BLACKPINK members are officially back in our areas! After a long 2 years since we have heard BLACKPINK’s music, their solo endeavors are underway. The group announced back in December 2023 that they did not resign solo contracts with YG Entertainment, but will stay as a group under the company. This was the right move. The members have released solo tracks occasionally but were never allowed to release more than two songs each. You would think that after debuting in 2016 and being the biggest girl group in the world, they would be given many opportunities to release many individual songs. The group was smart to break away from YG and 3 out of the 4 members have created their individual labels, releasing music currently or upcoming.
Jennie was the first member to announce her self-made label Odd Atelie. She will be in charge of her solo career and managing herself for the first time. This was very unexpected as the fandom and I thought she would sign to a new label instead.
OA for short is in collaboration with US record label Columbia Records for global promotion. Columbia is home to Adele, Béyonce, BTS and many more. Having Columbia under her wing will help her succeed and help boost her career to new heights. Not only will she manage her music, but she will also get to step out of her comfort zone and continue to act.
She played Dianne in The Weeknd’s raunchy show “The Idol” making her acting debut. At the top of 2024, Jennie was featured in two songs. She first collaborated with BROCKHAMPTON’s Matt Champion on a slow sultry track called “Slow Motion.” Her vocals were out of this world and meshed well with Champion’s voice.
Secondly, she appeared on K-pop idol ZICO’s solo track “Spot.” The hip-hop forward track was perfect for Jennie as she switched between taking turns on the chorus with Zico and rapping on a verse. This was a great start for Jennie and as of October 10th, she dropped her first independently released single, “Mantra.” The song is very it-girl model behavior and kind of pushes the limits of Korea’s standards for women. Her talking about her butt, drinking, or partying is kind of unheard of in South Korea. Women are held to a standard of not being able to speak up when it comes to doing those normal activities. Female Korean pop idols constantly get a lot of hate for these things and Jennie is showing that she is an independent woman defying those norms.
BLACKPINK’s Ace Lisa was the next member to announce their solo plans with her own label LLOUD back in February. After establishing her label, she is gearing up to be a cast member of HBO’s iconic Emmy-winning show “The White Lotus.” The upcoming season takes place in Lisa’s home country Thailand. This will be her first ever acting role and to have her in such a major show will help her garner more fans.
LLOUD has also partnered up with US label RCA Records for global promotion. RCA is home to Tate Mcrae, Britney Spears, Doja Cat, and more. Lisa has been the most active member of 2024 dropping three singles since May, “ROCKSTAR,” “New Woman (feat. Rosalia),” and “Moonlit Floor.” “Moonlit Floor” was released on October 8th, showing a new side to Lisa with a retro vocal forward track. It samples 1997’s “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer and would never have been released if she was still in YG Entertainment.
Lisa is the main rapper of BLACKPINK and had very few moments to shine vocally in the group. Vocal moments were given to the other three members as they have a vocal position. “Moonlit Floor” is a catchy and beautiful love song, proving Lisa is an all-arounder. Each single released for a rumored upcoming album is so different from one another. Her versatility shows that she is pushing out of the box YG Entertainment put her in when they were in charge of her music. During the 2024 Video Music Awards, she took home the Moonman for Best K-pop with “ROCKSTAR.” She is now the only soloist or female ever to take home multiple moonmen in this category.
A few weeks after Lisa announced LLOUD, Jisoo announced her own company “Blissoo.” While she hasn’t announced any solo music, she has hinted at potential solo music. She was the most recent BLACKPINK member to debut a solo under YG in 2023. Her acting career has been very busy as of late. In 2021, she made her acting debut starring in the Korean drama “Snowdrop” in 2021.
According to Pink Villa, “Jisoo will be leading the upcoming drama Newtopia and the film Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.Newtopia is a fantasy thriller that will be starring Jisoo, Park Jung Min and Kim Joon Han. Jisoo will be playing the role of Young Ju, who is a rookie and is new to society.”
Rosé is the only member that didn’t create her own company. Instead, she signed to The Black Label in June which is a subsidiary of YG Entertainment owned by TEDDY, BLACKPINK’s main producer and writer. She will own her masters as she signed a global promotion contract with Atlantic Records. Atlantic is home to Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, and many more. Rosé has been teasing music for a few months with her one song “Vampirehollie,” and now we finally have an update on her music.
On October 1, Rosé took to her social media to announce her first-ever studio album “Rosie” out December 6. The album will feature 12 tracks which is very shocking. In YG Entertainment, the group’s “albums” would have eight tracks each, and for solo tracks, there were two songs per member. Seeing an actual full-length album shows her dedication to taking her career into her own hands.
The members have individually been working hard to provide music and content for Blinks (the fandom name). As a fan since 2018, it is exciting to be fed so much at once and see their artistic visions outside of YG Entertainment.
They are still a group and resigned to YG for group activities, but now, we see their personal journeys under their control. Making these companies or signing with another will show their writing skills and help them grow their solo fanbases.