(Seoul) The four members of the girls band Blackpink renewed their contract with YG Entertainment on Wednesday, the company announced, ending speculation about the future of the globally successful K-Pop group.
Shares of YG Entertainment, the main record label for K-pop, the South Korean pop that has conquered the planet, jumped more than 20% after this announcement.
Rumors surrounding Blackpink and their future plans have been growing since the quartet’s initial contracts expired in August. Local media had suggested that one of the artists, Lisa, had rejected YG’s offer.
But YG announced on Wednesday that the group’s four members, Jenny, Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé, had re-signed with the record label for “group activities.”
“After in-depth discussions with Blackpink, we have signed an exclusive contract for the group’s activities based on deep trust,” the record company said in a statement sent to AFP.
“With YG’s full support, Blackpink plans to repay the love of fans around the world with activities worthy of their global status, including the release of a new album and a large-scale world tour,” adds the communicated.
Blackpink emerged from the South Korean K-pop scene in 2016, achieving success with songs like Kill this Love Or Boombayahand embarked on extensive world tours.
Their official YouTube channel, with 92.3 million subscribers, is one of the most followed artist channels in the world on the platform.
Blackpink were also the first K-pop girl group to reach the top of the US Billboard 200 chart, and the first Asian artists to headline prestigious festivals such as Coachella.
The powerful company YG, on the other hand, found itself at the center of a scandal that shook South Korea from 2018.
The record company’s reputation has been damaged by its links to Seungri, a former member of the group Bigbang and co-manager of the Burning Sun nightclub who has been the subject of criminal investigations. Seungri was sentenced to 18 months in prison for, among other things, offering women to potential investors in exchange for sexual services.
Following its announcement on Blackpink’s contracts, shares of YG Entertainment jumped 24.58 percent to 59,800 won in afternoon trading in Seoul.