SHINee as an example, SHINee is a group with 5 members, all of them with VERY different personalities, each one of them is also a soloist with VERY different styles, concepts and music, and they have never been shy about the difficulties they had with each other in the beginning. They told us many times that it took them 4 YEARS to start really getting along and become as close as they are now, Key and Minho started fighting each other from LITERALLY the first time they met (and never really stopped, only now they fight like an old married couple and are best friends). Taemin fought with ALL the members and their personalities clashed. But they worked on it and showed the fans that even with those problems SHINee comes first and when they got on stage they put all of that to the side and worked seamlessly as a group, and that honesty and loyalty to the group and the fandom made the fans appreciate them more as a unit, that despite the difficulties the group MATTERED made the fans love them as a whole. that's one of the reasons why most fans are OT5 (I'm not saying Shawols don't have solo stans, of course we do, every fandom has them, but they are a tiny minority), seeing how hard the guys worked to make their relationship work and how loyal they are to each other, and seeing them bond and become a family through hard work and perseverance made the fans love them as well. and seeing how immensely supportive they are of each other makes it very difficult not to love them all (It's a common saying in the fandom that no one is a bigger fan of SHINee than SHINee themselves). in a group like that it's very easy to pick a favorite and ignore or even dislike the other members, but the guys made it almost impossible for the fans to do that. Taemin once said that when with SHINee the most important job is to fit in with the rest of the members and bland with them, then, when they do their solo work they can work on developing their own unique colors so that they can bring those colors back and enrich the overall color of the group. BlackPink all seem like very nice girls, but even when in the group they all look like they only want to show their own personal color and not bland those colors together to create that unique combined color that IS Blackpink, and this is probably what their company lead them to do, I don't know, but it does the group a disservice and is what ultimately leads to so many solo stans.
BP represents a salad bowl whereas the mass majority of groups operate like a melting pot. I think that’s the reason why most people don’t understand nor can’t handle their group dynamic. It’s just rare and different for the industry. Another thing people misconstrue is the BP concept. It’s an amalgamation of multiple concepts but the primary two are girl crush and elegance. Jisoo is more rooted in the latter while Lisa is more rooted in the former. Jennie and Rose are in between so it’s well balanced imo. Those are the things I wish more people understood but that’s just my pov.
Very interesting video. I'm going to speculate that BP will be back, but it's going to take awhile for them to figure out what Blackpink "is" now. I could see where they might get frustrated enough to disband, but I think they know they'd be walking away from the challenge of creating new material, and their very careers were built on facing challenges, and disbanding would be admitting they can't face that challenge and it would haunt them the rest of their careers. Plus, whatever else, they're family. As BP, they're greater than the sum of their parts and it's clear they miss each other. I truly think they want to work together but don't know what to do together. Teddy was the one who gave the group direction and they need someone like him, someone who can look objectively at them and say "Let's try this." I don't think the girls want to go out with a whimper, so they will get together at least one more time, show that Blackpink is still relevant and retake the throne just to prove they can still do it. After that, I don't know. In "Light Up the Sky," they talked at the end about marriage and kids, and they're hitting the age where they need to start making room for marriage and a family. It's certainly expected that Fred will contribute to carrying on the Arnault line and I don't think he'd be in a relationship with Lisa if she didn't understand that. Rose is the most openly romantic of the group and think she's laying the ground work for her solo career and once that's set, she'll start looking for a partner if she hasn't done so already but quietly. Jennie's harder to read, but it's clear she likes being partners with people and I think she's waiting for the man that will appear and she'll go "He's It!" Jisoo has her foot in acting, music, and business which spreads her pretty thin, and coming from a business family, I think she's likely to pair up with an "outsider," a businessman (like IU apparently has) who can help keep Blissoo running smoothly while she acts. I also think, to really take a flyer, they all wind up getting married and having kids roughly about the same time so they can get their families up and running in sync so that they can come back together once the kids have grown enough that they don't need constant attention. I've often said in comments that Blackpink is a fascinating case because there's never been a group like them. They've achieved success beyond their wildest dreams but it's also propelled them into completely unknown territory both businesswise and psychologically. I honestly think they don't know what to do now, and it's going to take time to sort things out. I think they'll be back, at least for an "encore" but have no idea how or when it will happen.
I disagree. The members of bp being so different is what literally got me into kpop. It was a big selling point imo...and there is another group that has VERY different members, who are all good soloists too, but noone ever says they're not harmonious, it's Mamamoo. Idk but I notice that I almost never have interest in groups who have very similar in vibe members, it just doesn't stick as much in my memory. Also personally I think that the solo stan problem to THIS extend could have to do with the fact bp doesn't have as much ot4 content? like variety and stufff, their interactions with each other. We were really deprived of that and people can be more delulu about their supposed dislike for each other lmao.
So the solo issue is bcs they (yg) tried to immitate 2ne1 (they legit said bp was the pretty version ) they wanted all-arounders with stage precense ; and they got Ll arounders but they lack as a group (not in talent just in vibes ) if u look at 2ne1 tthey did do different looks individuals and stage presence (but they never got solos even if they should have ) they tried to “fix it “ with pb by giving solor but missed with the group (again not the talent just the vibe) so I think if they had taken them (BP) as individual group and not tried to immitate there previous success but “pretty “ If they had actually done something to just make them them it would have worked so much better. yG always messes up with girl groups tbh
I think the solo stans where marketing by YG to make sure each girl had enough of a fandom to stand on their own when the 7 year contract is up and he disbands them there is a reason he gives Jennie the first solo at a time when she should have been pulled back when he saw Lisa and Jennie become the 2 most popular members they are almost pitted against each other to keep the competitiveness of the solo fandoms high there is a reason it's said Jennie bullied or still bullies Lisa till this day but not jisoo or rosé and there is a reason YG never denied those rumors and neither Lisa nor Jennie denied anything all that all the girls can't stand each other they need that hatred and competitiveness to fuel solo fandoms because solo fandoms need a cause to justify their hate for another member wether it's their idol being mistreated bullied or being underrated he just didn't expect them to pack their bags and leave YG
I think a group who did 4 soloist well was mamamoo, theyre all very different and have their own unique identity as soloists, but when it comes to group work they all manage to work very well together
Same thing for aespa. Three lead sopranos and a lead alto. Blackpink blew the whole girl group industry wide open. They have separate contracts now, and they aren't obligated to YG outside of BLACKPINK(r).
When i watch the four of them preform its like everyone is giving off their own vibe which is why i thought it looked awkward everytime they preform without backup dancers, vs. groups like aespa who can preform without backup dancers and it still looks good.
There certainly seems like there's at least one other group of 4 soloists that standout vocally and visually from each other but also has tremendous chemistry together. Perhaps this group is probably an example of a soloist group done well. Especially considering the artist's group and individual discography is actually healthy and stable moving into their careers long term.
i've been a blackpink stan since 2019. having to wait 2 years for a comeback was a pain. when "born pink" released, their songs weren't bad, but they could've done better. i had to discover other groups and other music in general. waiting and waiting is not my favourite thing to do. last year, they barely released any music, they focused on their money making things like modelling, their game, etc. and no, jennie's solo was released *2* years after blackpink's debut, not three. it was released in november 2018. i also disagree with none of the ive members becoming solo artists. i feel like wonyoung could be a solo artist if she wanted to since since shes very freaking popular. yujin could also be a soloist too. blackpink performed well as a group, their friendships with each other are everything. i do agree that the members do have solo personalities and different interests. be for real tho. any member of any group can have solo personalities. everyone is different. jisoo was mistreated by fans and companies (adidas), leaving her out (kind of like the giselle from æspa situation).
The thing is, when Blackpink debuted, the girl crush concept was new and fresh. Other groups at the time had more of a cuter concept. (e.g. Twice) That's how they started to get popular, then they released all these catchy songs with a lot of English lyrics that appealed to English speaking fans. Now I see so many new blinks everywhere praising Blackpink like they are some type of God, and I even saw a TH-cam short that says "What's your religion?" and then adds: "Blackpink is my religion" like helloo?
Allow me to present a different viewpoint explaining why Blackpink having THESE 4 members is the PERFECT combination. You make a lot of good points that are typically valid for most Kpop groups, but completely invalid IMO for Blackpink. Four very different personalities, with very different vocals and different looks would not work for most Kpop groups. However, as their producer has said, they tried all sorts of combinations (between the 9 members originally planned), but they kept seeing that it was this group of 4 that just performed the best. And their numbers since debut relative to all other female groups have pretty much supported his assessment (like their last world tour breaking the record for revenues by a girl group - yes more than the Spice Girls and Destinys Child). In my case, I am a total Lisa bias on-stage (IMO the most savage and charismatic performer on stage and in music videos), but a complete Jisoo bias off-stage (IMO the most savage, quirkiest, nerdiest, funniest person in real life). But I love Jennie and Rose, and I love all the various couplings (LiSoo is my favorite, all comedy, all action, all the time). And IMO Teddy Park is the MVP of Blackpink, with his multi-genre meshing sounds and instrumentation, and song writing and design to mesh perfectly with the strengths of each of the members. Point being, Blackpink lures you with their music, first and foremost, but then hooks you with their charismatic performers and then you become emotionally involved with their off-stage dramas (YG ignoring them, YG abusing them, Lisa getting hate for being non-Korean, Jisoo being called the Blackhole of Blackpink, Jennie being the most hated female in Kpop, BP overcoming YG's mismanagement and all the hate to create another billion view banger, etc.). Who needs Kdramas when you have Lisa being courted by Fredrick Arnold, CEO of a famous fashion brand and one of the heirs to the richest family in France. Lisa, the outsider, Southeast Asian looked down upon as inferior by Koreans, Japanese and Chinese, who becomes the most popular Kpop Idol in the world (over 100 million IG followers, no other Idol comes close). When you have Jennie (one of the most popular female Kpop idols in the last 4 or 5 years, after being the most hated female Kpop idol 6 to 7 years ago) dating V (one of the most popular male kpop idols in the last 4 or 5 years). You get a full musical, comedy (Lisoo and OT4 interacting) and drama entertainment package with Blackpink (Lisa dating rumors, Jennie dating rumors, JenLisa dating rumors). You get surprise stories like Jisoo. Which member is typically the least standout in music videos, with the least lines, and least screen time and which member had the lowest expectations for her solo album: Jisoo. Which member's solo album holds the all-time record for sales by a solo female Kpop idol: Jisoo (who also had the most viewed music video in 2023 of all kpop or jpop acts (male or female, group or solo). By all accounts who makes the most money: Jisoo. Her brand deals are the most lucrative (Dior, Cartier), who also happens to be one of the most in-demand award winning Lead Dramatic actresses in S. Korea. She is 2 times running crowned the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (British entertainment magazine Nubia based on world-wide surveys). Jisoo would be the center in just about every other Kpop group, garnering 80% of the attention. Yet she gets the least visibility in just about every music video and was even completely left out of YG comeback marketing material for Kill This Love, and Jisoo literally doesn't give a F*ck about it because she is the nurturing mom of the group. The dramatic and implausible Lisa and Jisoo and Jennie story lines merit their own individual Kdrama, but they all exist in real life in one very real Kpop group. So, BP is this magical and PERFECT combination of awesome beats, talent, on-stage charisma, story-lines, off-stage drama, and adorable personalities that no other female Kpop group has matched or can possibly match IMO. And this PERFECTION is evidenced by the Blackpink TH-cam subscriber numbers (No. 1 of all musical acts), their IG follower numbers (they are the top 4 followed kpop Idols, male or female); their music video view numbers (No. 1), and their world tour revenue numbers (No.1 for female groups). And this PERFECT combination of these 5 members (yep, I am counting Teddy) is why IMO they are the greatest female group of all time.
You articulated my thoughts perfectly, especially, your insights on Jisoo's success. She's my all-time favorite and I wouldn't even pay attention to Kpop until I saw her in a video. She got me hooked by her charm and beauty.
Completely agree. The unity of the 4 different and authentic women and their background and stories are why they are so popular. They are the Kpop Avengers. They are different but they complement. We care about them. people identify with at least one of them. As each of the member grow, their personality and interest as artists are also evolving. Their journey as a group and each member is too interesting.
It’s very much possible for a group of 4 people, 4 women to have both strong individual personalities and styles yet still be supportive and harmonious in a group setting. Case in point: Mamamoo. The members of Mamamoo have went on to say how in the beginning how certain members didn’t really get along but through the camaraderie built up through their early idol years they became so much closer. Even though all 4 members have all gone on to have successful solo careers and are all more focused on solo work than group activity these days, they are arguably at their best when they are together. They’re a truly harmonious unit together and know how to blend their voices and stage presence with each other. And as a previous comment has said, you can truly mix the members with each other into different subunits and nothing would feel out of place (ex. Mamamoo+, the Solar and Moonbyul subunit). The point is, a group like Mamamoo knows how to balance their strong individual presence in a group setting yet still shine a light on said individuality. I mean they even celebrated their 10th anniversary lately despite all of them having busy solo schedules (at one point all 4 of them were on tour either doing concerts or fanmeets). Mamamoo to me is the perfect example of being able to blend unique individuality while complementing a strong group dynamic. Anyways this was a very well made video and honestly highlighted the reasons why I never got super into Blackpink back in the day.
So true, mamamoo members have such distinct personalities, styles but they blend so amazingly as a group, they're such a beast of a group. Also the members have talked about how if they feel they're standing out too much, they tone it down to fit the energy of the group, i believe they have such amazing synergy as a group cause of that. Their friendship and respect towards each other creates that, even though their individuality is high. Mamamoo is such a gem❤
@@autumn399 I absolutely adore Mamamoo not just for their amazing discography but for their group and individual dynamics. Mamamoo being crackheads is absolutely what got me into k-pop in the first place and them being my ults has not changed. They've been through so much together and I'm so proud and happy to see how far they've come as both a group and as soloists. They're truly incredible and a true testament to hard work and perseverance in such a harsh and competitive industry. It honestly always makes me so happy when I see other people appreciate Mamamoo because honestly these women deserve all the love.
@book_beam957 I feel the same way. They're my favourite group too. Even though they're one of the top 3rd gen groups, I feel like they need even more appreciation cause of how amazing they are, I can't put it into words how incredible they are and how much I love them❤️
this is a really small thing but i felt like commenting on it anyway - blackpink doesn't have a "black and pink" dual concept like red velvet. the "black" representing their badass side and the "pink" representing their feminine side is supposed to basically tie into one unified identity for the group - they are badass feminine women rather than badass women and feminine women. i think this was another branding error with yg tbh. rose and jisoo as the vocalists get the pretty princess treatment in mvs and fans and have melodious singing and neither of them are particularly hardcore edgy or badass in their performances. and lisa and jennie get the powerful and badass treatment in mvs and performances but not the pretty and feminine treatment. so they don't have a cohesive group identity nor a cohesive concept
Tbh I feel like standing out against each other and being able to stand on your own.... isn't a bad thing? Like at all, just means their not forgettable and filler members, idk
I think that their fashion style was more based on their clothing contracts, that may be the reason for the different outfits. I find it funny that the other group that would fit the group/solo members would be Mamamoo but doesn't seem to have the solo stan issue among the members that BlackPink has.
I enjoyed this critique! You do a great job of giving criticism without tearing anyone down and you know where to aim your thoughts, if that makkes sense. I agree with pretty much all of your points. Each member is hella talented, and I don't think that is the issue - I think the issue is that their styles are all too different and they can't really switch concepts/vibes like some other groups. It's a shame. Request for you: Could you do some videos on smaller/nugu groups? I'm so glad to find another female gg stan, I feel like it's mostly the opposite, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Blackpink is returning in 2025 and I'm 100% sure that they will not miss a single step - the group will continue to do just fine with their group activities as well as their solo projects, in spite of all of the haters - their strong longevity is proof that they mesh well together, just fine despite all the criticism - I can understand the hate & criticism towards YG but not against BP, they have proven their collective and individual star power over and over and over again - that train is not stopping now - only when their new contract with YG expires will the ladies of BP decide to either disband or continue - but it won't be because of all the so-called experts & critics all over social media - all four ladies started strong together in 2016 and they've only gotten stronger since then - despite YG's restrictions and despite all of the haters - OT4
I think it's also okay to be a solo Stan in the sense that you are a (as I am) a Stan of one member's work/one member's solo work. I'm a fan of Lisa and her current solo work now that she is no longer under contract with YG (in a solo sense). I feel like her uniqueness shines through a lot better in her solo music meshing well with her Thai pride that is showcased well in her music video with having beautiful cis and trans women in her Rockstar mv. I feel like her makeup and styling fits her nationality and identity as a Thai artist better now that she seems to have more artistic freedom and I love that so much for her. It is much harder for me to love the Blackpink OT4 YG content because of how curated it feels and it doesn't feel genuine to the girls' personalities and personal goals. I hope the others will also come out with solo music so I can look into staining them as well
The good reason and bad reason for this: GOOD REASON having members with different personalities can definitely attract people, even if it means to be a solo Stan. If you Stan only 1 member without bring others down, you can clearly be part of the fandom or just their fandom. As I was saying, it is quite rare to see a group of 4 girls and be like “wait.. are they friends?” When they have been together for 10+ years. Since people are confused they might look in the group and enjoy everything. They do give different vibes yet they can kind of match each others vibe. + many people might like 1 personality and blackpink can save them and show them 3-2 more that they might enjoy which will lead them liking more personalities and people who act like them BAD REASON its almost impossible to tell they are besties as they don’t match, (even if they can match each others vibe, it’s better to stick to their own) and I’m not saying they shouldn’t be cause we love blackpink 💕 but it’s hard to tell they are a group which might confuse non Kpop fans. Especially the ones that only know group names such as red velvet, twice and badvillan (yes ik they are j-pop but they said themselves they are a mixed) which might lead them to think, “oh Jisoo is in red velvet” or “oh Jennie/lisa is in badvillan or “oh Rosè was in twice” and who confuse people. There is a good side and a bad side so we shouldn’t get too sad abt that! It’s ok, they love eachother and so do we!
YG had 7 years 12 if we add the trainee years and they blew it we all know how big the blackpink brand is YG is not selling it to them for them to continue as a group it's not about being close they needed to jump ship before the regreted it further
I feel like BP shinned so much because with the 4 members you had one member with one of the four skills a lot more than the rest, Jennie - rap, rosé - vocal, jisoo - visual, Lisa - dance. Before you say visual isn’t a talent, if you’ve ever had puberty and didn’t take care of your face be aware that taking care of one’s face is a skill,
My thing is, I don’t mind solo stans. There’s nothing wrong if someone likes one or two members, but don’t stan the group. However, akgaes are demons in disguise. I understand if you only like one and don’t Stan BP, however, it’s a problem when you think one member is above the others and drag them down.
On a positive note, the members were seen as individuals and liked as individuals which is why their solos may be successful. Contrary to some group that is not that active anymore, the members' solo activities are not that supported by their fans as a group.
I want to add one thing, I’m halfway through the video, and even though I do kinda agree with what you’re saying, when I watched black pinks documentary, the members explained how the line up was created, the company placed different girls together to see which one of them go well together, and when one day these 4 girls were put together, they said everything just clicked, cause all of them had a place to be , a part to play, they said before that there was a lot of “i want to do this you will do that” between the girls put together cause they all wanted to do what they wanted, but with these 4 members, everything aligned so well, Everyone had a part only they wanted to shine on. So yes maybe black pink are all different in personalities and stuff and feel like soloist, but that’s also the reason why they work so well, there’s an unsaid understanding of which role which member would play, so within the group the dynamics are great, which in turn helps them perform better as a group. Also maybe I’m biased cause I’m a blink, but what you’re talking about is what actually attracted me to it. Like as you said, their songs are kinda rap focused, but with jisoo and rose the songs can have this unique flow of tying the whole thing together , like in dudududu after the rap parts we get this amazing vocal pre chorus, it’s just so dynamic and nice. Also I do get everyone has their own preferences so this is just mine, but groups like black pink and mamamoo where even tho the members all have a very good individuality work together, I just find it more fascinating than groups as you mentioned who harmonise with each other on and off stage. But anyways, loved the video!
Blackpink is legendary honestly there’s never gonna be any other group like that, if they were like 9 members or 6 members they wouldn’t be as successful as they are , they fit together that’s why they harmonise so well together they are just 4 girls on a big stage but the stage never feels empty, they can fill the stage so well with an aura that no one can disagree with ! They are definitely meant to be
They did the same for Shinee but SM knew they 5 kids had talents and here we are 16 years5 soloists who stayed humble ❤️ honestly for Black pink how many songs do they have ? It’s obvious they hate each other
I agree with most of the things you've said, but honestly... I was never really aware of it 👁️👁️ And yes, now as I think about it - Them being completely diffrent from each other - energy, personality, looks - was and is a hugeee advantage and set them up for success. As a group and as solos. In one of their documentaries they even said smt along the lines of "We instantly clicked with each other and when the four of us were together everything was clear". They always had their set position in the group and rolled with it really fcking well. And they sure will. I do think they will have some sorts of group activities in the future. I just don't think it's the end, cause I'm pretty sure that the fans would've sensed something at their last concerts... And for sure the members would've been more emotional?🤔 But who knows, I find it quite entertaining honestly🙈
@Hunchbackswift I mean, the blinks are going to attack because of what she's saying in this video. K-pop stans can be insane. So I was joking by saying RIP, because the blinks will be out for blood.
@@strawberrylime33not rlly. it just depends on maturity. in a big fandom seeing the bad in them will always overpower seeing the good. ive been a blink since blackpink debuted, but if someone gives a respectful opinion (not hate or being hateful disguised as being constructive) then it would just be their opinion whether i agree with it or not. every fandom has bad apples, but with bigger fandoms those bad apples overshine the genuine, calm ones 😭 no doubt blinks can be extremely wild, but the generalization has to die down
@@cowuieyes I agree I see the points made but I don’t agree but I’m not about to leak her address over having opinions 😭 I think comments like that talking about “attacking” is what causes attacks since it’s unprovoked in certain situations which can upset people and make them act immaturely
@@cowuieTHIS. ive seen many instances of people who are in popular fandoms (js blink and army, rlly) being called “toxic” when providing opinions about their favorite albums/songs just because they praise a bts/bp song
3:58 minutes in and I’m already disagreeing. How can all 4 members stand out. If they ALL stand out, that by definition means they are harmonious. That makes no sense. The solo Stan is definitely a problem, and is def engineered by YG. Just like he did with Jennie, pushing her forward to drive the fandom to over protect and over love the other 3, leading to extreme hate, he’s doing exactly the same with Ahyeon. And it’s already started. She was pushed so much forward as the best (which is not true) that now when she fumbles, she gets an enormous amount of hate. That’s all a tactic to push fans to argue and then try to beat all the other members to do better. All this increases the streams and gives more achievements that may be deserved. But Blackpink as a group is a stroke of genius. They all have a specialty and work to complete the others. Lisa completes Jisoo lack of dancing skills, Jennie completes Rosie lack of rap skills, rose completes Lisa lack of singing skill and Jisoo with her beauty and personality bring all the others together. There’s a reason why they are so popular as a group before they are popular as soloists. Because they actually work together and yes solo stans will form. That’s inevitable.
What you said about being able to pinpoint a yg song is so true. Like they'll have an intriguing sort of remixy start to their songs, then a usually repetitive, easy-to-remember and most times out of not, catchy chorus, and then in the outro, the whole group sings together. That's what the formula usually is. It is not necessarily a bad thing. It's good that the company has a distinctive and recognisable style. But not when it gets so overused and recycled.
Fun fact about BP's original line up: One of the 6 former pre - debut members was Miyeon from (G)-IDLE and their group name was called Pink Punk, originally.
once again, accidentally spreading my dreamcatcher agenda, but i think they're an example of what could have been blackpink with 9 members. i don't mean it in a popularity sense, because their level of popularity isn't even comparable imo. dreamcatcher are doing really well, but they're not bp level of famous. i mean it in what you were mentioning about harmony. all dreamcatcher members have big personalities, different types of performance, unique vocal tones and all of them stand out on stage. the thing is that, because there's 7 of them, they learned to give away the spotlight to the other members. they've always been promoted as a unit as well, which means they're used to working with each other. they know how to catch your attention, but they also know how to let the spotlight go and not overshadow the others. all this while still being great performers when they aren't centre. i think that's what bp is missing on stage, that synergy and harmony that comes with working in a bigger group. the fact that they do so much solo work and have so few comebacks together also doesn't help, because they don't work together often enough to learn the balance their differences. at the end of the day, the title is spot on. yg took 4 soloists, promoted them as soloists as well, and occasionally put them together as a group. it was bound to work badly in one of the fronts. in their case, the group suffered with this marketing strategy, because they were a group in theory, but not in practice.
There is also a solo stan problem in aespa, I think because of 4 member groups is causing the problem. But to be a solo stan in aespa is really stupid, these girls adore each other and still live together in a dorm.
im a blink, i got into kpop thanks to blackpink and immediately fell in love. i got to know them during the aiiyl era and i'm not the type of person to engage in fandom wars or twitter however i always observed what goes on in the fandom and with blackpink quietly, tbh the elephant in the room is justbthat they dont have enough music and comebacks i do believe the hate they got was really ridiculous and with yg keeping them in the dungeon its sad how much of their potential is being wasted and i think rose does fit well with lisa and jennie especially performance wise and also catering more to thebwestern audience and as much as i koce jisoo i think she hasn't chnagef much since their debut and doesn't seem as passionate about performing or music as much as the other girls, i think she loves being blackpink but not much else
This kinda reminds me of Illit, except HYBE is trying their best to blend all the girls in with the cute concept. But no matter how much they try most people can tell it only suits Wonhee. (No hate to them tho)
They are missing another member who can balance them out. I also think choreography looks better as 5 (fans have complained about their dancing and stage presence)
I think mamamoo did the 4 soloist thing good. They were cohesive in the beginning and were able to branch out solo. That being said, I think bp should’ve followed something similar. Really focus on making music together, and then mid career, maybe promote duos. And then really focus on solos towards the end of contract. Idk
Personally, I think 9 members is waaay too many. G-idle has 5 which teeters on the edge of too many. 4 seems good to me and I take their individuality as a plus. Why? Several reasons In a western market its easier to remember the names of 4 individuals, especially when they make themselves stand out. In addition three of the four speak english very well, so during western interviews, english speaking fans can really relate and grow closer to them. lastly, giving them each a story thats easy to follow is better accomplished with a smaller group. Look at TWICE. I like Twice, dont get me wrong but I only know like 3 of their names. Jihyo, Momo, Jeongeon and Bunny teeth (I cant remember her name, I only know her as Bunny teeth and was sad when she had them altered). How would you possibly craft a story for twice? I know Momo was last picked and almost didnt make the group. I know Jihyo lost a lot of weight, is the leader and looks super sexy with a tan. Thats about it though, meaning the other members just end up fading in the background to the average fan. I think 4 is better. As soloists they strengthen their fanbase as a group as well but more than 4 is very hard. Looking back at G-idle. Great as a group. Soyeon can easily be a solo act, as can Yuqi. Miyeon and Minnie have had solo stages before, with Miyeons voice and Minnies skill as a pianist....but the 5th member Shuhua does dance routines to Britany Spears songs (that are not all that impressive sadly). All just my opinion but I think Blackpinks strength is in their individuality. Like the Ninja Turtles. A group, yes but individuals we can gravitate to as well......and whether by fate or coincidence they are also a group of 4.
It's weird that you don't talk much about 2NE1, give that BP is just Yang's attempt to make 2NE1 Ver 2.0 All the things you talk about are pretty much true for 2NE1, as well, but 2NE1 were the biggest thing in the history KPOP (except for YG's other group at the time Big Bang), so they made incredible money. Ofc YG has tried his best to reproduce that. It isn't really working, though, for the long term. I think it's because of producer Teddy; I don't feel like his heart is in it, any more. BP did make them mega-more-rich tho, so what do I know?
I actually like blackpink a lot......the members have different personality and their own concept. If all of them are in girl crush concept.......it will be boring. Maybe yg is actually lucky with BP For ex Jennie- girl crush like 2ne1 Lisa - cool tomboy vibes like itzy Jisoo- elegant funny and vibrant just like twice or ive Rose- aesthetic fairy like illit or new jeans. While solo stans are a major problem
Agree the solo hate in Blackpink is ridiculous. These are 4 uniquely talented artists and we should appreciate them all. I actually appreciate the Blackpink vibe on stage, I saw them in Sydney and they were amazing. I do understand YG strategy but they could have done better.
I personally would not mind albums being released every two years or so but it‘s the amount of songs that makes me frustrated. You do not take two years to have them release only seven group songs and one solo song. Born Pink should have had at least 13 tracks, maybe make two unit songs where one is with Jisoo and Rosé and the other one is Jennie and Lisa.
The primary emotion I remember from my years as a Blink is frustration. On day 1, I thought it showed a lack of commitment by the company to release two songs… followed by two songs… followed by more than a year of V-Live (snore)…. I literally thought, despite their massive talent, any four kids with a webcam could be as entertaining as BP. Then YG gives us one measly single, “As if it’s Your Last”. At the time, that felt like a prediction.
I would say in most cases online, akgaes are the aggressive solo stans who dislike the other members, while the term solo stan genuinely can just mean a person who highly preferences one member while being indifferent to the rest
maybe this is dumb bc it seems kind of obvious but i never really thought about the fact that the lack of comebacks is intentional to garner more views/streams of their old mvs and songs. definitely something interesting to think about, so thank you for this video!
I think the fact that they don’t dance in sync with each other and also because there’s only four of them there’s more eyes on each member so they’re mistakes and flaws are more noticeable has a lot to do with why they don’t look like a group on stage take twice for example they dance really in synchronized and there’s nine of them so even though a lot of them lack in some categories you wouldn’t notice that right away unless you focus on one member throughout the whole performance
i don't think blackpink would've had as much international success had it been 9 members actually. one of the things that made blackpink so accessible is how memorable they are. four members with short and easy to pronounce names (especially for english speakers) with very different auras and personalities. i could show someone one blackpink mv and introduce each member and just like that they know the whole group.
Also their styles are so consistent. Like Jisoo with long black hair, Lisa with her bangs, rosé being blond and Jennie usually has dark hair. Then Jisoo's outfits/styling is usually chic, Lisa baddie, rose soft and sweet, and Jennie a mix of baddie and channel
It makes them easier to recognize to non-fans
Yeah they are distinct and consistent, it's really easy for westerners to keep track of who is who. Like you can take essential any American off the streets and the would be able to recognise the members as the same person from video to video.
I don't even think it would have helped much with the fighting within the fandom, bc if BP had like 9 members I can really see them becoming a Jennie and friends type of group
yeah i agree. one thing that general audiences internationally are unwilling to deal with is big groups with a lot of members. 5 members seems to be a kind of soft limit for how big of a group people are willing to accept. there are maybe a handful of successful bigger groups but the ones that really see huge success are usually 5 members or fewer like one direction or nsync or spice girls
when I first saw them I could only tell who was Lisa.
if we are talking about "kpop is a business", bp is a prime example of how multiple top marketing campaigns, paired with background media pr, business dealings, brand sponsorships, working simultaneously successfully would look like.
it became so successful, too successful, that the company who made it loss control over their product.
Ohhh I actually really like this take
That's funny, because that would mean giving them more songs would have made it easier for YG to keep hold of them. But because they have individual influencer brands, they can just go anywhere.
@@Sherluck93 Exactly. If Blackpink was actually promoted as a group, the group would be more famous than the members which would've been better for the fandom (more songs) and YG (more power). Because of the way they were promoted the members (specially Jennie and Lisa) are way more powerfull than the company and the group (as a brand).
Blackpink is like the Fifth Harmony of K-pop. The title worded it perfectly, they’re 4 soloists in one group
I think that’s what makes them unique, yes there sometimes is parts where they’re different but if you have ever watched them in concert live you’d know them being different adds on and they can ACTUALLY work together
I don’t think BLACKPINK is that much messy 😭
@@seulginess no one can top fifth disharmony
so true! they work in duos, its a unique dynamic but it doesnt work with purely duos. itzy is a good example of where this duo dynamic goes right, lia and chaeryoung with yeji and ryujin, yuna is a glue that unites them smoothly.
maybe another example of a bad duo-dynamic would be if twice was formed by dahyun+chae, jihyo+nayeon and mina+momo, without the members who can provide a smooth experience by their versatility (sana, tzuyu and jeongyeon) it'd feel like 3 groups clashed together
aespa has a really good dynamic, people only see the most popular duos (Jiminjeong and Ningselle), but truly you can pair up any member and the connection is amazing
Wow, that's a very astute observation!!!! Thanks for shar this!! ❤❤
I've always thought Chae, Yuna and Yeji were the ones that made Ryujin and Lia work well together, kinda like a 3 member bridge. But Yuna being the glue work well too.
@@sakaom also saw Jeongyeon and Jihyo as more of a duo due to their vocal tones
When you said something about them not being harmonious, I thought of Fifth Harmony. Now, they’re not as messy as Fifth Harmony and they actually like each other, but they definitely have some similarities in terms of cohesiveness. They also had a slight solo fan problem but that was mostly with Camila and of course they had their own favoritism accusations. However, favoritism scandals happen with almost every pop group.
From the title alone, I knew this was about BP lol
Queens
Sameeee
Same lmao
The word you are looking for is SYNERGY. Blackpink’s doesn’t have any. This means Blackpink as a whole isn’t bigger than the sums of its parts. Its members.
@@HailToTheMeep Blackpink is probably the group with the most Synergy I’ve ever seen. WTF are yo on about? They quite literally complete each other. Lisa for Jisoo and dance, Rose for Lisa and singing, Jennie for Rose and Rap and Jisoo for all members with her looks and personality. They fill each others holes. Because the fans are vile and nasty doesn’t mean they have no synergy. 😂😂😂😂
@@veewooshi9882 I can't believe that still in 2024, BlackPink having already 8 years on the industry, and their oldest member being almost 30 year old woman, fans are still reacting like kids when valid personal opinions are made...
@@veewooshi9882 That’s not SYNERGY. That’s the opposite.
Not only that, but based on your argument that they complimented each other, you are actually agreeing with me.
I don’t appreciate your immature attitude. You can disagree. You don’t have to swear.
@@veewooshi9882 You’re pointing out exactly what makes them different, not what makes them similar.
@@abc_jv_xyz and that's the complete.group you can't create a well rounded group with member having very similar strengths and styles they need to be different in order to create a complete pallete
Honestly, I really like how the BP members are all so different and have strong personalities ... with bigger groups I often times find myself not really getting invested in the members, usually only knowing one member by name ... but with Blackpink they all have something that makes them stand out to me ... like non of them are background characters for lack of a better word ...
Exactly what I was thinking, it’s rare to find groups in kpop in which every member contributes a crucial part to the line up.
Rosè signed with the black label only for management, it is rumored that she will sign a contract with a western label, hope this helps❤
I feel jisoo not really fitting blackpinks concept contributed to the disliking of jisoo's solo, because imo her solo fits her so well! Jisoo fits the Elegant concept, like Jisoo fits IVE's concept more than she fits blackpinks concept. I hope if she ever releases more solo music (which i doubt she will since she seems to be more focused on modeling and acting) i hope shell stick to the more elegant concepts
Blackpink is great. But I wouldn’t call them ‘diverse’. They are the girl crush concept. All of their title tracks are like that
@@tssjdI get what you're saying but As if It's your last is a take on the girl crush concept, just in a slightly cuter tone. It's basically teen crush. Then Lovesick Girls I would say is somewhere near girl crush just not as badass. Now Stay is a different concept but that's just one title track. Blackpink are known for their girl crush concepts. For being "badass, im better than you, we're the best, etc" just because they have a few outliers in their discography doesn't mean they are diverse
@@tssjd i am a blink, but it's true, blackpink is a primarily girl-crush girlgroup. they have explored other concepts as in the songs you mentioned, but around 7 out of their 10 releases are girl-crush and there's nothing wrong with that.
@@tssjd i guess girl
It's funny cause she was invited to join sm entertainment and would probably end up debuting in red velvet, while Wendy from red velvet did audition to yg but she didn't get to join it because of her weight at the time! Imagine if in another paralel reality this had happened, i think it would make a lot more sense for Jisoo to debut in red velvet and for Wendy to debut in blackpink since Jisoo fits more the elegant korean concepts while Wendy is a little more westernized compared to her members, she is the only one that speaks english and her voice would save blackpink's vocal line. Also Jisoo would receive a better vocal training and would probably sing 10 times better
imo blackpink made it too big too early. they never had to struggle for commercial success. add on top of that enormous breaks between comebacks, and you get a formula where the girls practically aren't even practicing together anymore. maybe if the circumstances were different and yg was less stubborn about its management style, they could have been more cohesive. 2016 blackpink was pretty cohesive - in fact, you could say the same up to 2020. they all had strong individuality but they still made sense as a group. i believe the huge hiatus after lovesick girls where each member was focusing on solo projects was the tipping point for them.
i think that in kpop groups not all members need to be extremely close but they still need to be able to vibe w/ eachother. also i agree that there should be rosie and jisoo unit because their vocals match really well imagine them doing a elegant or fairy-ish concept omgg (also massive rosie stan too lol)
I mean if you really think about it, it has applied to bigbang, 2NE1 and now Blackpink. It’s definitely intended lol.
Almost everything you said is true. But with that being said, I think with every criticism you said is exactly the reason Blackpink was or is successful, especially in the western market. Blackpink was never designed for the Korean market. It was designed to break K-pop into the western market. Which it did. Unfortunately for K-pop, they had no other groups to take advantage of Blackpinks success in U.S. market. The other K-pop groups are the same boring song and dance concept. It fits old Korean K-pop fans, but it doesn't impress U.S. fans. Lastly K-pop is built off everyone in the group pretty much matching and being the same, creating harmony in the group. Blackpink didn't have that harmony. They maintained their individuality, because they all had charisma and stand out talent. As for Blackpink making further music together. I'm not that will happen. Even though they signed some kind of contract with YG for group activities. I think that contract was just to save YG'S stock Value and to save face in the K-pop industry. Not to mention YG is desperate to have control of their Idols. The girls of Blackpink are beyond their control. Jisoo obviously doesn't want to be a Idol, she wants to be a actor. Rose, I haven't figured out what she wants yet. Jennie wants to be everything in the music and entertainment industry. And Lisa is looking to move on to the Western market and style of music, and become the first K-pop Idol to become a Rockstar in America. I'm pretty much convince she has given up on K-pop totally. For all her success, I don't think K-pop was very nice to her.
Rose has a broadcast channel in her instagram which she shares her releases and also some recordings. It felt very personal actually and now she’s been doing some ost for series like Pachinko. For Rose it’s pretty clear that she wants to write and produce her own songs at the same time marketing herself through brand deals and mingle with the industry in the west. It is the same with Jennie, aside from the fact that she’s also currently busy with her solo album she also markets herself through global campaigns and is still a force despite the enormous hate train she has on her comments in social media. Jisoo from the start has already established that she went for YG to act and not be an idol but she used being an idol as an opportunity to break out the acting industry, nothing wrong with that but you could see in a sense that her solo debut was for the fans who are restless to hear her sing not that there’s anything wrong with that but it’s obvious that Jisoo wanted to act more than sing. For Lisa she’s going on the same route with Jennie and Rose, she’s definitely using a lot of connections and networking in the west. She doesn’t entirely give up on kpop as her bop is still kpop coded but she’s leaning on more on her fans outside of Korea and is currently in brand deals like LV. This girls are doing the same thing as they had in YG but more branched out and freer now with their own labels so it’s no surprise that BP as a group would have another comeback by the next year.
It is not always necessary for all members to fit the vibe of the group. I've been a fan of SHINee for a very long time, and each SHINee member has a very distinctive vibe. Onew is soft and gentle, Jonghyun was bold and loud in his sensuality, Key has the diva vibes, Minho is the manly and athletic one, and Taemin is the soft but sexy one. What they did was, created their own genre. SHINee music is very distinguishable from other 2nd gen groups because they have a sound that everybody associates with SHINee. Yes, they had creative freedom, which unfortunately, BlackPink never had as a group.
SHINee's personalities blend like a charm too; because they've been together for so long, they have the dynamic of a family.
Kibum is the Mother;
Minho is (more recently) the Father
Jinki and Jonghyun are kinda like the older simblings
And Taemin is SHINee's lil' shit of a demon baby. And we love him.
It's quite an appealing dynamic ro the public. Not to mention, the memes people have made about them.
hmmm I don't agree with the term vibe. as a group, their vibe is immaculate that's why they have such amazing songs and performances! BUT their personalities on the other hand, are sooo different yet they vibe so well! i have been and will always be a shawol so i'm so happy someone mentioned this legendary group! 🥰
BP as 9 girl crew sounds absurd. They ‘worked’ because of the four individuals. A category of one. Contrast. Look at G&R for comparison - biggest rock crew in last 50 years. Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy - wildly different music influences, all stand as solo projects. The contrast is what made BP stand out.
Exactly I was baffled when I first heard her point.them 4 with uniquely different colors and contrasts is what made them stand out not to mention even Jennie said in LUTS documentary that it has always been a four of us
@@ZOI682 A BP5 would have been intriguing. But adding that strong personality might have led to in-fighting. BP4 was ideal.
i agree. four members is just large enough to form a balanced group, but also small enough to promote each member individually.
@@BillyWhaler hmm interesting having 5 member would cause them to have a proper centre but this member would also be the odd one out as Jennie already said it has always been 4 of them
Not a kpop listener so forgive me if some terminology is wrong - but what i saw as unifying for bp was how extremely talented each member was. like a reverse supergroup
they are different, and thats what adds dynamics to their group and what makes them so interesting and appealing to the western audience
four strong female members that could stand on their own as soloist but forms a whole new level of a beast when together. had their run as a fairly known group, now has careers as solo artists but is still whole as a group and fans trust that concerts as a group is only a matter of when. with each members covering each other's solo songs, not to prove that one is better than the other but to show camaraderie and pay tribute to each other's unique artistry.
they do have pairings, but doesnt mean that they could only pair up with that specific person.
though they do have those pairings, you could mix and much all 4 members, might it be duos or trios, and youd have harmonious twist on those unique pairings
not caring about hate comments saying that they are not close anymore, doesnt even need to prove themselves. fans know and secured about it hence fans themselves dont care either.
think i heard that somewhere around, in fact they recently just celebrated 10 years together as a group.
They haven't been a group in years
who? 10years?
Mamamoo?
In years?! Hold on in which tome zone are you cause if we talk about meeting up ,they always do.if we talk about group content then last septembre they Finished the tour @@AC-ri2ph
Are you talking about another group?
BlackPink never acted like a group to me. They’re great friends. But the synergy isn’t there for me.
"keep watching me shut it down" and they indeed shut the group down 😔
I giggled 😭
Istg Natasha’s thumbnails also make me laugh the video could be about the most serious/saddest thing ever and then Natasha is just sitting there serving LOOKS
HELP 😭😭😭😭
solo stans practically ruined blackpink but yg is the one that gave them ruin to run
edit: by ruined i mean the fandoms and people's perception of the fandom
There is still a good percentage of ot4 blinks and only stans respectful towards other members (know some) or is your songs no longer being broadcast on music platforms, members or group are already being forgotten or are losing popularity, your MVS are no longer broadcasting them? , by contrast, remains the most popular female group and one of the most reproduced on any platform, (yt, spotify, etc.), although they have been inactive for almost 2 years, only stans, has not achieved its purpose, including its own agency 😅
@@ENEIDAG24 i meant ruined in terms of fandom, it is undeniable that bp is popular...
With these comments you would think that they'll fall in their comeback...I think being unique is what makes them popular & you can't replace any member
I don't know how to put the exact feeling i got from bp into words, but for me, blackpink just is "the blackpink", as big as they're now because they're 4 solist in a group. Each member is so complete and capable in every aspect that it brings up this feeling of "they're so incredible good, and work so damn well that even if you break them apart, they'll still be as good". And thats why they're the biggest gg and not one of the hundreds "harmonic" groups that "works better together", it's cuz bp is unique from start to finish. The members are artists of their own, all of them are so powerful by themselves that when you put them together, it's just perfect. It just make sense.
But I think they harmonise together amazingly
i do agree they’re soft launching the disband, especially since they all went to different companies and are never seen together theses days unless it’s work related, sad but also good for them, i hope they’re happier now
This is fascinating to me because I always wondered why I never connected with Blackpink, but "4 solo artists in one group" has cleared it up for me. They really don't feel like a cohesive group. Plus I only like a few of their songs, so that and their lack of overall unity has left me uninterested. Other groups I like feel like an actual unified group.
I totally agree with the vibe matching when it comes to groups. For example, Mamamoo has guite strong 4 members who can be solos but their vibe matches greatly despite it.
When together the members dials down to match everyone while BP tries to shine all so bright which can look disharmonious(is that even a word lol).
6:47 exactly, having two pairs of two different vibes in a four member group makes sense to me cause I feel like they make a perfect balance, and I think that was the original concept for the group, since the previous name was gonna be pinkpunk which ultimately became blackpink, and that duality translates well as a group concept and their members: BLACK (Lisa & Jennie) PINK (Jisoo & Rosé) IMO of course.
Blackpink shouldn’t work like they do but YG really hit gold with having those 4 in one group
Blackpink just can't be compared with other kpop GGs. They never pretend to be a group of 4 members with the same vibe. It's way too obvious and not a bad thing at all. I think that's actually one of the reason why they are so popular, anybody can feel related with any of the members.
Also the way they performs is not comparable with the mainstream type of performance in kpop, where the most important thing is the synchronization while dancing, use playback and look cute. The way Blackpink perform is more 'free' and 'occidental', which is also the YG style.
You have good points to consider, and I think what makes BP "attractive" is the marked difference between the styles of its members, where in a group you have 4 different styles
The first time I saw the group I thought they were 4 great soloists in a group
That of course generates division among the followers and YG was very Machiavellian in taking advantage of this situation.
In each group there is always a "popular" member and it is the one that the company promotes but here you have 4 artists with different vibes and two of them with a scenic force that they tend to call the reflect
It was inevitable that there would be a division of the fandom, on the one hand the "official" blink and on the other the stans. And the latter took center stage
Now having the "popular" Korean member And the popular representative member of foreign idols, who became a symbol of struggle and resistance to the Korean system, With their respective stans, an "explosive cocktail"
Now that they had to renew the group contract but their solo careers are in their hands, the difference will be more marked. I don't know how long they signed the renewal for. but I don't see a long future, and they know it.
Rose', I feel is the most vocally talented with her indy style and unique tone.
I understand what you're trying to say about a group full of strong and very different personalities, but I think it depends on how you handle it at the end of the day. I'd like to use the group SHINee as an example, SHINee is a group with 5 members, all of them with VERY different personalities, each one of them is also a soloist with VERY different styles, concepts and music, and they have never been shy about the difficulties they had with each other in the beginning. They told us many times that it took them 4 YEARS to start really getting along and become as close as they are now, Key and Minho started fighting each other from LITERALLY the first time they met (and never really stopped, only now they fight like an old married couple and are best friends). Taemin fought with ALL the members and their personalities clashed. But they worked on it and showed the fans that even with those problems SHINee comes first and when they got on stage they put all of that to the side and worked seamlessly as a group, and that honesty and loyalty to the group and the fandom made the fans appreciate them more as a unit, that despite the difficulties the group MATTERED made the fans love them as a whole. that's one of the reasons why most fans are OT5 (I'm not saying Shawols don't have solo stans, of course we do, every fandom has them, but they are a tiny minority), seeing how hard the guys worked to make their relationship work and how loyal they are to each other, and seeing them bond and become a family through hard work and perseverance made the fans love them as well. and seeing how immensely supportive they are of each other makes it very difficult not to love them all (It's a common saying in the fandom that no one is a bigger fan of SHINee than SHINee themselves).
in a group like that it's very easy to pick a favorite and ignore or even dislike the other members, but the guys made it almost impossible for the fans to do that. Taemin once said that when with SHINee the most important job is to fit in with the rest of the members and bland with them, then, when they do their solo work they can work on developing their own unique colors so that they can bring those colors back and enrich the overall color of the group.
BlackPink all seem like very nice girls, but even when in the group they all look like they only want to show their own personal color and not bland those colors together to create that unique combined color that IS Blackpink, and this is probably what their company lead them to do, I don't know, but it does the group a disservice and is what ultimately leads to so many solo stans.
8:40 I see a lot of Liz solo stans in these streets too, as an Ive ulter
True there’s a lot of discourse between wonyoung solo stans and liz solo stans~
There must be a reason they are so likable = popular = successful
BP represents a salad bowl whereas the mass majority of groups operate like a melting pot. I think that’s the reason why most people don’t understand nor can’t handle their group dynamic. It’s just rare and different for the industry.
Another thing people misconstrue is the BP concept. It’s an amalgamation of multiple concepts but the primary two are girl crush and elegance. Jisoo is more rooted in the latter while Lisa is more rooted in the former. Jennie and Rose are in between so it’s well balanced imo.
Those are the things I wish more people understood but that’s just my pov.
Honestly, their fandom really turns me off esp. Lisa and jennie's fans
Very interesting video.
I'm going to speculate that BP will be back, but it's going to take awhile for them to figure out what Blackpink "is" now. I could see where they might get frustrated enough to disband, but I think they know they'd be walking away from the challenge of creating new material, and their very careers were built on facing challenges, and disbanding would be admitting they can't face that challenge and it would haunt them the rest of their careers. Plus, whatever else, they're family. As BP, they're greater than the sum of their parts and it's clear they miss each other. I truly think they want to work together but don't know what to do together. Teddy was the one who gave the group direction and they need someone like him, someone who can look objectively at them and say "Let's try this." I don't think the girls want to go out with a whimper, so they will get together at least one more time, show that Blackpink is still relevant and retake the throne just to prove they can still do it. After that, I don't know. In "Light Up the Sky," they talked at the end about marriage and kids, and they're hitting the age where they need to start making room for marriage and a family. It's certainly expected that Fred will contribute to carrying on the Arnault line and I don't think he'd be in a relationship with Lisa if she didn't understand that. Rose is the most openly romantic of the group and think she's laying the ground work for her solo career and once that's set, she'll start looking for a partner if she hasn't done so already but quietly. Jennie's harder to read, but it's clear she likes being partners with people and I think she's waiting for the man that will appear and she'll go "He's It!" Jisoo has her foot in acting, music, and business which spreads her pretty thin, and coming from a business family, I think she's likely to pair up with an "outsider," a businessman (like IU apparently has) who can help keep Blissoo running smoothly while she acts. I also think, to really take a flyer, they all wind up getting married and having kids roughly about the same time so they can get their families up and running in sync so that they can come back together once the kids have grown enough that they don't need constant attention.
I've often said in comments that Blackpink is a fascinating case because there's never been a group like them. They've achieved success beyond their wildest dreams but it's also propelled them into completely unknown territory both businesswise and psychologically. I honestly think they don't know what to do now, and it's going to take time to sort things out. I think they'll be back, at least for an "encore" but have no idea how or when it will happen.
I disagree. The members of bp being so different is what literally got me into kpop. It was a big selling point imo...and there is another group that has VERY different members, who are all good soloists too, but noone ever says they're not harmonious, it's Mamamoo. Idk but I notice that I almost never have interest in groups who have very similar in vibe members, it just doesn't stick as much in my memory.
Also personally I think that the solo stan problem to THIS extend could have to do with the fact bp doesn't have as much ot4 content? like variety and stufff, their interactions with each other. We were really deprived of that and people can be more delulu about their supposed dislike for each other lmao.
So the solo issue is bcs they (yg) tried to immitate 2ne1 (they legit said bp was the pretty version ) they wanted all-arounders with stage precense ; and they got Ll arounders but they lack as a group (not in talent just in vibes ) if u look at 2ne1 tthey did do different looks individuals and stage presence (but they never got solos even if they should have ) they tried to “fix it “ with pb by giving solor but missed with the group (again not the talent just the vibe) so I think if they had taken them (BP) as individual group and not tried to immitate there previous success but “pretty “ If they had actually done something to just make them them it would have worked so much better. yG always messes up with girl groups tbh
I think the solo stans where marketing by YG to make sure each girl had enough of a fandom to stand on their own when the 7 year contract is up and he disbands them there is a reason he gives Jennie the first solo at a time when she should have been pulled back when he saw Lisa and Jennie become the 2 most popular members they are almost pitted against each other to keep the competitiveness of the solo fandoms high there is a reason it's said Jennie bullied or still bullies Lisa till this day but not jisoo or rosé and there is a reason YG never denied those rumors and neither Lisa nor Jennie denied anything all that all the girls can't stand each other they need that hatred and competitiveness to fuel solo fandoms because solo fandoms need a cause to justify their hate for another member wether it's their idol being mistreated bullied or being underrated he just didn't expect them to pack their bags and leave YG
Girl you should be going viral at this point.
hopefully one day ❤
I think a group who did 4 soloist well was mamamoo, theyre all very different and have their own unique identity as soloists, but when it comes to group work they all manage to work very well together
Same thing for aespa. Three lead sopranos and a lead alto. Blackpink blew the whole girl group industry wide open. They have separate contracts now, and they aren't obligated to YG outside of BLACKPINK(r).
6 + 4 = 10 BTW.
Who's the alto in Aespa?? Karina?
@@dew_q yes
aespa works really well as a group though, and you can tell they love being in a group together
but you can pair up any of the aespa members
When i watch the four of them preform its like everyone is giving off their own vibe which is why i thought it looked awkward everytime they preform without backup dancers, vs. groups like aespa who can preform without backup dancers and it still looks good.
There certainly seems like there's at least one other group of 4 soloists that standout vocally and visually from each other but also has tremendous chemistry together. Perhaps this group is probably an example of a soloist group done well. Especially considering the artist's group and individual discography is actually healthy and stable moving into their careers long term.
i've been a blackpink stan since 2019. having to wait 2 years for a comeback was a pain. when "born pink" released, their songs weren't bad, but they could've done better. i had to discover other groups and other music in general. waiting and waiting is not my favourite thing to do. last year, they barely released any music, they focused on their money making things like modelling, their game, etc. and no, jennie's solo was released *2* years after blackpink's debut, not three. it was released in november 2018. i also disagree with none of the ive members becoming solo artists. i feel like wonyoung could be a solo artist if she wanted to since since shes very freaking popular. yujin could also be a soloist too. blackpink performed well as a group, their friendships with each other are everything. i do agree that the members do have solo personalities and different interests. be for real tho. any member of any group can have solo personalities. everyone is different. jisoo was mistreated by fans and companies (adidas), leaving her out (kind of like the giselle from æspa situation).
Girl you had 3 uploads in 3 days
I love it 😭🩷
Home girl is struggling 😩💐
The thing is, when Blackpink debuted, the girl crush concept was new and fresh. Other groups at the time had more of a cuter concept. (e.g. Twice) That's how they started to get popular, then they released all these catchy songs with a lot of English lyrics that appealed to English speaking fans. Now I see so many new blinks everywhere praising Blackpink like they are some type of God, and I even saw a TH-cam short that says "What's your religion?" and then adds: "Blackpink is my religion" like helloo?
real
Allow me to present a different viewpoint explaining why Blackpink having THESE 4 members is the PERFECT combination. You make a lot of good points that are typically valid for most Kpop groups, but completely invalid IMO for Blackpink. Four very different personalities, with very different vocals and different looks would not work for most Kpop groups. However, as their producer has said, they tried all sorts of combinations (between the 9 members originally planned), but they kept seeing that it was this group of 4 that just performed the best. And their numbers since debut relative to all other female groups have pretty much supported his assessment (like their last world tour breaking the record for revenues by a girl group - yes more than the Spice Girls and Destinys Child). In my case, I am a total Lisa bias on-stage (IMO the most savage and charismatic performer on stage and in music videos), but a complete Jisoo bias off-stage (IMO the most savage, quirkiest, nerdiest, funniest person in real life). But I love Jennie and Rose, and I love all the various couplings (LiSoo is my favorite, all comedy, all action, all the time). And IMO Teddy Park is the MVP of Blackpink, with his multi-genre meshing sounds and instrumentation, and song writing and design to mesh perfectly with the strengths of each of the members. Point being, Blackpink lures you with their music, first and foremost, but then hooks you with their charismatic performers and then you become emotionally involved with their off-stage dramas (YG ignoring them, YG abusing them, Lisa getting hate for being non-Korean, Jisoo being called the Blackhole of Blackpink, Jennie being the most hated female in Kpop, BP overcoming YG's mismanagement and all the hate to create another billion view banger, etc.). Who needs Kdramas when you have Lisa being courted by Fredrick Arnold, CEO of a famous fashion brand and one of the heirs to the richest family in France. Lisa, the outsider, Southeast Asian looked down upon as inferior by Koreans, Japanese and Chinese, who becomes the most popular Kpop Idol in the world (over 100 million IG followers, no other Idol comes close). When you have Jennie (one of the most popular female Kpop idols in the last 4 or 5 years, after being the most hated female Kpop idol 6 to 7 years ago) dating V (one of the most popular male kpop idols in the last 4 or 5 years). You get a full musical, comedy (Lisoo and OT4 interacting) and drama entertainment package with Blackpink (Lisa dating rumors, Jennie dating rumors, JenLisa dating rumors). You get surprise stories like Jisoo. Which member is typically the least standout in music videos, with the least lines, and least screen time and which member had the lowest expectations for her solo album: Jisoo. Which member's solo album holds the all-time record for sales by a solo female Kpop idol: Jisoo (who also had the most viewed music video in 2023 of all kpop or jpop acts (male or female, group or solo). By all accounts who makes the most money: Jisoo. Her brand deals are the most lucrative (Dior, Cartier), who also happens to be one of the most in-demand award winning Lead Dramatic actresses in S. Korea. She is 2 times running crowned the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (British entertainment magazine Nubia based on world-wide surveys). Jisoo would be the center in just about every other Kpop group, garnering 80% of the attention. Yet she gets the least visibility in just about every music video and was even completely left out of YG comeback marketing material for Kill This Love, and Jisoo literally doesn't give a F*ck about it because she is the nurturing mom of the group. The dramatic and implausible Lisa and Jisoo and Jennie story lines merit their own individual Kdrama, but they all exist in real life in one very real Kpop group. So, BP is this magical and PERFECT combination of awesome beats, talent, on-stage charisma, story-lines, off-stage drama, and adorable personalities that no other female Kpop group has matched or can possibly match IMO. And this PERFECTION is evidenced by the Blackpink TH-cam subscriber numbers (No. 1 of all musical acts), their IG follower numbers (they are the top 4 followed kpop Idols, male or female); their music video view numbers (No. 1), and their world tour revenue numbers (No.1 for female groups). And this PERFECT combination of these 5 members (yep, I am counting Teddy) is why IMO they are the greatest female group of all time.
You articulated my thoughts perfectly, especially, your insights on Jisoo's success. She's my all-time favorite and I wouldn't even pay attention to Kpop until I saw her in a video. She got me hooked by her charm and beauty.
This is so true
Completely agree. The unity of the 4 different and authentic women and their background and stories are why they are so popular. They are the Kpop Avengers. They are different but they complement. We care about them. people identify with at least one of them. As each of the member grow, their personality and interest as artists are also evolving. Their journey as a group and each member is too interesting.
It’s very much possible for a group of 4 people, 4 women to have both strong individual personalities and styles yet still be supportive and harmonious in a group setting. Case in point: Mamamoo. The members of Mamamoo have went on to say how in the beginning how certain members didn’t really get along but through the camaraderie built up through their early idol years they became so much closer. Even though all 4 members have all gone on to have successful solo careers and are all more focused on solo work than group activity these days, they are arguably at their best when they are together. They’re a truly harmonious unit together and know how to blend their voices and stage presence with each other. And as a previous comment has said, you can truly mix the members with each other into different subunits and nothing would feel out of place (ex. Mamamoo+, the Solar and Moonbyul subunit). The point is, a group like Mamamoo knows how to balance their strong individual presence in a group setting yet still shine a light on said individuality. I mean they even celebrated their 10th anniversary lately despite all of them having busy solo schedules (at one point all 4 of them were on tour either doing concerts or fanmeets). Mamamoo to me is the perfect example of being able to blend unique individuality while complementing a strong group dynamic. Anyways this was a very well made video and honestly highlighted the reasons why I never got super into Blackpink back in the day.
So true, mamamoo members have such distinct personalities, styles but they blend so amazingly as a group, they're such a beast of a group. Also the members have talked about how if they feel they're standing out too much, they tone it down to fit the energy of the group, i believe they have such amazing synergy as a group cause of that. Their friendship and respect towards each other creates that, even though their individuality is high. Mamamoo is such a gem❤
@@autumn399 I absolutely adore Mamamoo not just for their amazing discography but for their group and individual dynamics. Mamamoo being crackheads is absolutely what got me into k-pop in the first place and them being my ults has not changed. They've been through so much together and I'm so proud and happy to see how far they've come as both a group and as soloists. They're truly incredible and a true testament to hard work and perseverance in such a harsh and competitive industry. It honestly always makes me so happy when I see other people appreciate Mamamoo because honestly these women deserve all the love.
@book_beam957 I feel the same way. They're my favourite group too. Even though they're one of the top 3rd gen groups, I feel like they need even more appreciation cause of how amazing they are, I can't put it into words how incredible they are and how much I love them❤️
this is a really small thing but i felt like commenting on it anyway - blackpink doesn't have a "black and pink" dual concept like red velvet. the "black" representing their badass side and the "pink" representing their feminine side is supposed to basically tie into one unified identity for the group - they are badass feminine women rather than badass women and feminine women. i think this was another branding error with yg tbh. rose and jisoo as the vocalists get the pretty princess treatment in mvs and fans and have melodious singing and neither of them are particularly hardcore edgy or badass in their performances. and lisa and jennie get the powerful and badass treatment in mvs and performances but not the pretty and feminine treatment. so they don't have a cohesive group identity nor a cohesive concept
Tbh I feel like standing out against each other and being able to stand on your own.... isn't a bad thing? Like at all, just means their not forgettable and filler members, idk
You cant have a 4 member group without every member standing out
youve uploaded so much these past days !!!! love ur yt and tt content, keep carrying on !!!!
Ahhh thank you so much~ as long as someone wants to watch me I’ll keep going 💐💕
I think that their fashion style was more based on their clothing contracts, that may be the reason for the different outfits. I find it funny that the other group that would fit the group/solo members would be Mamamoo but doesn't seem to have the solo stan issue among the members that BlackPink has.
I enjoyed this critique! You do a great job of giving criticism without tearing anyone down and you know where to aim your thoughts, if that makkes sense. I agree with pretty much all of your points. Each member is hella talented, and I don't think that is the issue - I think the issue is that their styles are all too different and they can't really switch concepts/vibes like some other groups. It's a shame. Request for you: Could you do some videos on smaller/nugu groups? I'm so glad to find another female gg stan, I feel like it's mostly the opposite, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
i think YG realises these problems and has tried to improve it with BabyMonster.
Blackpink is returning in 2025 and I'm 100% sure that they will not miss a single step - the group will continue to do just fine with their group activities as well as their solo projects, in spite of all of the haters - their strong longevity is proof that they mesh well together, just fine despite all the criticism - I can understand the hate & criticism towards YG but not against BP, they have proven their collective and individual star power over and over and over again - that train is not stopping now - only when their new contract with YG expires will the ladies of BP decide to either disband or continue - but it won't be because of all the so-called experts & critics all over social media - all four ladies started strong together in 2016 and they've only gotten stronger since then - despite YG's restrictions and despite all of the haters - OT4
wait is it confirmed they’re having a 2025 group comeback?
Yess yg said @@Emma-xm9gb
I think it's also okay to be a solo Stan in the sense that you are a (as I am) a Stan of one member's work/one member's solo work. I'm a fan of Lisa and her current solo work now that she is no longer under contract with YG (in a solo sense). I feel like her uniqueness shines through a lot better in her solo music meshing well with her Thai pride that is showcased well in her music video with having beautiful cis and trans women in her Rockstar mv. I feel like her makeup and styling fits her nationality and identity as a Thai artist better now that she seems to have more artistic freedom and I love that so much for her. It is much harder for me to love the Blackpink OT4 YG content because of how curated it feels and it doesn't feel genuine to the girls' personalities and personal goals. I hope the others will also come out with solo music so I can look into staining them as well
The good reason and bad reason for this:
GOOD REASON
having members with different personalities can definitely attract people, even if it means to be a solo Stan. If you Stan only 1 member without bring others down, you can clearly be part of the fandom or just their fandom. As I was saying, it is quite rare to see a group of 4 girls and be like “wait.. are they friends?” When they have been together for 10+ years. Since people are confused they might look in the group and enjoy everything. They do give different vibes yet they can kind of match each others vibe. + many people might like 1 personality and blackpink can save them and show them 3-2 more that they might enjoy which will lead them liking more personalities and people who act like them
BAD REASON
its almost impossible to tell they are besties as they don’t match, (even if they can match each others vibe, it’s better to stick to their own) and I’m not saying they shouldn’t be cause we love blackpink 💕 but it’s hard to tell they are a group which might confuse non Kpop fans. Especially the ones that only know group names such as red velvet, twice and badvillan (yes ik they are j-pop but they said themselves they are a mixed) which might lead them to think, “oh Jisoo is in red velvet” or “oh Jennie/lisa is in badvillan or “oh Rosè was in twice” and who confuse people.
There is a good side and a bad side so we shouldn’t get too sad abt that! It’s ok, they love eachother and so do we!
Blinks keep saying theyre as close as the top bgs and twice, yet they couldnt wait to get out the griup and be soloists
YG had 7 years 12 if we add the trainee years and they blew it we all know how big the blackpink brand is YG is not selling it to them for them to continue as a group it's not about being close they needed to jump ship before the regreted it further
I feel like BP shinned so much because with the 4 members you had one member with one of the four skills a lot more than the rest, Jennie - rap, rosé - vocal, jisoo - visual, Lisa - dance. Before you say visual isn’t a talent, if you’ve ever had puberty and didn’t take care of your face be aware that taking care of one’s face is a skill,
5:58 ok don’t look, but…. Mr. World Wide Handsome is right behind you…. now…. RUN.
Holy fck
My thing is, I don’t mind solo stans. There’s nothing wrong if someone likes one or two members, but don’t stan the group. However, akgaes are demons in disguise. I understand if you only like one and don’t Stan BP, however, it’s a problem when you think one member is above the others and drag them down.
On a positive note, the members were seen as individuals and liked as individuals which is why their solos may be successful. Contrary to some group that is not that active anymore, the members' solo activities are not that supported by their fans as a group.
okay i've written this comment while watching this vid so I didn't knew you were able to touch on this lol
I want to add one thing, I’m halfway through the video, and even though I do kinda agree with what you’re saying, when I watched black pinks documentary, the members explained how the line up was created, the company placed different girls together to see which one of them go well together, and when one day these 4 girls were put together, they said everything just clicked, cause all of them had a place to be , a part to play, they said before that there was a lot of “i want to do this you will do that” between the girls put together cause they all wanted to do what they wanted, but with these 4 members, everything aligned so well, Everyone had a part only they wanted to shine on. So yes maybe black pink are all different in personalities and stuff and feel like soloist, but that’s also the reason why they work so well, there’s an unsaid understanding of which role which member would play, so within the group the dynamics are great, which in turn helps them perform better as a group.
Also maybe I’m biased cause I’m a blink, but what you’re talking about is what actually attracted me to it. Like as you said, their songs are kinda rap focused, but with jisoo and rose the songs can have this unique flow of tying the whole thing together , like in dudududu after the rap parts we get this amazing vocal pre chorus, it’s just so dynamic and nice.
Also I do get everyone has their own preferences so this is just mine, but groups like black pink and mamamoo where even tho the members all have a very good individuality work together, I just find it more fascinating than groups as you mentioned who harmonise with each other on and off stage. But anyways, loved the video!
Blackpink is legendary honestly there’s never gonna be any other group like that, if they were like 9 members or 6 members they wouldn’t be as successful as they are , they fit together that’s why they harmonise so well together they are just 4 girls on a big stage but the stage never feels empty, they can fill the stage so well with an aura that no one can disagree with ! They are definitely meant to be
They did the same for Shinee but SM knew they 5 kids had talents and here we are 16 years5 soloists who stayed humble ❤️ honestly for Black pink how many songs do they have ? It’s obvious they hate each other
GIRL IS FEEDING US LOVE IT❤❤❤
I agree with most of the things you've said, but honestly... I was never really aware of it 👁️👁️
And yes, now as I think about it - Them being completely diffrent from each other - energy, personality, looks - was and is a hugeee advantage and set them up for success. As a group and as solos. In one of their documentaries they even said smt along the lines of "We instantly clicked with each other and when the four of us were together everything was clear". They always had their set position in the group and rolled with it really fcking well. And they sure will.
I do think they will have some sorts of group activities in the future.
I just don't think it's the end, cause I'm pretty sure that the fans would've sensed something at their last concerts... And for sure the members would've been more emotional?🤔
But who knows, I find it quite entertaining honestly🙈
Yeah Lisa has the most fans and rosé I think has the least my not sure
5:02 I love how disgusted you were 😭
Rest in peace, dear girl. I do pray the blinks think before they act, though.
Wdym bruh
@Hunchbackswift I mean, the blinks are going to attack because of what she's saying in this video. K-pop stans can be insane. So I was joking by saying RIP, because the blinks will be out for blood.
@@strawberrylime33not rlly. it just depends on maturity. in a big fandom seeing the bad in them will always overpower seeing the good. ive been a blink since blackpink debuted, but if someone gives a respectful opinion (not hate or being hateful disguised as being constructive) then it would just be their opinion whether i agree with it or not. every fandom has bad apples, but with bigger fandoms those bad apples overshine the genuine, calm ones 😭 no doubt blinks can be extremely wild, but the generalization has to die down
@@cowuieyes I agree I see the points made but I don’t agree but I’m not about to leak her address over having opinions 😭 I think comments like that talking about “attacking” is what causes attacks since it’s unprovoked in certain situations which can upset people and make them act immaturely
@@cowuieTHIS. ive seen many instances of people who are in popular fandoms (js blink and army, rlly) being called “toxic” when providing opinions about their favorite albums/songs just because they praise a bts/bp song
Can we take a mom moment to admire her beauty?
3:58 minutes in and I’m already disagreeing. How can all 4 members stand out. If they ALL stand out, that by definition means they are harmonious. That makes no sense. The solo Stan is definitely a problem, and is def engineered by YG. Just like he did with Jennie, pushing her forward to drive the fandom to over protect and over love the other 3, leading to extreme hate, he’s doing exactly the same with Ahyeon. And it’s already started. She was pushed so much forward as the best (which is not true) that now when she fumbles, she gets an enormous amount of hate. That’s all a tactic to push fans to argue and then try to beat all the other members to do better. All this increases the streams and gives more achievements that may be deserved. But Blackpink as a group is a stroke of genius. They all have a specialty and work to complete the others. Lisa completes Jisoo lack of dancing skills, Jennie completes Rosie lack of rap skills, rose completes Lisa lack of singing skill and Jisoo with her beauty and personality bring all the others together. There’s a reason why they are so popular as a group before they are popular as soloists. Because they actually work together and yes solo stans will form. That’s inevitable.
imo i think the biggest success is the pick-your-favorite dynamic it has
What you said about being able to pinpoint a yg song is so true. Like they'll have an intriguing sort of remixy start to their songs, then a usually repetitive, easy-to-remember and most times out of not, catchy chorus, and then in the outro, the whole group sings together. That's what the formula usually is. It is not necessarily a bad thing. It's good that the company has a distinctive and recognisable style. But not when it gets so overused and recycled.
Fun fact about BP's original line up: One of the 6 former pre - debut members was Miyeon from (G)-IDLE and their group name was called Pink Punk, originally.
once again, accidentally spreading my dreamcatcher agenda, but i think they're an example of what could have been blackpink with 9 members. i don't mean it in a popularity sense, because their level of popularity isn't even comparable imo. dreamcatcher are doing really well, but they're not bp level of famous. i mean it in what you were mentioning about harmony.
all dreamcatcher members have big personalities, different types of performance, unique vocal tones and all of them stand out on stage. the thing is that, because there's 7 of them, they learned to give away the spotlight to the other members. they've always been promoted as a unit as well, which means they're used to working with each other. they know how to catch your attention, but they also know how to let the spotlight go and not overshadow the others. all this while still being great performers when they aren't centre. i think that's what bp is missing on stage, that synergy and harmony that comes with working in a bigger group.
the fact that they do so much solo work and have so few comebacks together also doesn't help, because they don't work together often enough to learn the balance their differences.
at the end of the day, the title is spot on. yg took 4 soloists, promoted them as soloists as well, and occasionally put them together as a group. it was bound to work badly in one of the fronts. in their case, the group suffered with this marketing strategy, because they were a group in theory, but not in practice.
There is also a solo stan problem in aespa, I think because of 4 member groups is causing the problem. But to be a solo stan in aespa is really stupid, these girls adore each other and still live together in a dorm.
I love how active you are recently, I’m loving all these new videos💕💕
Thumbnails always snatched
im a blink, i got into kpop thanks to blackpink and immediately fell in love. i got to know them during the aiiyl era and i'm not the type of person to engage in fandom wars or twitter however i always observed what goes on in the fandom and with blackpink quietly, tbh the elephant in the room is justbthat they dont have enough music and comebacks i do believe the hate they got was really ridiculous and with yg keeping them in the dungeon its sad how much of their potential is being wasted and i think rose does fit well with lisa and jennie especially performance wise and also catering more to thebwestern audience and as much as i koce jisoo i think she hasn't chnagef much since their debut and doesn't seem as passionate about performing or music as much as the other girls, i think she loves being blackpink but not much else
Whistle is one of my top 3 as well. Both the regular and the acoustic version.
This kinda reminds me of Illit, except HYBE is trying their best to blend all the girls in with the cute concept. But no matter how much they try most people can tell it only suits Wonhee. (No hate to them tho)
You just cured my writers block for the scripts I use for these videos 😂 gonna go write about how illlit is centred around one member
@@Natasha.Louisee glad I can help 😂
They are missing another member who can balance them out. I also think choreography looks better as 5 (fans have complained about their dancing and stage presence)
I think mamamoo did the 4 soloist thing good. They were cohesive in the beginning and were able to branch out solo. That being said, I think bp should’ve followed something similar. Really focus on making music together, and then mid career, maybe promote duos. And then really focus on solos towards the end of contract. Idk
Personally, I think 9 members is waaay too many.
G-idle has 5 which teeters on the edge of too many.
4 seems good to me and I take their individuality as a plus.
Why? Several reasons
In a western market its easier to remember the names of 4 individuals, especially when they make themselves stand out.
In addition three of the four speak english very well, so during western interviews, english speaking fans can really relate and grow closer to them.
lastly, giving them each a story thats easy to follow is better accomplished with a smaller group.
Look at TWICE. I like Twice, dont get me wrong but I only know like 3 of their names. Jihyo, Momo, Jeongeon and Bunny teeth (I cant remember her name, I only know her as Bunny teeth and was sad when she had them altered). How would you possibly craft a story for twice?
I know Momo was last picked and almost didnt make the group. I know Jihyo lost a lot of weight, is the leader and looks super sexy with a tan. Thats about it though, meaning the other members just end up fading in the background to the average fan.
I think 4 is better. As soloists they strengthen their fanbase as a group as well but more than 4 is very hard.
Looking back at G-idle. Great as a group. Soyeon can easily be a solo act, as can Yuqi.
Miyeon and Minnie have had solo stages before, with Miyeons voice and Minnies skill as a pianist....but the 5th member Shuhua does dance routines to Britany Spears songs (that are not all that impressive sadly).
All just my opinion but I think Blackpinks strength is in their individuality. Like the Ninja Turtles. A group, yes but individuals we can gravitate to as well......and whether by fate or coincidence they are also a group of 4.
It's weird that you don't talk much about 2NE1, give that BP is just Yang's attempt to make 2NE1 Ver 2.0
All the things you talk about are pretty much true for 2NE1, as well, but 2NE1 were the biggest thing in the history KPOP (except for YG's other group at the time Big Bang), so they made incredible money. Ofc YG has tried his best to reproduce that. It isn't really working, though, for the long term. I think it's because of producer Teddy; I don't feel like his heart is in it, any more. BP did make them mega-more-rich tho, so what do I know?
Say what you like and hear what you hate
I actually like blackpink a lot......the members have different personality and their own concept. If all of them are in girl crush concept.......it will be boring. Maybe yg is actually lucky with BP
For ex
Jennie- girl crush like 2ne1
Lisa - cool tomboy vibes like itzy
Jisoo- elegant funny and vibrant just like twice or ive
Rose- aesthetic fairy like illit or new jeans.
While solo stans are a major problem
Agree the solo hate in Blackpink is ridiculous. These are 4 uniquely talented artists and we should appreciate them all. I actually appreciate the Blackpink vibe on stage, I saw them in Sydney and they were amazing. I do understand YG strategy but they could have done better.
I personally would not mind albums being released every two years or so but it‘s the amount of songs that makes me frustrated. You do not take two years to have them release only seven group songs and one solo song. Born Pink should have had at least 13 tracks, maybe make two unit songs where one is with Jisoo and Rosé and the other one is Jennie and Lisa.
You should do a commentary on iland2
The primary emotion I remember from my years as a Blink is frustration. On day 1, I thought it showed a lack of commitment by the company to release two songs… followed by two songs… followed by more than a year of V-Live (snore)…. I literally thought, despite their massive talent, any four kids with a webcam could be as entertaining as BP.
Then YG gives us one measly single, “As if it’s Your Last”. At the time, that felt like a prediction.
I would say in most cases online, akgaes are the aggressive solo stans who dislike the other members, while the term solo stan genuinely can just mean a person who highly preferences one member while being indifferent to the rest
maybe this is dumb bc it seems kind of obvious but i never really thought about the fact that the lack of comebacks is intentional to garner more views/streams of their old mvs and songs.
definitely something interesting to think about, so thank you for this video!
I think the fact that they don’t dance in sync with each other and also because there’s only four of them there’s more eyes on each member so they’re mistakes and flaws are more noticeable has a lot to do with why they don’t look like a group on stage take twice for example they dance really in synchronized and there’s nine of them so even though a lot of them lack in some categories you wouldn’t notice that right away unless you focus on one member throughout the whole performance
I just saw a post on YT of Jennie sailing around the Greek Isles so it appears she's enjoying life in the moment.