All BLACKPINK Members Complete Successful Solo Debut, Jennie Sets New Historical Record for Korean Artists

The global flagship K-pop group BLACKPINK’s members have all successfully made their solo debuts. After their contract with YG Entertainment expired in 2023, the four members decided to remain with YG as a group but agreed to pursue solo activities under other labels. Starting in December 2024, YG announced solo projects for Rosé, Jisoo, Lisa, and Jennie in that order. BLACKPINK’s solo endeavors are establishing new milestones in K-pop history. Jennie achieved a historic accomplishment as a Korean artist with her new album “Ruby.” Her song “Damn Right” entered the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart at position 24, marking her second appearance on the chart. This makes her the only K-pop artist to enter an R&B genre chart twice. She broke the previous record, held by BTS’s V, who only managed one entry with his collaboration track “Wherever U R” with Umie. Notable R&B artists such as Childish Gambino and Kali Uchis contributed to “Damn Right,” enhancing its credibility within the genre. The song also reached position 148 on the Billboard Global Exclusives US chart and position 182 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. Rosé’s solo activities have also yielded significant results. His song “APT.” is considered one of the biggest hits of 2025, which is a notable achievement even within BLACKPINK’s history. This is because BLACKPINK’s highest-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry was at position 13 for their collaboration track “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez. The reason behind the success of BLACKPINK members’ solo activities lies in their careful marketing strategies. In BTS’s case, due to necessities such as military service, they released member solo songs sequentially over three years, starting with J-Hope’s “Jack in the Box” in 2022. Although Jimin and Jung Kook achieved success by reaching Hot 100 number one, RM’s album “Right Place, Wrong Person” in 2024 sold nearly 30,000 fewer units than his 2022 album “Indigo,” showing a decline. In contrast, BLACKPINK opted for a strategy of releasing solo songs from all members concentrated over four months. Although the members collaborated with different American labels, this approach proved effective. The concentrated release schedule kept BLACKPINK’s name in the media coverage from autumn through winter, and they later reignited interest by announcing their Comeback Tour in mid-February. Throughout their solo activities, BLACKPINK members all presented music primarily in English, targeting the Western market. BLACKPINK has shown strength in communicating with English-speaking markets since its early days. Their album “Born Pink,” released in 2022, made them the first female group to sell 1 million copies in one week in South Korea, as well as the first K-pop female group to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart simultaneously in Canada, the UK, and the US. Collaborations with Western partners were also effective. BTS also achieved its first top 40 entry through Steve Aoki’s remix of “Mic Drop” and continued to build momentum with collaborations featuring Nicki Minaj, Lauv, Halsey, and others. The success of BLACKPINK members’ solo careers is setting a new direction for the entire K-pop industry. It demonstrates the possibility of shifting from a traditional group-centered system to one that maximizes individual member talents. Experts expect that members of various K-pop groups will follow the solo debut models established by BLACKPINK and BTS in the future.