BTS, Blackpink rewrite K-pop history

2020.09.10 11:11:40 | 2020.09.10 11:18:55

[Photo by Big Hit Entertainment]À̹ÌÁö È®´ë

[Photo by Big Hit Entertainment]

K-pop stars have conquered the Billboard Hot 100 charts, with BTS¡¯ ¡°Dynamite¡± securing its reign for the second week and Blackpink debuting at No. 13 with their latest single ¡°Ice Cream.¡±

BTS spent a second week at No. 1 on Billboard¡¯s main singles chart with their all-English song ¡°Dynamite,¡± joining a selective list of 20 artists with the same distinction, according to the U.S. music chart. A week earlier, the seven-member boyband achieved a new milestone by becoming the first K-pop act to score a No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart.

Blackpink also rose to a new career high as their collab with Selena Gomez debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard singles list. It is the best rank for a Korean girl group. Their previous tracks – ¡°Sour Candy¡± with Lady Gaga and ¡°How You Like That¡± – had peaked at No. 33 earlier this year.

BTS is once again rewriting K-pop history. ¡°Dynamite¡± is the 43rd song in Billboard history to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. It is also one of just 20 songs that have been able to remain on top for two weeks in a row.

¡°Dynamite¡± generated 265,000 downloads in its first week, and an additional 182,000 in the second – the only song to post two straight weeks of more than 180,000 downloads since Justin Timberlake¡¯s ¡°Can¡¯t Stop the Feeling¡± released in May 2016.

EDM and acoustic remixes of ¡°Dynamite¡± have also sparked renewed interest in the song, Billboard noted.

[Photo by YG Entertainment]À̹ÌÁö È®´ë

[Photo by YG Entertainment]

Blackpink is breaking new ground for Korean girl groups. With ¡°Ice Cream,¡± they became the first K-pop girl group to land in the top 20 in the Hot 100 chart. The quartet is also the first girl band to make three placements on the chart¡¯s top 40 since Fifth Harmony in 2016, according to Billboard.

Blackpink now commands the third-largest YouTube audience in the world. Subscribers to their official YouTube channel topped 47.4 million as of Thursday, with only Justin Bieber and DJ Marshmello having bigger followings. The management agency said subscriber counts surged by more than 100,000 per hour with the release of ¡°Ice Cream.¡±

The girl group will also become the first K-pop artist to have their own Netflix documentary ¡°Blackpink: Light Up the Sky,¡± set for release on Oct. 14. The film was directed by Caroline Suh, director of Netflix¡¯s ¡°Salt Fat Acid Heat,¡± and will feature exclusive interviews with the four members and never-before-seen footage of their pre-debut years.

By Kang Young-woon and Kim Hyo-jin

[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]