Jennie, Lisa and Rosé: the pink wave of k-pop is record-breaking
The tsunami started from Seoul in 2016 and is now ready to submerge the entire globe, wiping out everything in its path. No, it is not the plot of a disaster genre film like “The Day After”, but the most suitable metaphor to describe the phenomenon of the pink wave of k-pop, the South Korean female pop that is changing the characteristics of the global one. The supremacy of stars made in the USA or UK ended some time ago, with streaming leading to a globalized music market, now South Korea will provide new models. As
Jennie, Lisa and Rosé: not only queens of the charts, but also ambassadors of a new era in which music knows no boundaries and k-pop represents a universal language, the symbol of a new generation of artists who, starting from a record market once considered peripheral, have achieved international centrality through talent, determination and passion. Ending up replacing the icons of pop from overseas and across the Channel. A revolution that they first carried out together as a group: Blackpink, born in the laboratories of YG Entertainmenta giant of South Korean show biz, made up of the three singers together with Jisoo, since their debut eight years ago with “Square one” they have broken record after record, racked up billions of streams on the platforms, collected awards and platinum records, climbed the rankings internationally, setting new standards. If the girl band was an incredible collective force, now Jennie, Lisa and Rosé are taking that revolution to the next level: in a music industry that often follows strict rules, the three artists they have managed to carve out a personal path without fear of exploring and innovating. Singing their resourcefulness and also becoming an icon of beauty and empowerment, breaking cultural barriers.
A hymn to female emancipation and rebirth
Like Lisa in “New woman”, in duet with Rosalía, a hymn to self-discovery, independence and female rebirth. On streaming platforms they surpass in numbers those who have been the reference icons of female pop in recent years, from Ariana Grande to Miley Cyrus, passing through Lana Del Rey. Rosereal name Roseanne Park (in the photo above she is first from the right), 27 years old, former chorister in churches in Auckland, where she grew up following her parents’ move, commands the weekly ranking of the most listened to songs worldwide on Spotify with his “Apt.”, in duet with Bruno Mars,
87 million streams in the last week alone (ahead of “Die with a smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars himself), 238 million since the song arrived on the platforms last October 18th. Lisa (in the photo she is the second from the right), who in 2010 at just 13 years old showed up at an audition held by YG Entertainment starting from none other than Bangkok, Thailand, she takes her space with “Moonlit floor (Kiss me)“, That in the last week it has totaled 26 million streams: the single arrived after the aforementioned duet with Rosalía on “New woman” (209.5 million streams between August and November) and after the hit “Rockstar” (which this summer racked up something like 288 million streams) : real name Pranpriya Manobal, she chose to be called Lisa on the advice of a fortune teller (in Thai “lalisa” means “she who is praised”). AND Jenny? Real name Jennie Kim (in the photo she is second from the left), 28 years old, no longer a lawyer, she doesn’t stand by and watch: with “Mantras” has scored on Spotify in the last week 23.1 million streams worldwidewhich allowed the single released on October 10th to already surpass the milestone of 100 million streams.
Music, TV, social media: an empire
Their influence now encompasses various areas, not just music. They flirt with fashion: Jennie was chosen as the female face of the new Calvin Klein campaign, Rosé participated in the launch event of the new collection of the German bag, suitcase and accessory company Rimowa. And also with TV and cinema. Lisa joined the cast of the new season of “The White Lotus”, the award-winning HBO series, while last year Jennie starred in “The idol”, the series created by The Weeknd (but cancelled, amid controversy, after just one season). AND they are all the rage on social media Lisa has 104 million followers on Instagram: among her fans there are also Damiano David and Victoria De Angelis of Maneskin, as well as Fedez.
When the singer first teased her new single “Rockstar” through the launch of her TikTok account in June,. set a new Guinness World Record by gaining 1 million followers in 2 hours and 18 minutes. Rosé has 80.7 million followers. And Jennie has 85.6 million followers.
Independence
Their individual fame as artists, influencers and models now surpasses the success of their group, allowing the three to corner YG Entertainment: they agreed to renew the contract as a group – it was the father-owner of the company, Yang Hyun-suk, who anticipated that they will return to making music together in 2025 – in exchange for autonomy and independence for their solo activities Lisa has set up her own label, Lloud, billed as “a platform that will allow her to explore and broaden her vision of music and entertainment”.
So did Jennie, who founded OA, only to sign a contract with Columbia Records, part of the Sony group, in September. Rosé instead decided to entrust the management of her solo career to Atlantic Records. A year and a half ago, the fourth member of Blackpink also made her solo debut.Jisooreal name Kim Ji-soo (first from left in the photo above), 29 years old, with the single “Flowers”. Perhaps the time was not yet ripe for the turning point. Who knows, maybe the time has come for her to ride the wave too.
