BLACKPINK Part 2 — How Four Girls Conquered the World: The Rise
From the highest K-pop girl group chart position in history to headlining Coachella — the complete story of how BLACKPINK broke every barrier the music industry put in front of them.
In April 2019, BLACKPINK walked onto the Coachella stage.
No Korean girl group had ever performed at the festival. No Asian act had ever headlined it. Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé weren’t just the first K-pop girl group at Coachella — they were a main act on opening night, playing to a crowd that stretched as far as anyone could see.
It had taken them three years to get there. But the story of how they got there starts in 2016, with two songs that nobody expected to hit the way they did.
📌 This is Part 2 of a 3-part BLACKPINK series.
- Part 1 — Four Strangers, One Dream ← where it began
- Part 2 — How Four Girls Conquered the World ← you are here
- Part 3 — In Your Area — Everywhere
Phase 1: The Fast Start (2016–2017)
A Debut That Moved Immediately
Most K-pop groups need time to build momentum. BLACKPINK didn’t get the memo.
“Whistle” topped the Gaon Digital Chart within days of release. “Boombayah” hit #1 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart on the same day — making BLACKPINK the fastest act ever to achieve that and the first girl group to hold the simultaneous top two spots.
Thirteen days after debut, they won their first music show trophy. The fastest debut-to-win record for a Korean girl group at the time.
YG had waited seven years to launch a new girl group. BLACKPINK made that wait feel worth it in the first two weeks.
📍 Milestone: First Canadian Hot 100 Entry (November 2016)
With “Playing With Fire” from their second single album Square Two, BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl group to chart on the Canadian Hot 100. A small signal — but an early indicator that their reach was going somewhere unusual.
The “Girl Crush” Identity
From the beginning, BLACKPINK’s concept was clear and consistent: confidence, power, beauty, and danger. Not cute. Not soft. Not the kind of girl group that waits around.
Songs like “Playing With Fire” and “As If It’s Your Last” reinforced a girl group identity that felt genuinely different. The choreography was aggressive and precise. The fashion was high. The energy said: we know exactly who we are.
BLINK — their fandom — was forming fast, particularly in Southeast Asia, where Lisa’s Thai background gave BLACKPINK a natural cultural bridge to a massive market that few K-pop groups had connected with so directly.
Phase 2: Breaking into the US (2018)
2018 was the year BLACKPINK stopped being a K-pop story and became a global music story.
📍 Milestone: “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” — Billboard Hot 100 Entry (June 2018)
On June 15, 2018, BLACKPINK released their first Korean EP, Square Up, and it landed differently than anything before it.
Lead single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” debuted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the highest-charting song by a K-pop girl group in US chart history at the time. It also debuted at #40 on the Billboard 200 — the highest by an all-female Korean act. In just 10 days, the music video hit 100 million YouTube views — the fastest ever for a K-pop girl group.
The record wasn’t just a chart position. It was a signal: BLACKPINK had found an audience in America before American radio had found them.
📍 Milestone: Dua Lipa Collaboration (October 2018)
“Kiss and Make Up” — a collaboration with Dua Lipa — was released as a bonus track and became a commercial success worldwide. It was one of the first major collaborations between a K-pop group and a Western mainstream pop artist, and it opened doors on both sides.
📍 Milestone: First Billion-View Music Video (2019)
“Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” became the first K-pop music video to reach 1 billion YouTube views — hitting the milestone in just over a year. Before BLACKPINK, the only Korean act to reach that mark was PSY with “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
BLACKPINK’s YouTube subscriber count — already the largest of any music act — was growing at a pace that defied industry logic.
Jennie’s Solo Debut (December 2018)
Before the group had even released their first full album, Jennie became the first BLACKPINK member to release solo music with “Solo” — which topped the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and the Gaon Music Chart simultaneously.
It established a template: BLACKPINK as a group was powerful. Each member was also a viable solo force. This dual structure would define the next phase of their career.
Phase 3: Coachella and the Global Breakthrough (2019)
📍 Milestone: First K-Pop Girl Group at Coachella (April 12, 2019)
April 12, 2019. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Main stage. Opening night.
BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella — and not just as a side act. They were one of the headliners on the most-watched night of the most famous music festival in the world.
The performance was flawless. Their stage presence was undeniable. Millions watched the live stream. Celebrities posted. The music press covered it wall to wall.
In American pop music terms, Coachella is validation at the highest level. BLACKPINK didn’t just show up — they owned it.
📍 Milestone: “Kill This Love” — Breaking Their Own Record (April 2019)
Released just before Coachella, “Kill This Love” debuted at #41 on the Hot 100 — breaking the record they had set themselves with “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du.” The EP debuted at #24 on the Billboard 200 — again, the highest ever for an all-female Korean act.
The music video set the record for the biggest YouTube debut in history at the time: 56.7 million views in 24 hours.
BLACKPINK was now breaking their own records faster than anyone else could catch up.
📍 Milestone: First Female K-Pop Group RIAA Gold Certified (August 2019)
“Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — making BLACKPINK the first female K-pop group to receive RIAA certification in the United States.
Gold certification requires 500,000 units. Getting there as a Korean-language track, without mainstream US radio play, was remarkable.
Phase 4: The Pandemic Year That Proved Everything (2020)
📍 Milestone: “How You Like That” — Three Guinness Records in 24 Hours (June 2020)
On June 26, 2020, BLACKPINK released “How You Like That.”
The music video broke three Guinness World Records in its first 24 hours:
- Most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours
- Most viewed music video on YouTube in 24 hours
- Most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group
The peak concurrent viewers during the premiere reached 1.66 million — an extraordinary number for any live stream, let alone a music video debut.
The records it broke had previously been held by BTS. BLACKPINK broke them.
📍 Milestone: “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez — Hot 100 Top 13 (August 2020)
The pre-release collaboration with Selena Gomez debuted at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the highest-charting song ever by a female Korean act on the chart at that point. It was also their longest-charting entry on the Hot 100.
📍 Milestone: The Album — First Full-Length Studio Album (October 2020)
After four years of singles and EPs, BLACKPINK finally released their first full studio album — simply titled The Album.
It sold over 1 million copies in its first month — making BLACKPINK the first million-selling K-pop girl group in history. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 — the highest ever for a female Korean act and the highest for any girl group since 2008.
The Album also debuted at #1 on the Gaon Album Chart and broke the record for best-selling album by a Korean female act of all time.
| Album | The Album |
| Release | October 2, 2020 |
| Billboard 200 peak | #2 |
| First month sales | 1M+ copies |
| Historic note | First million-selling K-pop girl group |
Phase 5: YouTube History and the 100 Million Milestone (2021)
📍 Milestone: First Artist to Reach 75 Million YouTube Subscribers (2021)
BLACKPINK’s YouTube channel became the most subscribed music act on the platform — surpassing Justin Bieber and becoming the first artist of any kind to reach 75 million subscribers. They would later become the first to reach 100 million subscribers — a number no other music artist had reached before them.
Their dominance on YouTube was unlike anything in K-pop or pop music generally. It was built not just on music videos, but on a global BLINK fanbase that streamed, shared, and watched with extraordinary consistency.
What Made the Rise Happen So Fast?
Three years from debut to Coachella. Four years to the best-selling album by a Korean girl group in history. How?
① The “Girl Crush” concept traveled instantly. BLACKPINK’s identity — confident, powerful, visually striking — translated across cultures without needing explanation. You didn’t need to understand Korean to understand what BLACKPINK represented. The vibe communicated everything.
② The multicultural lineup was strategic and effective. A member from Thailand (Lisa) connected Southeast Asian fans in a way no Korean group had managed before. A member fluent in English (Jennie, Rosé) gave BLACKPINK credibility in Western markets. Jisoo’s warmth and humor gave them a personality beyond the fierce image. Each member opened a different door.
③ YouTube was their territory. BLACKPINK arrived at a moment when YouTube was becoming the global music platform. They invested in high-production music videos and built a fanbase that treated YouTube streaming as a form of direct support. BLINK’s streaming organization made every music video release feel like an event.
④ YG’s patience paid off — sort of. The six years of training meant BLACKPINK debuted fully formed. The choreography was tight from day one. The vocal quality was there. The concept was clear. What YG didn’t give them — enough music — became the fan community’s defining frustration. But what they released, they released with full force.
🔗 Continue the Story
- 👉 Part 1 — Four Strangers, One Dream — The casting stories and the debut
- 👉 Part 3 — In Your Area — Everywhere — Born Pink, Coachella headlining, solo careers, and DEADLINE