The Rise, Fall, and Phoenix Rise of BLACKPINK
- Riley Chen
- 19 hours ago
- 7 min read
In the sweltering summer of 2025, as BLACKPINK's "Jump" topped global charts and their Deadline World Tour shattered attendance records, few remembered the deafening silence that had gripped the K-pop world just three years earlier. The four women who had once seemed invincible—Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa—had vanished from the spotlight, leaving behind only whispers of contract disputes, creative differences, and the slow death of the world's most successful girl group.
But this isn't a story about disappearance. It's a story about resurrection, revenge, and the kind of financial empire that makes even the most cynical industry executives weep tears of pure profit.
The Genesis of a Global Empire
The story begins in 2010, when YG Entertainment's Yang Hyun-suk launched what would become the most expensive trainee program in K-pop history. Unlike the rapid-fire debuts that characterized the industry, YG's approach was meticulous, almost torturous in its precision. Jennie Kim, just 14 years old, was plucked from New Zealand to become the first piece of what would eventually become BLACKPINK.
By 2011, the puzzle was taking shape. Lisa Manoban, the only successful candidate from 4,000 auditionees in Thailand, joined the program. Kim Jisoo followed, and finally Roseanne Park from Australia completed the quartet in 2012. For six years, these four young women lived in what Jennie described as "more strict than school"—a pressure cooker environment that would forge either superstars or psychological casualties.
The original plan called for a seven-member group debuting in 2012. Instead, YG's perfectionist tendencies and strategic delays meant that when BLACKPINK finally emerged on August 8, 2016, they were a lean, mean, four-member machine primed for global domination.
The Meteoric Rise
Their debut was nothing short of explosive. "Whistle" and "Boombayah" from their Square One album didn't just chart—they obliterated expectations. Within 14 days, BLACKPINK had won their first music show. By November 2016, "Playing with Fire" had made them the first K-pop girl group to chart on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
But it was 2018's "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" that truly announced their arrival on the global stage. The track peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100—the highest charting hit by a K-pop girl group at the time. The music video became the first by a Korean group to surpass one billion views on YouTube. BLACKPINK wasn't just breaking records; they were rewriting the rules of what was possible for non-Western artists.
The numbers tell the story of unprecedented success. Their Born Pink tour (2022-2023) grossed $331.8 million from 1.8 million attendees across 66 shows. To put this in perspective, it became the highest-grossing tour by an Asian act and female group in history. YG Entertainment's revenue soared to 569.2 billion won ($425 million) in 2023, with operating profits nearly doubling to 86.9 billion won ($65 million).
The Cracks Begin to Show
But success bred its own problems. Behind the glossy veneer of music videos and stadium performances, tensions were mounting. The group's discography revealed a troubling pattern: just 32 songs as a group versus 8 solo tracks. This 20% solo-to-group ratio wasn't just unusual—it was unprecedented for a group at their level of success.
Industry insiders began whispering about YG's strategic miscalculation. "YG's biggest mistake was prioritizing solo activities over group projects," one industry analyst noted. The company had inadvertently created four individual brands rather than nurturing one cohesive group identity.
The cultural controversies began piling up. Lisa faced repeated accusations of cultural appropriation for wearing box braids in "Kill This Love" and "Money" The group was criticized for using Hindu imagery, including placing a Lord Ganesha statue at Lisa's feet in "How You Like That" When confronted, neither the members nor YG offered apologies, creating a pattern of silence that would later prove devastating.
The Great Disappearance
By 2023, the writing was on the wall. BLACKPINK's seven-year contracts with YG Entertainment were expiring, and negotiations were proceeding poorly. Industry sources revealed that some members, particularly Lisa, felt undervalued despite being the group's most popular member globally10. Reports suggested Lisa was offered 50 billion won ($37 million) to stay, but even this astronomical figure couldn't bridge the growing chasm between the members and their label.
The final blow came in December 2023. YG Entertainment announced that while BLACKPINK would continue as a group, none of the members would renew their individual contracts. "We will do our utmost to support BLACKPINK's activities, and we will cheer on the members' individual activities with warm hearts," YG's statement read—corporate speak for "we lost them".
Lisa established LLOUD, her own entertainment company. Jennie launched Odd Atelier. Jisoo created Blissoo. Rosé signed with Atlantic Records for global distribution. The four women who had conquered the world together were now four separate business entities, each controlling their own destiny.
The Solo Renaissance
What followed was perhaps the most successful parallel solo career launch in music history. Between December 2024 and March 2025, all four members released solo projects. Jennie's Ruby album featured collaborations with Dua Lipa, Childish Gambino, and Kali Uchis. Lisa's Alter Ego showcased her versatility beyond rap. Rosé's Rosie album, featuring the Bruno Mars collaboration "APT," became the fastest K-pop song to reach 1 billion YouTube views. Jisoo's Amortage EP demonstrated her artistic growth beyond the group's signature sound.
The financial success was staggering. By 2025, Lisa's net worth had reached $40 million, with the other members each worth $30 million. Lisa's social media influence alone was worth hundreds of thousands per post, with her 106 million Instagram followers making her the most-followed K-pop idol globally.
The Phoenix Rises
But the story's most remarkable chapter was yet to be written. In July 2025, BLACKPINK returned with "Jump"—not as YG's manufactured product, but as four independent artists choosing to collaborate. The single debuted at number 2 on Spotify's Global Chart with over 7 million streams, then rose to number 1 with 6 million additional streams. BLACKPINK became the first K-pop group to achieve three number-one hits on the platform.
The accompanying Deadline World Tour was projected to gross $440 million (600 billion won)—a figure that would make it potentially the highest-grossing tour by any group in history. Industry projections suggested 60 shows across 16 cities, with total attendance exceeding 2.4 million people.
The Reckoning
The numbers reveal the true cost of YG's mismanagement. In 2024, without BLACKPINK's individual activities, YG's revenue plummeted to 364.9 billion won ($272 million), with the company posting an operating loss of 20.5 billion won ($15.3 million). Industry estimates suggest BLACKPINK had accounted for over 80% of YG's revenue during their peak years.
Meanwhile, YG's stock price told the story of investor confidence. Shares had dropped precipitously in 2024, only to surge over 81% in the five months leading up to BLACKPINK's 2025 reunion. The market had rendered its verdict: BLACKPINK was worth more than YG Entertainment itself.
The Cultural Reconsideration
The group's 2025 comeback also forced a reckoning with their controversial past. The leaked pre-debut videos showing members using racial slurs resurfaced in March 2025, sparking global backlash. Lisa's Met Gala outfit featuring Rosa Parks' image on lingerie generated additional controversy. These incidents highlighted the ongoing tension between K-pop's global aspirations and its cultural blind spots.
Yet their influence remained undeniable. BLACKPINK's albums The Album and Born Pink had achieved over 3.8 billion and 3 billion streams respectively on Spotify—making them the first and only Korean female artists to reach this milestone with two albums. Their cultural impact extended far beyond music, shaping fashion trends, beauty standards, and social media engagement patterns across multiple continents.
The New Empire
By summer 2025, BLACKPINK had achieved something unprecedented: they had transcended their original corporate structure to become a truly independent cultural force. Each member controlled her own narrative, her own business interests, and her own creative direction, while maintaining the collective brand that had made them global superstars.
The financial implications were staggering. Conservative estimates suggested the four members' combined net worth exceeded $130 million. Their collective social media reach encompassed hundreds of millions of followers across platforms. Their touring capacity had expanded to all-stadium shows, with premium tickets selling for unprecedented prices.
The Lasting Impact
BLACKPINK's journey from corporate creation to independent empire offers a blueprint for artist autonomy in the digital age. They proved that in an era of global streaming and social media, talent could transcend traditional label structures. Their success challenged the fundamental assumptions of the K-pop industry, where artists had historically remained tied to their original agencies throughout their careers.
The group's story also illuminated the double-edged nature of global fame. Their controversies revealed the challenges faced by artists navigating multiple cultural contexts without proper guidance or education. Yet their resilience and ability to maintain their careers despite these setbacks demonstrated the evolving nature of celebrity culture in the social media age.
The Future
As BLACKPINK's Deadline World Tour continued its global sweep in late 2025, questions remained about the long-term sustainability of their independent model. Could four separate business entities maintain the cohesion that had made them successful? Would their individual artistic visions eventually diverge too far from their collective brand?
The early evidence suggested they had found a sustainable balance. Their 2025 reunion had generated more excitement and commercial success than many of their previous releases as a traditional group. They had retained the elements that made them special—the chemistry, the musical synergy, the global appeal—while shedding the constraints that had limited their creative and financial potential.
In the end, BLACKPINK's story wasn't just about the rise and fall of a girl group. It was about the transformation of four young women from manufactured products into independent artists, from corporate assets into cultural forces, from employees into entrepreneurs. They had taken the global platform their original success had provided and used it to build something entirely new—a post-label model of artistic success that would likely influence the industry for years to come.
The numbers spoke for themselves. The cultural impact was undeniable. But perhaps most importantly, BLACKPINK had proven that disappearance wasn't always about ending—sometimes it was about beginning again, on your own terms, with your own rules, and with the kind of success that makes the whole world pay attention.
Their phoenix rise wasn't just a comeback—it was a revolution disguised as a reunion, a business masterclass masquerading as a musical return, and a testament to the power of knowing your own worth in an industry that too often tells artists what they're worth instead.