In each individual project, each member of Black Pink has achieved much success and proved their own strengths.
Instead of group promotions, 2021 is the year when YG Entertainment only focused on investing in the individual projects of BlackPink members. Except for Jennie who made her solo debut in 2018, the other three members finally had promotions as solo singer and actress this year. If Rosé as well as Lisa both showcased their talent and charm through solo single albums, Jisoo had her first K-drama female lead role in “Snowdrop“.
Jennie, Rosé and Lisa: Which solo debut left the most impression?
Jennie is the first member of Black Pink with the opportunity to debut as a soloist after just over 2 years since Black Pink was launched. With an addictive sound put together by famous producer TEDDY, Jennie’s single “Solo” released in November 2018 quickly achieved an all-kill on 6 major music charts in Korea including Melon, Genie, Bugs, Mnet, Naver and Soribada. “Solo” also ranked No.1 on iTunes of 40 countries/regions within 24 hours. “Solo” took social media by storm back when it was released thanks to the extremely viral choreography. “Solo” not only helps Jennie affirm her charm as an all-rounder, but also boost her popularity significantly. Currently, the song’s MV has surpassed 781 million views on Youtube, a number that even international artists have to dream of.
It wasn’t until more than 2 years later that fans were able to enjoy a solo song from another Black Pink member. After a long wait, in March 2021, Rosé officially released her first single album titled “-R-“. Working with TEDDY and many other highly appreciated producers, the main vocalist of Black Pink delivered her own musical identity through the title song “On The Ground” of the Pop Rock genre and the Indie Ballad “Gone”. All are written in English and help Rosé fully show off her advantage in vocals.
After 24 hours from the time of release, “On The Ground” entered the Top 3 of music charts in Korea. In the international market, Rosé’s first solo song topped iTunes in countless countries/regions, especially the United States, and took 1st place on the Worldwide iTunes Song chart. Rosé also surpassed PSY to become the Kpop solo artist with the most watched MV in the first 24 hours, and set the record as the Kpop female soloist with the highest number of pre-ordered albums with more than 500,000 copies recorded at the time. Notably, “On The Ground” debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the bside track “Gone” is also well-loved by listeners all around the world.
Only about 6 months after Rosé’s solo debut, Lisa also went solo. The single album “Lalisa” including the title song of the same name and the bside “Money” released in September of last year helped Lisa boast her personal mark after more than 5 years of working with Black Pink. Compared to Jennie or Rosé, Lisa could not achieve the same amount of success in digital music achievements in the Korean market when she cannot enter the Top 10 of major charts like Melon, Genie or VIBE (except Bugs). However, Lisa won big internationally.
Accordingly, “Lalisa” excellently won No.1 iTunes of 65 countries/regions and the Worldwide iTunes Song chart. The song also entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 84. On the YouTube platform, “Lalisa” is not only the MV from a K-pop solo artist with the most views after 24 hours of release, but also broke the world record for the most viewed MV within 1 day by a solo artist in the world. Overcoming Rosé, Lisa became a female solo artist in Korea with the highest number of pre-ordered albums with more than 700,000 copies at that time.
Besides the title song, the bside “Money” was also enthusiastically received by domestic and international fans and at the same time caused a storm on social networks thanks to the catchy melody and impressive choreography. This song even surpassed “Lalisa” in terms of streaming on online music platforms. On Youtube, the views for the performance video of “Money” are also slightly higher than “Lalisa”.
The release time and taste of fans are different so each person will have their own advantages. However, the common thing of Jennie, Rosé and Lisa is that they have, in sequence, smashed many music records for Kpop female solo artists alone. At the same time, the girls also proved their talents as well as individual identities and made fans proud.
Jisoo proved her acting potential through her debut in the drama “Snowdrop”
Unlike the other three in the same group, the oldest member of BLACKPINK was oriented towards acting by YG Entertainment from the very beginning. After some small roles in a number of projects such as “The Producer” (2015) or “Arthdal Chronicles” (2019), Jisoo received high expectations when taking on her first lead role in JTBC’s “Snowdrop”. Through each episode, many viewers commented that Jisoo showed a more stable and diverse acting style for a rookie idol-turned actor. Besides, her chemistry with the handsome co-star Jung Hae In also helped “Snowdrop” receive more attention. Putting aside the controversy about the content, the drama is still gradually creating a certain resonance and owns an extremely stable rating compared to other dramas during the year.
Although each member has been doing very well with their own projects, at the moment, what fans are looking forward to is still BLACKPINK’s official comeback with the full lineup. According to the members themselves as well as some media sources, this 2022 year will mark the comeback of the 4 girls with a joint music product after more than a year of absence from the Korean music industry.
