When Blackpink boldly declared that they were the “revolution” on their bombastic single “Forever Young,” they weren’t kidding. The four-piece group — consisting of members Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rosé — are currently in the middle of a real-life global K-pop revolution as they gear up to take the U.S. by storm with their knockout sound, killer choreography and uplifting “girl gang” concept.

In fact, 2019 is undoubtedly going to be the year of Blackpink (especially in the West), with months of promotions, historic performances and stateside touring planned.

Don't believe the hype? Check out 7 reasons 2019 is slated to be Blackpink's big breakout year, below.

  • 1

    They're about to embark on their first U.S. tour

    On Feb. 11, Blackpink announced the dates for the U.S. leg of their first international In Your Area world tour. The U.S. concerts kick off April 17 at The Forum in Los Angeles, traveling to Chicago, Hamilton, Newark and Atlanta before ending in Fort Worth on May 8. Afterward, Blackpink will travel on to Europe, performing in Amsterdam, Manchester, London, Berlin, Paris and Barcelona. The In Your Area tour, which began in Seoul in Nov. 2018, will see the group perform smash hits like “As If It’s Your Last,” “Whistle” and “Playing With Fire.” Tickets will be available online starting Feb. 20.

    Check out the full U.S. tour dates, below:

    04/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
    04/24 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
    04/27 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
    05/01 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
    05/05 – Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Arena
    05/08 – Fort Worth, TX @ CC Arena

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    2

    They'll make history with their Coachella performance

    Only three days into 2019 and Blackpink became the girl group on everyone’s lips when they were announced as part of the lineup for this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April. The group’s upcoming performances are set to be historic as Blackpink will become the first ever Korean girl group to perform at the festival. The excitement online over Blackpink’s Coachella reveal was immediate, with fans jokingly renaming the concert “Blinkchella” in support of their favorite group. With headlining artists including Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino and Tame Impala, Coachella is one of the most popular festivals in the U.S. and draws in 250,000 attendees each year, making Blackpink’s performance there one of their largest ever.

  • 3

    They finally made their debut U.S. television debut

    Blackpink made their U.S. television debut in February with three performances on popular programs including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America and Strahan & Sara. The girls performed “DDU-DU DDU-DU” on Colbert’s show on Feb. 11, followed by an early morning performance at GMA for hundreds of Blinks (Blackpink fans) both inside and outside the venue — many of which waited overnight to see the four girls in person. The group’s final confirmed television appearance (for now) will be on Strahan & Sara on Feb. 15, so make sure not to miss out!

  • 4

    They held their first U.S. performance during the Grammys

    Blackpink signed with Interscope Records as part of a global partnership with their company YG Entertainment in Oct. 2018, and on February 10, the group performed for the first time ever on American soil as part of Universal Music Group’s Grammy Artist Showcase in Hollywood. As part of a star-studded lineup including Grammy-nominated artists like J Balvin, Greta Van Fleet and Post Malone, Blackpink wowed the crowd with “DDU-DU DDU-DU” and received a standing ovation once their set was finished.

  • 5

    They're smashing YouTube view records left and right

    From laying on pink tanks to standing on a burning pier, Blackpink are known for their visually stunning music videos. It should be no surprise that, combined with the group’s stellar choreography and concepts, Blackpink’s music videos have recorded an incredible number of views on YouTube. In January, the group’s debut track, “Whistle,” became their fifth single to reach over 300 million views online, an amazing feat given the group only has ten songs in total. The video for their latest single, “DDU-DU DDU-DU,” is the most-viewed K-pop group music video on YouTube in history, and currently has more than 600 million views (as of Feb. 13).

  • 6

    They have incredible brand reputation

    Blackpink has held the #1 position in brand reputation in South Korea for two months straight according to Soompi. The analysis, conducted by the Korean Business Research Institute, uses data to assess the amount of media coverage, consumer interest and general favorability of popular K-pop girl groups before ranking the top thirty highest scoring artists. In February, Blackpink scored 71.53% favorability rating and the number one spot, with popular groups GFriend and TWICE taking second and third, respectively. In terms of brand sponsorships, Blackpink partnered with Kia Motors in January to sponsor their 2019 In Your Area world tour. They have also modeled for Adidas Korea, Woori Bank and Shiseido in the past.

  • 7

    They're multilingual and have even released some English language songs

    As a group, Blackpink speak English, Korean, Japanese and Thai, which means their addictive music can tap into four different languages. At first, the group focused on the Japanese music market, releasing a 2017 mini-album and holding their first Japanese arena tour in 2018. This year, the group is showing off their musical diversity by releasing songs in English, too. On her 21st birthday (Feb. 11), Rosé shared her cover of Halsey’s “Eyes Closed” online, a song which she previously performed during the group’s Japanese concerts in 2018. But this wasn't Blackpink’s first time singing in English: the group collaborated with Dua Lipa on the upbeat dance track “Kiss and Make Up” and have performed covers of their favorite artists on Korean television including Miguel’s “Sure Thing” and an acoustic version of Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself”.

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