SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 29: Lisa aka Lalisa Manoban of South Korean girl group BLACKPINK … [+]
While the Billboard Global 200 has now been running for more than a year, only four musicians who primarily work in the K-pop industry have managed to enter the top 10 on the list. They may rank as some of the most popular and beloved acts on the planet, but things are still ramping up for these acts when looking at this one chart.
Last week, Lisa joined this exclusive club when her debut solo single “Lalisa” opened in second place, making history by appearing inside the top 10 at all. Lisa is originally from Thailand, but she got her start career-wise in South Korea, and her K-pop-leaning “Lalisa” was instantly welcomed as a global phenomenon.
With just that one hit, Lisa made history on the Billboard Global 200 and proved how powerful she is. Here’s how.
Second K-Pop Solo Musician To Reach The Top 10
Looking at the global charts, the vast majority of K-pop musical acts that score a hit all around the world are groups, though in the year-plus since Billboard launched the Billboard Global 200, a handful of soloists who work in the field have managed to place on the tally. Unbelievably, only two solo K-pop artists have proved their power and popularity by sending a cut into the top 10, with Lisa recently joining fellow Blackpink member Rosé in the feat.
While Lisa’s “Lalisa” stalled just one rung shy of owning the ranking, Rosé’s “On the Ground,” her own debut solo single, conquered the Billboard Global 200 for one frame earlier in 2021.
MORE FOR YOU
Third K-Pop Female-Fronted Musical Act To Reach The Top 10
So far, half of all the members of Blackpink have scored a top 10 hit on the Billboard Global 200, with both Rosé and Lisa finding themselves somewhere between Nos. 1 and 10 just once. Fellow singers Jennie and Jisoo haven’t done so yet, though they reasonably could at some point in the future. Of the two, Jennie has already released one track on her own, though it came out years before the introduction of the chart.
The group that made them stars, Blackpink, has also become incredibly successful on the Billboard Global 200, landing a pair of top 10 smashes. The band’s singles “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez and their own “Lovesick Girls” peaked at Nos. 8 and 2, respectively, separated by just one month.
Fourth K-Pop Musician To Reach The Top 10
The first K-pop musical act of any kind to break into the Billboard Global 200’s highest tier was BTS, and the septet still leads when looking at the most placements inside the area among K-pop acts. The boy group has thus far sent seven different tunes into the area.
Blackpink stands out as the only other K-pop act to appear inside the Billboard Global 200’s top 10 more than once, as the superstar girl group has pushed a pair of tunes into the tier. Two members from the band, Rosé and Lisa, have managed one apiece, to start, with Lisa becoming just the fourth K-pop act to make it into the top 10 at all.
Two Hits At Once
As “Lalisa” started off in the runner-up rung, Lisa’s other solo song “Money” also found space on the Billboard Global 200. The single’s B-side opened at No. 44, and by claiming more than one spot on the tally simultaneously (or at any point), the singer and rapper became just the second K-pop soloist to land more than one placement on the ranking, joining Rosé in the showing. The two stars are also included in a list of fewer than 10 acts from the South Korean music industry to land more than one win on the list in the last year. That expanding group includes acts like Aespa, Itzy, Stray Kids, Twice and, of course, Blackpink and BTS.
