BLACKPINK Is Almost Back…So Why Are Fans Worried?

After months of speculation about BLACKPINK’s upcoming music ahead of their world tour, we finally got an update…of sorts.

YG Entertainment founder and majority shareholder Yang Hyunsuk took to the company’s official YouTube channel to share announcements about the K-pop agency and its artists, as he occasionally does.

With the title of the video previewing the company’s newest artists as “BLACKPINK, BABYMONSTER, TREASURE and Upcoming Rookies | YG Announcement,” Yang Hyunsuk spent 12 seconds of the 8:16 video talking about BLACKPINK.

“After a long time, BLACKPINK will be meeting with fans,” he said of the company’s most profitable and biggest artist. “Although we don’t have a confirmed date yet, news about BLACKPINK’s new song will also be announced soon.”

That would be news exciting enough for fans to hold on to…if there weren’t a set of extending circumstances around this announcement.

While we don’t necessarily need to get into a numbers game with YG, the numbers he revealed about YG’s other artists have a far more complete picture for their 2025 roadmaps, leaving a big question mark about where BLACKPINK stands.

Mr. YG revealed that the 10-member boy band TREASURE will release a new EP on September 1st, which joins a previously already-announced full-length album for this year. Meanwhile, BABYMONSTER has a new single, “Hot Sauce,” set for July 1st, another single coming in September, as well as their next EP slated for October.

Yang also shared that there are four teams of trainees rehearsing at the company (two boy groups and two girl groups), but added that he is “eager” to debut a new, four-member girl group from the company. Just like the tactics employed with BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, the members of the new group will be introduced individually, and we might even get solo singles and videos released by the four girls next year.

The announcement of a new, four-member girl group gave some K-pop fans whiplash, recalling how YG’s first breakout quartet, 2NE1, was essentially winded down once BLACKPINK entered the arena. 2NE1’s youngest member Minzy, left the group in April 2016. However, the group vowed to continue even as leader CL was in the U.S. focused on her solo career managed by Scooter Braun, and BLACKPINK made an explosive debut that summer. I remember being asked by a PR/manager not to bring up anything related to BLACKPINK while CL was working stateside — unclear where that mandate came from — but by November of that year, 2NE1 officially disbanded.

YG seemed to sense the news could cause some PTSD, so he did address concerns, sharing that “the number four doesn’t hold any special significance” and having “six or five members might actually overlap a bit with BABYMONSTER’s identity.” Later, he addressed the importance of “multiple IPs” in YG Entertainment. “BLACKPINK could have debuted while 2NE1 was active, BABYMONSTER could have debuted while BLACKPINK was active. With this perspective, I think it’s important to secure multiple IPs so that other junior groups can debut while BABYMONSTER is carrying out their activities.” The note seems to sort of admit that the company’s strategy may have been to go with a “one or the other” strategy, at least for its female groups, and that they felt 2NE1 needed to end for BP to go. It seems like that is now changing, but it does require them to look at their artists to make sure each one has its unique identity and sound so that these “IPs” can stand strong among one another.

But beyond the 2NE1-BLACKPINK regime change flashbacks, the dates regarding YG’s artists are creating friction.

If the company can confirm album releases all the way up to October of this year, along with a relatively robust pre-debut schedule for a new group, how is there still so little information to share about one BLACKPINK song?

Maybe it’s a strategy to keep the hype continuously high as global fans and media are waiting on their toes — hey, I’m here writing about this video — with the opportunity to plug some of the new acts conveniently presenting itself. Yang did mention there will be new BLACKPINK “songs” (with an S at the end) to share soon, so maybe it’s all a marketing tactic.

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