Blackpink face to face with British royalty in Buckingham Palace

K-pop girl group Blackpink has most recently caused quite the stir with their appearance in Buckingham Palace, Billboard reports. What earned them this honor of meeting with British royalty?

K-pop girl group Blackpink hails from South Korea and was put together by YG Entertainment. After releasing their first album in 2016, the band became an instant success thanks to their powerful live shows, innovative music, and eye-catching visuals. Blackpink consists of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa.

As one of the most prestigious K-pop labels, YG Entertainment was extremely selective when selecting members for the group. As a result, all of the members are now considered to be among the best in the industry.

According to Naver, Blackpink is a play on words that bring together the opposites of black and pink. While "black" connotes power, "pink" suggests grace and femininity. The two together represent the band's aspiration to be strong and independent while still retaining their feminine allure.

Blackpink's debut single album, 'Square One,' which included the hit songs 'Whistle' and 'Boombayah,' was an instant success. Both songs debuted at number one and number two on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart in 2016!

A Rolling Stone interview revealed that Blackpink draws inspiration from a variety of musical genres, including pop, hip-hop, and EDM. The group has also cited Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez as influences in another interview with CNN.

Despite their South Korean origins, Blackpink made a significant impact in Western markets, with songs charting on major platforms such as Billboard's Hot 100! They are currently the top female K-girl group act to have multiple Billboard chart toppers.

Collaborations with western artists were crucial to Blackpink's expansion in the west. In 2018, Blackpink teamed up with British singer Dua Lipa for the track ‘Kiss and Make Up’, which went on to become a chart-topper in numerous countries.

Blackpink continued to make waves in the Western music scene, performing at major festivals like Coachella and collaborating with well-known artists like Selena Gomez.

In addition, Blackpink collaborated with global superstar Lady Gaga on the song ‘Sour Candy’ from her album ‘Chromatica’ in 2020. Imagine being able to collaborate with one of your biggest influences!

Image: YG Entertainment

Overall, in their extensive discography, Blackpink is most known for these major hits: ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’, ‘Kill This Love’, and ‘How You Like That’.

Image: YG Entertainment

Did you know that Blackpink has also received Guinness World Records for their musical success? To date, they have a Guinness World Record for being the most-streamed female group on Spotify, as well as being the first K-pop female group to reach No. 1 on the US and UK charts, among many other accolades!

Members of Blackpink have pursued a variety of solo projects in addition to their music careers. They've appeared in commercials, fashion shows, and even acted, broadening their influence beyond the realm of music.

Image: Disney+

According to Vogue, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was accompanied by members of Blackpink during a state visit to the United Kingdom on November 22 to meet the British king and queen at Buckingham Palace.

Billboard reports that the group's visit to the royal family at Buckingham Palace was notable because King Charles was reported to have directly addressed Blackpink and sang praises of their impact on South Korean culture, as well as their official ambassadorship for environmental sustainability – a cause close to the Royal's heart.

Despite their enormous success and the honour of being addressed by British royalty, Blackpink has had their fair share of controversies and challenges throughout their career. Their actions and statements are frequently scrutinised as public figures, which can result in backlash from fans or netizens.

Image: YG Entertainment

In 2023, Blackpink was involved in a number of controversies that undermined their reputation and strained their relationship with fans, particularly their Chinese fan base in some cases.

Image: YG Entertainment

Jennie received criticism from Allkpop for her appearance in the HBO series 'The Idol.' Some viewers thought her performance was almost R-rated and unfit for a K-pop idol, while others criticised the directors and her management for casting her in such a role.

Image: HBO

According to the India Times, Rosé was accused of drug use based on a photo in which alleged drug paraphernalia was seen in a group photo with actor Kang Dong Won. YG Entertainment, on the other hand, quickly debunked and squashed the claims. Despite this, the incident harmed her reputation for a short time.

The New Paper reports that earlier this month, Blackpink's official Twitter account posted a tweet addressing their Macau fans as 'Macanese' following a concert in Macau. This choice of terminology infuriated Chinese netizens, who saw it as culturally insensitive.

Global Times too added that the term 'Macanese' has enraged Chinese netizens, who claim that the term is associated with Portuguese colonial influence and descendants of Portuguese ancestors, which are not representative of actual Macau residents.

Image: YG Entertainment

Some argued that Blackpink should have referred to their fans as 'Chinese' instead because Macau is now geographically and politically part of the People's Republic of China.

Image: YG Entertainment

Dev Discourse reports that some fans accused Blackpink of intentionally avoiding the use of the word ‘Chinese’ in their post and even read the word choice as a deliberate snub towards Chinese fans, even conflating the incident with what was allegedly “an ongoing trend of Korean artists appropriating Chinese culture and challenging China”.

Image: YG Entertainment

Since the online backlash, Blackpink has quickly edited the post, changing the address from 'Macanese BLINKs' to 'Macau BLINKs'.

Image: YG Entertainment

However, according to Global Times, some fans still believed that the group purposefully avoided directly addressing their fans as Chinese and continued to take offence with Blackpink.

Image: YG Entertainment

This is not the first time Blackpink has enraged their Chinese fans. Previously, KBIzoom reported that Jennie's alleged poor treatment of Chinese fans during a January concert in Hong Kong sparked criticism and accusations of racism and favouritism for non-Chinese markets.

In another incident during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Jennie's public support for a Korean athlete, Hwang Dae Heon, led to accusations of biassed treatment, which went as far as to include accusations of insensitivity and racism towards Chinese fans, according to Allkpop.

Perhaps the claims of racism and insensitivity against Blackpink are the result of misunderstandings or different cultural perspectives. However, it is unclear whether these incidents were motivated by racial bias or not.

Although Blackpink is losing popularity in China, they are rising to the top in the rest of the world. According to the BBC, the group's July concert in Hyde Park, UK, was a huge success, with audiences praising the band for its high energy performances.

Image: YG Entertainment

Surprisingly, British actor Hugh Grant was spotted in the audience at Blackpink's concert in the UK, showing his support for the k-pop group. Hugh Grant is apparently one of the many famous people who are fans of Blackpink because he was spotted wearing Blackpink merchandise according to The Independent!

Given the vast disparity between the reviews of their performances in eastern and western markets, this may lend credibility to the claims of Blackpink's Chinese fans that the group may have a preference for performing for western audiences... time will tell!

Image: YG Entertainment