BLACKPINK‘s ‘Apart but Together’ strategy is shaking up the world stage from the beginning of the new year.

Member Rosé took the lead and opened the year of the monkey with a splendid ‘all-kill’ for the first time on the global charts this year with the mega hit ‘Apartment’(APT.). With Rosé breaking new records day after day, global fans’ expectations are focused on BLACKPINK‘s full group activities scheduled for this year.

According to a preview article by Billboard on the 7th (Korean time), Rosé’s ‘Apartment’ ranked 5th on the latest issue of the main single chart ‘Hot 100’ (dated January 11th). Last November, Rosé ranked 8th on the chart with ‘Apartment’, setting the highest ranking for a female K-pop artist. This time, she broke her own record and set a new K-pop record with her own hands.

In particular, since this performance is the result of ‘reverse popularity’, long-term dominance on the chart is certain. ‘Apartment’, which was released on October 18th last year, steadily maintained the upper ranks of the chart until it gave way to carols around Christmas and fell to 34th place. Then, as the new year approached, it jumped a whopping 29 places to become the first K-pop female artist to make it into the top 5 of the ‘Hot 100’.

Some say that Rosé has objectively confirmed her strong popularity in North America by maintaining the top ranks on the ‘Hot 100’, which reflects local popularity rather than the ‘Billboard 200’, an album chart where the influence of fandom is absolute.

In addition, Rosé is also showing undiminished strength on the UK Official Charts, which are considered one of the two major mountain ranges of the global pop market along with the Billboard chart. Rosé, who rose to second place on the UK Official ‘Singles Top 100’, is considered a strong candidate for first place on the latest chart to be released on the 11th.

On this day, when Rosé resumed her record-breaking streak, she wrote on her SNS, “Last year, I was able to do everything I always dreamed of. “I‘m proud to have released my first full-length album,” she said. “This year feels like a new beginning to a world full of fun. I’m excited and looking forward to this journey.”

Starting with Rosé‘s global leap, Lisa, Jennie, and Jisoo also plan to focus on their solo careers until the second half of the year before their full group promotions. Lisa and Jennie, who released solo singles one after another last year, are each preparing new albums. Jisoo will release her lead role in the Coupang Play drama ’Newtopia‘ on February 7. Group activities led by ’Hometown‘ YG Entertainment include a new album and a world tour.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com