Months before Blackpink officially debuted, a 74-second dance practice video landed on their brand-new YouTube channel: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa tearing through Parris Goebel's choreography to Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money. It picked up nearly a million views in two days, and the reception only sharpened once Square One arrived, with lead single Whistle topping South Korea's Gaon Digital chart and delivering the group's first music show win just two weeks after debut, the fastest turnaround a girl group had managed at the time.
The hit that changed everything
Ddu-du ddu-du, the breakout single from Square Up, is still the moment most people point to as Blackpink's real launch into global fame, its four-count finger-gun sequence and girl-crush styling endlessly copied at the time. The group's 2020 comeback with How You Like That kept the momentum going, styled in modernized hanboks by designer Danha Seoul, with Jennie's two-tone blonde streaks becoming a moment of their own. By 2023, Blackpink returned to Coachella not just as performers but as the festival's first K-pop headliners, opening with Pink Venom and Kill This Love before closing out a feathered, full-throttle Typa Girl.
A banner year for solo work
2024 turned into a showcase for what each member could do individually while finalizing their group contract renewal with YG. Jisoo wrapped her film debut in Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy, Jennie's Mantra became her first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100, Lisa won Best K-Pop at the MTV VMAs for Rockstar, and Rosé's Apt., her collaboration with Bruno Mars, won Song of the Year at the 2025 MTV VMAs, making her the first K-pop act to take that category.
Four gowns, one staircase
The 2026 Met Gala marked the first time all four members attended together, each dressed for the "Fashion is Art" theme in a way that matched her own persona: Jisoo in a custom pink Dior gown covered in floral embroidery inspired by Impressionist painting, Jennie in a strapless blue Chanel gown carrying 15,000 sequins, Lisa in a Robert Wun design featuring 3D-printed sculptures of her own arms that echoed traditional Thai dance, and Rosé in a sleek black Saint Laurent dress finished with a bird-shaped brooch referencing Georges Braque's The Birds. Ten years on, it's as clear a snapshot as any of how far four trainees turned a viral dance clip into a decade-defining career.