BLACKPINK Blitz: What our favorite K-pop foursome is up to now

A catch up and recap of the BLACKPINK members' upcoming solo endeavors and new ventures

L to R: Rosé, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa at the BLACKPINK 8th anniversary "Our Area" fan event.

BLACKPINK

Words by Daniel Anderson

A new BLACKPINK revolution is on the horizon. After the monumental success of their 2022-23 Born Pink world tour, which shattered records as the highest-grossing tour by a female group and Asian act, earning $331.8 million from more than 1.8 million tickets sold across 66 shows, the members—Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé—are now poised to embark on new chapters.

While still tied to their flagship agency, YG Entertainment, for group activities, the quartet have been making strategic moves to expand their individual careers, hinting at a future where BLACKPINK's influence only continues to grow. Their individual contracts may have expired with YG Entertainment, but their activities don’t seem to be slowing down. To try and keep up, let’s break down what each member has been up to. 

Jisoo

Eldest member Kim Jisoo has taken significant strides in her solo career, launching her own entertainment company, Blissoo, with her brother in February. Of all the BLACKPINK members, Jisoo seems most focused on acting, preparing for her big screen debut in the highly anticipated film Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. She will star alongside a prominent ensemble cast, including Lee Min-ho, Ahn Hyo-seop, Shin Seung-ho, and Chae Soo-bin. Based on the popular web novel, the film follows Kim Dok-ja, an ordinary citizen tasked with preventing the end of the world after events from his favorite web novel begin to unfold in reality.

Jisoo takes on the role of Lee Jihye, a skilled fighter from the fictitious novel within the story. Filming for Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint wrapped in May, with the release slated for summer 2025.

Beyond her feature film debut, Jisoo is set to lead the Coupang Play-backed zombie K-drama Newtopia. In this series, she portrays an engineer and the girlfriend of the central protagonist, a man serving his mandatory military enlistment. The pair must reunite while surviving a zombie outbreak in the city. Newtopia has completed filming and is expected to premiere in 2025.

Adding to her busy schedule, Jisoo was recently announced as the star of the upcoming romance drama Monthly Boyfriend, alongside Seo In-guk. The series is set in a world where people can subscribe to a virtual boyfriend, with the relationship continuing into reality.

Jennie

Jennie was the first BLACKPINK member to announce her own label, launching Odd Atelier in December 2023. Earlier that year, she made her Hollywood acting debut in MAX’s The Idol, starring alongside Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd. While the show didn’t win over critics, her collaboration single “One of the Girls” with her co-stars climbed to a peak position of No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200. Despite mixed reviews, The Idol recently nabbed an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming.

 

This year, Jennie followed up with two more high-profile collaborations: the hauntingly beautiful "Slow Motion" with Matt Champion of Brockhampton, and the effortlessly cool party track "Spot!" with South Korean rapper Zico.

All signs point to new solo music from Jennie. Earlier this month, she announced a partnership with Columbia Records, teasing an album slated for release in October. Recent teasers have sparked excitement, with one showing Jennie on a running track, the number “1011” prominently featured, while another repeats the word “pretty.” Fans speculate that a single could drop on Oct. 11, coinciding with the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl Child, which focuses on the challenges girls face worldwide.

In her recent Harper’s Bazaar cover story, Jennie remained tight-lipped about the album but revealed it would span multiple genres and be primarily in English.

Fans can also catch Jennie on the Korean variety show My Name is Gabriel, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. In the series, cast members take on the roles of people living abroad, with Jennie playing Maria, the real owner of a charming B&B near Rome.

Lisa 

The second BLACKPINK member to establish her own artist management company, LLOUD, LaLisa Manoban has built a streak of hit singles. In April, she partnered with RCA Records and released "Rockstar," which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. In August, she followed up with "New Woman," featuring Rosalía, further solidifying her record as the BLACKPINK member with the most singles in the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. top 10, now totaling four.

More music is on the way, as Lisa recently teased new material on Instagram with a snippet of the track and the lyric “Kiss Me.” 

She has also been rocking the live performance circuit as she performed at the VMAS and took home the Best K-pop award for “Rockstar,” the second time she has won in that category. On Saturday, Lisa will headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York, which aims to defend the planet against the climate crisis and defeat poverty. She was also recently announced as the headliner for the Victoria Secret Fashion Show on Oct. 15.

Lisa will also be making her foray into Hollywood with a highly anticipated role on MAX’s The White Lotus, which filmed its third season in Lisa’s native Thailand.

Rosé

Saving the latest for last, New Zealand-born and Australia-raised Rosé announced her partnership with Atlantic Records on Thursday. As part of the rollout, she launched a finstagram account under the handle vampirehollie. Across her social media posts, Rosé refers to her fans as her “number ones,” possibly hinting at a new fandom name, a forthcoming single, or her highly anticipated album.

 

This new partnership with Atlantic will complement her prior signing with The Black Label, led by longtime BLACKPINK producer Teddy Park.

While BLINKs and Number Ones eagerly await Rosé's new music, they can enjoy her effervescent cover of Coldplay’s "Viva La Vida" in the second season of the Apple TV series Pachinko.

BLACKPINK

But what about OT4? The quartet was previously publicly united for their eighth anniversary fan event last month. All of these exciting solo ventures feel akin to Marvel standalone movies before the big Avengers-style team up. YG Entertainment reiterated this past week that there will be plans for a full group comeback in 2025 and another world tour.

Time to pull up for another shutdown.

Published on September 27, 2024

Words by Daniel Anderson

Daniel Anderson is a disabled Chinese American adoptee based in Seattle. His freelance writing specialties include K-pop, entertainment, and food. He believes that any restaurant can be a buffet, and the key to success is to take a nap each day. Follow his adventures on Instagram @danzstan.