The noise surrounding BLACKPINK, the most popular girl group, is growing. Rumors about Lisa's contract renewal and dating rumors, boycott of Blackpink's concerts in Vietnam, and even concerns surrounding Jennie's debut film 'The Idol' as an actress. Concerns are growing throughout the industry that BLACKPINK may be faltering. The company's YG Entertainment stock price also reacted to this and plunged 5.83% on the 12th.
On the 12th, a report came out in the entertainment industry that Lisa would break up with YG Entertainment as Blackpink was about to renew their contract with YG Entertainment in August. YG Entertainment showed a cautious stance on whether to renew the contract, even though it was "because of personal schedules". As concerns over contract renewal came out, the stock price plummeted more than 6% during the day. On this day, rumors of Lisa dating LVMH II, the world's largest luxury consumer goods group, and Frederic Arno broke out. In the music industry, the relationship between dating rumors and contract renewals is high, and there have been many speculations.
To make matters worse, news spread that there was a boycott against BLACKPINK in Vietnam. This is because the map of the South China Sea, which reflects China's territorial claims, was posted on the website of iME Entertainment, which is hosting Blackpink's world tour. It is a map marked with a so-called 'district line'. The nine-dash line is a line of territorial water claims drawn unilaterally by China, and China is ignoring even the ruling of the international court and is claiming territorial waters. Because of this, neighboring countries, including Vietnam, are sensitively protesting. It is similar to the feelings of Koreans looking at a map showing Dokdo as an island of Japan.
It was also not good for Blackpink that Jennie was bitterly dismissed early without showing any special acting in the HBO series 'The Idol', her debut film as an actress. At that time, Jenny's casting was chosen by Jenny herself, with no agency involved. Jenny took on the role of a backup dancer for Jocelyn, the main character who dreams of becoming a pop star. However, as an actor, he was embroiled in a sensationalism controversy from the first episode, without showing any other standout.
However, BLACKPINK is set to hold concerts in Paris, France on the 15th, Hanoi, Vietnam on the 29th, and LA, the US on August 26th. The possibility of additional performances after September is also open. Discussions about the schedule other than the performance are also underway within YG Entertainment. Not only in the entertainment world, but also in the securities industry, there is a general opinion that there is no reason for Lisa to leave YG Entertainment unless she is retiring as a singer. This is because there is no disagreement that YG Entertainment is the best supporter of BLACKPINK.
Reporter Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia bella@tenasia.co.kr