Since then, however, streaming platforms have made it easier for fans to discover and support Korean music, while the growth of social media has also allowed them to forge deep connections with artists everywhere. MainstreamĪt the time, those artists barely made a dent on the mainstream charts, and their backers took a hit: Despite high-profile promotional appearances, Girls’ Generation’s The Boys LP sold only 1,000 copies in the United States during its first week in 2012, according to Nielsen Music.

Why K-Pop Is Finally Breaking Into the U.S. “Our goal,” he says, “is to amplify what YG has been doing globally.” Interscope chairman/CEO John Janick says that YG’s leadership - Hyunsuk “YG” Yang, its founder, and Teddy Park, Blackpink’s main producer and creative director - “runs the show,” but the relationship is collaborative: Sam Riback, Interscope’s pop-rock A&R head, has made multiple trips to YG’s Seoul headquarters and “has been sending them lots of different ideas,” according to Janick. These companies serve as label, management firm and production studio, controlling almost every aspect of their artists’ careers. Last fall, Blackpink signed to Interscope Records, which will serve as both a creative and business partner to YG Entertainment, the group’s Korean home and one of South Korea’s three main music companies along with SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. “I was immediately drawn to their fierce and empowering energy,” says Dua Lipa, who asked the group to guest on last year’s bilingual banger “Kiss and Make Up.” “They are not just giving you hit songs - they are sending a message that resonates beyond the lyrics.” (They’re focused on making their debut album first.) Even their sound - an omnivorous fusion of fist-pumping EDM and booming hip-hop beats with flashes of house, ’80s pop and harmonica-driven folk - seems conceived for the widest possible audience. (Rosé and Jennie are fluent in English Lisa alternates between English and Korean during our interview.) “We’ve got so much Korean culture and so much Western culture in us,” adds Rosé, her Australian accent still pronounced.Īnd though occasional English lyrics already pepper their tracks, Jennie notes that recording all-English songs is something they “definitely want to do” in the future. “You don’t have to understand Korean to understand the music, the visuals, the vibe,” says Jisoo, through a translator.

The group believes its multinational identity gives it global appeal: Sweet-voiced Jisoo, 24, is a South Korean native buoyant rapper Lisa, 21, is from Thailand guitar-playing Rosé, 22, grew up in Australia and Jennie, 23, was born in South Korea but spent some formative years in New Zealand. Blackpink represents Korean music’s latest, greatest hope at breaking out of the American K-pop box.

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