CNN
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Global pop star Blackpink has been selected as Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year for 2022, making the four-piece band the second K-pop star to win this title after BTS in 2020.
The foursome – Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé – were picked up by South Korea’s major record label YG Entertainment, which screens performers for star quality and intensively trains them, and they quickly became international stars after their 2016 debut.
Their first record, “The Album,” sold more than 1 million copies in less than a month after its release in 2020.
In a feature in Time Magazine honoring Entertainer of the Year, the band reflects on their journey, from performing at Coachella in 2019 to performing “Pink Venom” at the VMAs earlier this year .
“We put in a lot of effort so we could look like Superwoman,” rapper Jenny told Time magazine. “At the end of the day, we’re all very ordinary girls.”
Speaking about their success and the pressure that comes with it, Jenny said the band performed from the heart.
“If we think about it from a business perspective, we can’t do this,” she said.
The group’s global success stems in part from its international background. New Zealand-born, Australian-raised singer Rosé said in the studio it was “a plus” because they both come from “different cultures”.
Jennie was born in Korea but grew up in New Zealand, while dancer Lisa is from Thailand. Singer Jisoo is the only member of the group who was born and raised in South Korea.
Blackpink are currently performing across Europe until the end of the year as part of their ‘Born Pink’ world tour, which kicked off in October.
