Blackpink — the four-piece K-pop act comprised of Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rose – are no longer working with YG Entertainment for their solo endeavors, the company announced in a press release on Friday.
The group will remain signed to YG Entertainment as an entity but the four women will pursue their solo careers outside of the agency. “We will do our utmost to support Blackpink’s activities, and we will cheer on the members’ individual activities with warm hearts,” read YG’s statement translated to English from Korean (via Soompi).
In a previous press statement regarding the group’s renewed contract, the company said that Blackpink plans a new album and a world tour and would “continue to do its best to shine even brighter in the global music market as an artist representing not only our company but also K-pop. […] And we send our unwavering support and faith to [fans].”
Blackpink was formed under YG in 2016, but as the quartet hit new levels of recognition and popularity worldwide there was speculation that their deal would need to be substantially renegotiated in the artists’ favor. Blackpink’s recent world tour included 66 performances in 34 cities and was watched by 2.1 million spectators, YG has reported.
Individually, all the members of Blackpink have expanded their presence in the global entertainment industry with solo musical projects. The most recent was Jisoo’s debut solo single bundle “Me,” while Jennie, who released her solo project back in 2018, freshly launched a new label and company called Odd Atelier (OA), and, earlier this year, made her acting debut in HBO’s “The Idol.”
The members of Blackpink suddenly seem like they’re almost angling for the title of Queens of Christmas, as the holiday season has seen a flurry of three big announcements or releases — including Lisa choosing Christmas Eve to drop her cover of a Britney Spears holiday perennial, “My Only Wish (This Year).”
The group has big plans for the day after Christmas, too, with a virtual-reality concert showcase, “Blackpink: A VR Encore,” set to stream on Dec. 26.
The third piece of Blackpink news came earlier on Christmas Eve when the group member Jennie announced directly to fans that she would be launching her own label and company, OA, in the new year
Lisa is best known as Blackpink’s primary rapper and dancer, so her cover of Spears’ lone holiday song marked a vocal departure from her usual rapping persona.“Christmas present for my Blinks… Have a wonderful holiday,” wrote Lisa on her Instagram account before dropping her Spears cover onto her YouTube channel, accompanied by a holiday-themed, romantic cinematic escapade shot in Paris.
The surprise cover revives a Spears song originally found on Jive Records’ 2000 all-label holiday album, “Platinum Christmas,” which additionally featured then-top label artists such as NSYNC, Santana, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and R. Kelly.
“My Only Wish (This Year)” is Lisa’s first solo work since 2021’s “Lalisa” album and that year’s non-LP single, “SG” with DJ Snake, Ozuna and Megan Thee Stallion. Earlier this year, Lisa was a featured guest on “Shoong!” from South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer Taeyang.
For fans wanting to see the full group in action, “Blackpink: A VR Encore” is set to air Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. PT on Meta Horizon Worlds and features the final show from Blackpink’s global 2023 tour in support of “Born Pink.”
The K-girl group dropped a trailer earlier this week for the VR special, which will viewable by owners of the special headsets, teased with the legend “Take a front row seat as Blackpink performs some of their biggest hits and unlock a limited-edition K-pop inspired emote! To get rewarded, set off a confetti balloon on the dance floor in Music Valley.”
According to rumors on December 23, Jennie founded her personal label ODDATELIER this past November. A website for the alleged label, which is currently down due to a spike in visitors, states, “OA, which stands for ODDATELIER, is a space that aims to create new things that attract attention in a different way from what is usual or expected. It is a label founded by artist Jennie in November 2023.”
Along with the rest of BLACKPINK, Jennie officially renewed her contract with YG Entertainment for group activities earlier this month, but plans for her solo activities were not cemented.
However, nothing concerning ODDATELIER has been confirmed by Jennie or other official sources.
On December 6 KST, YG Entertainment, the agency of K-pop sensation BLACKPINK, made an announcement stating, “We have successfully reached an agreement within our board of directors regarding the signing of exclusive group contracts for all four members of BLACKPINK, our esteemed artists.”
BLACKPINK’s contract negotiations with YG Entertainment have been ongoing since their previous contracts expired in August. While the decision was made to continue group activities, individual contracts for each member have yet to be finalized. Notably, two members, including Lisa, have already chosen to part ways with YG Entertainment, while discussions with the remaining two members are still in progress.
BLACKPINK wrapped up their highly successful world tour, ‘Born Pink,’ in September. The tour drew an impressive 1.8 million attendees, generating cumulative sales nearing 300 billion won. Even without individual exclusive contracts in place, it is expected that YG Entertainment and each member will continue to reap substantial profits from BLACKPINK’s group activities.
