BLACKPINK has already accomplished the hard part. Over the past five years, the quartet has transcended the boundaries between K-pop and the global mainstream like no other girl group before them, leveraging the momentum from their late 2010s singles and projects into a breakthrough in the 2020s, particularly in North America.
Since 2020, BLACKPINK has released two albums, including their first Billboard 200 chart-topper, 2022’s “Born Pink.” They have collaborated with artists such as Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, and Cardi B; become the highest-charting Korean girl group in Hot 100 history, with five top 40 entries; and received several Western awards, including a Billboard Music Award and multiple MTV VMAs. Their commercial success in the U.S. was highlighted by their live shows, which reached stadium levels by 2023 and included a headlining slot at Coachella, making BLACKPINK the first K-pop act to headline the festival.
JENNIE, JISOO, LISA, and ROSÉ have achieved a level of success no other act like them has conquered before. In the past six months, however, they have each embarked on solo projects simultaneously.
On Friday, March 7, JENNIE will release her debut album, “RUBY,” following LISA’s “Alter Ego,” which dropped a week earlier. Jisoo released her debut solo mini-album, “Amortage,” two weeks prior, while ROSÉ’s debut album, “Rosie,” came out in December. Its singles have been promoted throughout early 2025, including several live performances. While members of pop groups pursuing solo careers is a long-standing practice, from The Beatles to the Spice Girls, BLACKPINK’s members are establishing themselves as individual stars almost simultaneously, with four projects released over three months.
This simultaneous launch can partly be attributed to scheduling, as studio material completion and promotional opportunities aligned. Each member is working with a different U.S. major label partner—Columbia for JENNIE, RCA for LISA, Warner for JISOO, and Atlantic for ROSÉ—each with their own rollout strategies. Additionally, BLACKPINK is set to return as a group, with a new world tour starting in early July, so time constraints have influenced the solo releases.
The simultaneous releases could risk fragmenting casual fans’ attention, as multiple projects from the same group might compete for their focus. While BLACKPINK fans are likely to support these solo endeavors, JENNIE, JISOO, LISA, and ROSÉ aim to establish their individual identities and build separate fan bases. Though they are not directly competing with each other, they vie for the attention of new listeners.
Despite these challenges, the simultaneous solo releases have not overshadowed one another. Instead, this strategy may have been beneficial for the individual members and the group as a whole.