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COURTESY CBS
BlackPink performs on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Feb. 11, 2019. The K-pop group was spotted Wednesday at The Kahala Hotel & Resort swimming with dolphins while filming a travelogue.
Popular K-pop group BlackPink is on Oahu for two days to film various activities, such as ziplining, surfing and ATV riding, for a travelogue, “BlackPink Summer Diary: In Hawaii.”
One fan spotted group members Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim, Rosé (Park Chae-young) and Lisa Manoban — who are known to fans by their first names — swimming with dolphins Tuesday at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, and shared a video via Twitter. The video was reposted on YouTube.
Just as with EXO’s appearance in the islands last November, you can bet K-pop fans will be following social media to track the group’s activities around the island. On Wednesday, Rosé posted an evening shot of the beach at the Kahala. At the same time, Jennie posted a photo of herself kissing the dolphin Hua.
BlackPink rivals K-pop boy band BTS in popularity. The band’s “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” music video last year became the most-watched video by a Korean group on YouTube, with more than 885 million views and climbing. In June 2018 the video accumulated 36.2 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours, becoming the second-best debut overall behind Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
BlackPink set another YouTube record with “Kill This Love,” which in April became the fastest music video to reach 100 million views.
Just as BTS has made headlines in the U.S. market in the last two years, BlackPink, founded in 2016 by YG Entertainment in South Korea, signed with Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records last year to increase promotions outside of Asia.
BlackPink made its American debut during Universal’s pre-Grammy Showcase concert in February, and in April made history as the first female K-pop group to appear at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California.
K-pop artists have been trying to crack the American market for 30 years, but the so-called Hallyu Wave had been a niche market. The popularity of groups such as BlackPink and BTS have pushed K-pop into the music mainstream.
BlackPink’s Hawaii series is expected to air in South Korea in August. YG artists regularly release winter films and photo books. This project marks its first summer product.
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