Blinks have cause for celebration – following months of negotiations, and fears that the band might split, the queens of K-pop Blackpink have signed a new contract to stay together as a group. 

The news was announced in a statement by South Korean entertainment agency and record label YG Entertainment, who said that the band had signed “an exclusive contract for group activities”. The new deal will see Blackpink “repay their fans around the world with activities that match their global status”, including global live tours and the release of new music. 

“We are more than thrilled to finally make an official statement that YG will continue the intimate relationship with BLACKPINK,” YG Entertainment founder and executive producer Yang Hyan-sukl said in a press release. “YG will send unwavering support and trust in their actions.” 

Blackpink’s previous contract with YG Entertainment expired in August. What followed was months of speculation that the band’s members, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa, would head out on their own respective solo careers under different representation, allegedly leaving Rosé as the only remaining member of the band still signed to the company. 

It left the future of Blackpink up in the air. While the band would still be able to perform together when each member’s schedule allowed, it is, as the BBC noted, incredibly unusual for K-pop groups to reform when band members leave or sign with alternative management companies. 

Blackpink are, of course, one of the world’s biggest K-pop exports. Formed in 2016, the group has become a cultural behemoth. Their last album, 2022’s Born Pink, became the first by a K-pop girl group to top the Billboard album chart. It was also the first album by an all-female group to land at Number One since 2008. In 2023 the group became the first K-pop group to headline Coachella, with their Born Pink World Tour becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time by an all-female group.

Following the announcement that Blackpink had renewed their contract with YG Entertainment, shares in the company jumped by 26 per cent. However, the exact details of that contract remain a mystery, and, as Variety reports, the individual contracts for each member of the band are still under negotiation. 

For now, though, Blackpink are still in your area. 

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