BLACKPINK: K-pop group confirm world tour to North America, Europe and Australia
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BLACKPINK is made up of members Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa, and Rosé. The group made its debut in August 2016
K-pop fans got some pretty exciting news last night when BLACKPINK announced that they will be bringing their tour to North America, Europe and Australia later this year.
Blinks - the name of the group's fans - have gone wild on social media about the news and some are hoping that a new album is on the way.
One said: "Only 2nd week of Jan and #BLACKPINK be feeding us! 2019 is our QUEENS year!"
Another said: "2 years, only 9 Songs and not even a full album but still they got a world tour. This is the power of Blackpink and Blinks"
However, some fans have expressed concerns about how the group will fill a tour show, with one Blink asking: "Isn't it early for a world tour with 9 songs".
Who are BLACKPINK?
Since their debut in 2016, BLACKPINK has won 23 awards and received 90 nominations
•BLACKPINK exploded onto the K-pop scene two years ago and have an impressive fanbase, with 14.6 million followers on Instagram.
•They broke a record in 2018, with their single 'DDU-DU DDU-DU,' opening at the No. 55 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, marking it as "the highest-charting hit ever by a K-Pop girl group".
•The group also became the "highest-charting female K-Pop act ever" on Billboard's Hot 100 and 200 charts.
•They collaborated with Dua Lipa on the track 'Kiss and Make Up' which was released in October last year. It debuted at 36 on the UK Singles Chart, making the group the first ever K-pop act to reach the top 40 list!
•Later this year, BLACKPINK will make history as the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella music festival in the US.
What is K-pop?
K-pop was first born in South Korea in the 1990s as a mix between Western and Asian music.
It brings together elements of R&B, pop, hip-hop and rap - both in the music and in the way artists are styled.
It is known for its super-slick production, edgy and totally amazing music videos.
The eye-catching fashion and super-synchronised dance routines are very impressive too.
K-pop is known for its unique styling, as well as its creative and incredibly eye-catching music videos
Scooter Braun, who manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, explains: "These larger than life visuals allow fans who may not understand the language to still understand the music."
In order to become a successful genre, K-pop needed to go international.
It finally got its breakthrough in 2002, when a young female artist called BoA became number one not only in Korea, but also in Japan.
This helped K-pop to spread across Asia and, eventually, the rest of the world.
WATCH: Ricky found out more about South Korean culture ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang (February 2018)
Now, the K-pop industry is worth millions of pounds, with bands winning fans all over the world.
There is even a government department for K-pop in South Korea, which gives the musical genre official support because of how culturally and economically beneficial it is to the country.
Since Gangnam Style by Psy broke the internet back in 2012, the genre saw its popularity grow even more. But no band or artist has come even close to the global popularity of BTS.
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