Following new feats of BLACKPINK with their latest album, "BORN PINK," the group is the center of discussion among Korean media regarding their possibility to replace BTS as the current "Next-Gen K-pop Leader."
BLACKPINK Achieves Record BTS Is Yet To Gain With 2nd Studio Album 'BORN PINK'
Following its much-awaited return into the music scene this year, BLACKPINK who dropped their second full-length album, "BORN PINK" on September 16, is continuously making numerous achievements in domestic and international charts.
In particular, aside from the general public's interest, one determinant to measure a group's power and influence is its status in the music chart against foreign artists.
Following the quartet's release, BLACKPINK cemented their status as the "Biggest girl group in the world," by dominating the US and UK album charts.
Starting with the US Billboard, considered the world's top music chart, BLACKPINK's "BORN PINK" debuted on the "Billboard 200" chart for the first time on October 1.
This is a huge achievement because this is the first time a K-pop girl group topped the chart, not to mention that BLACKPINK is also the first female group in 14 years and five months since Danity Kane in the U.S. in 2008 to achieve such a feat.
As of October 2, the "Whistle" singers continue to flaunt their presence by ranking fourth on the said chart this week, remaining at the top of the Billboard main chart for two consecutive weeks.
Meanwhile, BLACKPINK has dominated not only US Billboard but its UK counterpart, United Kingdom's Official Albums Chart.
BLACKPINK's album debuted at No. 1 on the aforementioned chart, the first K-pop idol to do so.
But their most notable feat was sitting atop the global streaming site Spotify's weekly top song chart, which even BTS hasn't achieved yet. In particular, the album's title track, "Shut Down" landed No. 1 on the global chart, the first ever K-pop song in Spotify's history to achieve this.
K-Media Highlights BLACKPINK as Group To Replace BTS as 'K-pop Leader'
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On October 2, the Korean media outlet YTN then wrote an article, featuring BLACKPINK's potential to rise as the No.1 K-pop group.
Currently, this seat belongs to BTS, who originally broke the western industry's barriers with their music and influence. But with the members' upcoming military enlistment and temporary hiatus as a group to give more focus on their solo careers, the industry is focused if they will be able to secure their spot or will be snagged by other K-pop groups.
Among strong candidates, YTN pointed out BLACKPINK as the group that may surpass BTS, despite differences in style, music concept and gender. The outlet summarized:
"BLACKPINK has a clear identity, not a grand view of the world. They are good at singing and dancing and are confidently showing off their top appearances. They also have favorable conditions in the overseas market with a global sentiment."
In context, if BTS has drawn attention by forming a worldview with a narrative such as "Boy's Growth," what BLACKPINK is advocating is not a metaverse world, but an identity, which is confidence.
BLACKPINK differentiates itself from the image of existing young female idols and reflects the female image of the changing era.
Another difference is that, while BTS comfort people by reflecting the emotions of being an "underdog," minority and diversity through their music, BLACKPINK focuses on flaunting their swag, and capturing the hearts of the global industry by representing luxury brands overseas.
The songs released by BTS have many Korean lyrics and contain domestic emotions as well. But unlike the male group, which formed fandom first in Korea, BLACKPINK had favorable conditions for the global market from the beginning.
On top of all of these, YTN emphasized:
"The absence of a member's military enlistment, the so-called "military flag," is the strength of girl groups.
BLACKPINK has already begun to write the history of K-pop after BTS. Expectations are high on how far they will go."
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
