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BLACKPINK: K-pop group confirm world tour to North America, Europe and Australia
Image source, Han Myung-Gu/WireImage / Getty Images
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?
Image source, VCG/VCG via Getty Images
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.
Image source, BTS (λ°©νμλ λ¨) 'IDOL' Official MV
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.
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.