Here’s your chance to become a member of the all-boy version of BLACKPINK

Music News

The open-call is welcome to everyone around the world. Here’s how to audition

12April 2021

TextAlex Peters

Rose – autumn/winter 20206

Contrary to what Rishi Sunak thinks, sometimes there is money in the arts – although mostly when you are a member of a globally successful band à la One Direction and BLACKPINK. If you think you have what it takes then listen up closely because YG Entertainment, the record label behind BLACKPINK, are looking for the next big thing in K-pop.

On the hunt for BLACKPINK: the male edition, the agency is holding auditions for a boyband that will replicate the girls’ success. Thanks to the pandemic, the auditions will take place over Zoom and are open to aspiring musicians anywhere in the world. However, while there are no geographical restrictions, there are age ones. Applicants must be born between 2002 and 2010 – apparently they on the hunt for the next Zac Hanson or Jackson Five-era Michael – and can’t be currently affiliated with another agency.

You can apply in categories for vocal, rap, dance, appearance, or ‘talents’ (no other details are given here), with applicants advised to demonstrate their skills for around one and a half minutes. We imagine if appearance is your category you just blue steel your way through the allocated time. The audition process will be available in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese and the application period lasts from today (April 12) until May 23 with video auditions taking place from April 19 until May 30.

To apply, simply choose a date here, await a confirmation email, and then prepare to give the performance of your life during the one-on-one video call audition. Successful applicants will be notified on June 12. Find out more information here.

Best of luck and while you anxiously await your audition check out the best BLACKPINK – your future competition – fashion moments below.

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HEDI SLIMANE PHOTOGRAPHS LISA

Marking Lisa’s appointment as Celine’s first ambassador, Hedi got behind the camera to shoot the K-pop icon in his signature black and white style – a major endorsement. Having first met at Celine’s menswear show back in June 2019, it was just a few months later that the two decided to go official. “To me, Celine is unrivalled, and Hedi Slimane has such a multifaceted talent,” she said at the time. “He creates this rare, incredible, and desirable world through his vision. I’m always inspired by his work. It’s truly an honour and pleasure to be able to work with Hedi as Celine’s first ambassador.”

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Courtesy of Prada

LISA AT PRADA AW20

In what’s probably BLACKPINK’s most major front-row sighting thus far, Lisa appeared at the Prada AW20 show in February wearing one of the hero looks from the season prior – a prissy collared, gold lamé jacket and skirt. After the show, she was snapped with her arm around Miuccia Prada. Need we say more?

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CHANEL TAPS JENNIE AS HOUSE AMBASSADOR

The first of the band to partner with a fashion house, Jennie was announced as one of Chanel’s house ambassadors in June 2018, joining the likes of Kristen Stewart, Vanessa Paradis, and Lily-Rose Depp. It was a natural fit for Jennie, who spoke of her affiliation with the label: “I remember when I was little, I would look through my mother's wardrobe, and search for whatever vintage Chanel I could find.” Same, Jennie, same.

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MATCHING MARINE SERRE

For their appearance on the South Korean music show Inkigayo in July 2020, the K-pop quartet donned coordinating Marine Serre. It was a custom moment from Serre, which had been chopped, cropped, and dyed in the band’s signature pink and purple palettes. While Beyoncé and Kylie Jenner are much accredited for the astronomic popularity of Serre’s moon prints, perhaps it was BLACKPINK who had us hooked all along.

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DIOR NAMES JISOO AS GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

Having worked with Dior Beauty for a while, last week (March 8), Dior appointed Jisoo its global ambassador for both fashion and beauty. Having inspired the label’s AW21 collection, in an IG post announcing the partnership, Dior said Jisoo personifies the “liberated femininity channeled and portrayed by Maria Grazia Chiuri (Dior’s creative director), which reflects an ethos that stems from truly understanding oneself."

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ROSÉ BECOMES THE FACE OF SAINT LAURENT

In July 2020, Saint Laurent named Rosé its official global ambassador, cementing their previous relationship and mutual admiration. “I still can’t believe that I’m a global ambassador, representing a brand that I’ve thought was really cool for a long time,” the singer told Elle Korea. “It’s an honour. I also got close to creative director Antony Vaccarello, and I’m learning a lot from his creativity, expertise, and humanity. It’s amazing to be able to work with such a wonderful person.”

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LISA LIGHTS UP

Fresh from the menswear SS21 collection, Lisa uploaded an IG picture of herself stunting in Celine’s LED bomber jacket, a look which also featured in “Love Sick Girls”. In the show notes, Slimane said the jacket was “a metaphor for reclaiming the night”, but it’s also pretty reminiscent of the LED lighting which plasters the bedrooms of TikTok. And draped on Lisa, it no doubt caused a frenzy, given that global searches for Celine's Triomphe crossbody surged 66 per cent when Lisa Instagrammed the bag back in June.

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JISOO’S CROCS

Not everyday has to be a front row moment (although a Dior Bobby Bag does help). Over the course of the past year, the fashion industry has done a U-turn on crocs and embraced its maligned reputation as part of a more transgressive, or crazed-lockdown-comfort, look. Jisoo clearly got the memo, finessing the look with initialed Jibbitz.

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Courtesy of YG entertainment

LOVE FOR LONDON’S NEWGEN

Turning their attention to London for the “Ice Cream” video, the band sported not one, but two of the capital’s emerging designers – Mimi Wade and Ashley Williams. Standing against the video’s pastel dreamscape, Rosé reps a kitsch puppy dog corset and marabou skirt from Williams while Jennie wears a Marilyn Monroe crop top by Wade. Having already cemented themselves with the Parisian stalwarts, could BLACKPINK be about to give some of London’s talent their biggest advertising yet?

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JENNIE’S STREET PUNK FLIP

In a departure from her usual brand of sophisticated chic, Jennie, the darling of Chanel, flipped the switch in “Lovesick Girls“, serving us punk streetwear. Think platform boots, cut-at-the-thigh trousers, and a blazer covered in badges and pins. It was as if St. Trinians had been filmed in the underbelly of a Korean city, proving Jennie’s versatility in the fashion stakes, capable of upending the codes of her style in an instant.

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