BLACKPINK debuted in 2016, and it will be celebrating its 7th anniversary in 2023! While this is an impressive achievement for any group, some fans are concerned because of the “seven-year curse” that so many prior K-Pop groups appear to have suffered from.
If you’re not familiar with the term “seven-year curse,” it refers to the all-too-common occurrence of K-Pop groups losing a member or disbanding around their seventh anniversary. SISTAR, 4MINUTE, miss A, KARA, and 2NE1 are just a few of the groups that have disbanded at this time due to seven-year contracts with their labels.
BLACKPINK’s contract is set to expire in 2023, and while everyone hopes they will choose to renew it and continue as a four-member group, some BLINKs are rumored to believe they will disband.
Jisoo’s interview with Rolling Stone magazine is one of the causes behind this. BLACKPINK was the first girl group to be interviewed by the magazine on May 27th, which was a big honor! While all of the members expressed some of their challenges, Jisoo’s comments on BLINKs were particularly concerning.
Despite the fact that Jisoo previously stated that she was not the type to express herself much, even when something bothered her, she acknowledged being exhausted during the interview. She also noted that her legs were hurting and expressed her relief that the choreography for their next comeback hadn’t yet begun.
She went on to explain that she doesn’t feel like a “global star” and that being a celebrity “doesn’t resonate much” with her. This could simply be Jisoo being humble, but other fans believe it could be misconstrued. She has also stated that she sometimes performs out of a sense of responsibility and duty rather than passion.
BLINKs are concerned that, even if BLACKPINK does not break up, Jisoo will not renew her contract for these and other reasons.
Another source of concern for some fans is the group’s lack of comebacks, as well as frequent individual social media postings. They’re the only girl group to go more than a year and a half between comebacks, and it wasn’t because of injuries or scandals like other groups who have taken long breaks.
Rather than working on releasing music as a group, each member was able to develop their own specific interests and focus on them. While it’s wonderful to watch each member find their calling, it makes it harder for BLACKPINK to create music.
Finally, the emergence of new monster rookie girl groups is causing some BLINKs to be anxious about disbandment. Several firms have debuted very potential K-Pop girl groups after BLACKPINK’s last comeback, including SM Entertainment’s Aespa, JYP Entertainment’s NMIXX, Starship Entertainment’s IVE, and Source Music’s LE SSERAFIM, and others.
While these new fourth-generation girl groups provide BLACKPINK some competition on their own, many netizens believe that YG Entertainment will release a new girl group to focus on soon as well. Over the last few years, there have been numerous rumors that a new girl group, presumably called Baby Monster, will be released soon.
BLINKs are concerned that this will happen with BLACKPINK and a new girl group because the label has a habit of letting older groups fend for themselves while focusing on younger groups.
While all of these are merely rumors and fears, it’s understandable that some fans are concerned about BLACKPINK’s future. BLINKs will hopefully be consoled by their forthcoming return!
Source Korea Boo