Bryan Bedder for Variety
K-pop girl group Blackpink has finally signed renewed contracts with YG Entertainment.
The news was revealed in a regulatory filing by the company on Wednesday and caused its KOSDAQ-listed shares to leap by 26% to KRW60,700 by midday.
“The board has completed a resolution about renewing the contracts with Blackpink’s four members,” YG said in the filing.
In a press statement the company said that Blackpink plans a new album and a world tour. “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Blackpink,” YG founder Yang Hyun Suk said in the statement. “Blackpink will continue to do its best to shine even brighter in the global music market as an artist representing not only our company but also K-pop. […] And we send our unwavering support and faith to [fans].”
The news comes after months of speculation that the four-piece act – Jisoo (real name Kim Ji-soo), Lisa (Lalisa Manobal), Jennie (Kim Jennie) and Rose (Roseanne Park) – would take their acts to another shop. Blackpink’s previous contracts with YG expired in August.
Variety understands that the four group members’ individual contracts are still under negotiation.
Blackpink was formed under YG in 2016, but as the quartet hit new levels of recognition and popularity worldwide there has been speculation that the old seven-year deal would need to be substantially renegotiated in the artists’ favor. Blackpink’s recent world tour included 66 performances in 34 cities and was watched by 2.1 million spectators, YG has reported.
In April, Blackpink made history with its sophomore set, “Born Pink,” becoming the first album from an all-female group to hit No. 1 since Danity Kane’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse” in 2008.
The same month Variety heaped praise on Blackpink’s performance at Coachella. “It’s clear from the stellar show that the group is not only fully formed and confident, it’s totally owning topline placement. The four members of Blackpink — Jennie Kim, Lisa, Rose and Jisoo — along with a cadre of dancers and a crack band, blasted through songs like “How You Like That” and “Tally” (from 2022’s chart-topping “Born Pink”) with choreography meticulously timed to make the most of the stage’s massive video screens, and routines and references that called to mind past pop heroines like Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson,” Variety said in a concert review.
