
Blackpink in your area! Well, almost. The K-pop sensations are just days away from releasing their debut full-length studio album.
As the release date for the wildly-anticipated release draws steadily nearer, it’s worth highlighting that Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo and Lisa have been busy these past few years. The group has collaborated with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez, made history as the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella, and earned the highest-charting hits of their careers.
Meanwhile, Blinks around the globe have been gifted teaser posters galore, a pair of high-profile singles, exclusive collectible merch, and even a line of Blackpink dolls!
Below, Billboard breaks down everything we know thus far about the group’s long-awaited debut album.
It’s self-titled
While much about the LP remains shrouded in mystery, we do know its title: Blackpink: The Album. The cover art for the album depicts a shining pink crown against a stark black background, which was first unveiled in a teaser poster by YG Entertainment back in July along with the album’s official release date. Which, speaking of release dates…
#BLACKPINK THE ALBUM TEASER POSTER
'The Album'
✅2020.10.02#블랙핑크 #JISOO #JENNIE #ROSÉ #LISA #TheAlbum #TeaserPoster #ComingSoon #YG pic.twitter.com/h0YvM6rDjx— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) July 28, 2020
It’s coming this fall
Blackpink’s debut album is set to be released Oct. 2. That’s just a little over four years after the girls first burst onto the K-pop scene with Square One, their debut single album, which featured the group’s first two tracks: “Whistle” and “Boombayah.” In the interim, they’ve released three live albums, a Japanese studio set and multiple EPs, including 2018’s Square Up and 2019’s Kill This Love.
The album will include “How You Like That” & “Ice Cream”
So far, the girl group has dropped two tracks in the lead-up to the album’s release — swaggering lead single “How You Like That” and Selena Gomez collaboration “Ice Cream” — giving fans a taste of what they can expect from the rest of the project.
The girls perfected the album in quarantine
While Blackpink had originally planned to be on a world tour this summer, the global coronavirus pandemic hasn’t stopped them from using the extra time on their hands in isolation to polish the forthcoming record.
“I think it’s made us more focused into completing the album and making it the best thing we can give to our fans, and perfecting it and everything,” Rosé dished during a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, adding, “I feel like this album could get a lot of light and energy to everybody being stuck at home not knowing what to do hopefully this can cheer them up.”
The band dropped sets of new teaser posters
In the lead-up to The Album‘s release, YG Entertainment unveiled two sets of teaser posters, with Rosé, Lisa, Jisoo and Jennie each stunning in a pair of moody, high-fashion looks. Meanwhile, the group teaser visual features all four members of the girl group with their backs to the camera, strutting off into an eerie greenish night.
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ ROSÉ TEASER POSTER #1
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #ROSÉ #로제 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/W4XbCmZ9Vk— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 25, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ ROSÉ TEASER POSTER #2
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #ROSÉ #로제 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/hyBuXtxr49— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 25, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ LISA TEASER POSTER #1
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #LISA #리사 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/7OVgyM7A6K— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 24, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ LISA TEASER POSTER #2
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #LISA #리사 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/oO2vCWTArP— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 24, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ JISOO TEASER POSTER #1
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #JISOO #지수 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/5KXoPrf78t— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 22, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ JISOO TEASER POSTER #2
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #JISOO #지수 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/Cj4BafpjnG— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 22, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ JENNIE TEASER POSTER #1
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #JENNIE #제니 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/nzTXMIM9yx— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 23, 2020
#BLACKPINK ‘THE ALBUM’ JENNIE TEASER POSTER #2
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #JENNIE #제니 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #TeaserPoster #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/t2b53oDKGy— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 23, 2020
#BLACKPINK COMING SOON POSTER
1st FULL ALBUM ’THE ALBUM’
✅2020.10.02 12am EST & 1pm KST#블랙핑크 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #COMINGSOON #YG pic.twitter.com/P9YIgpSOCR— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) September 21, 2020
Blackpink ramped up the anticipation
The quartet continued build up the hype surrounding their upcoming studio debut LP by announcing a livestream event called “Comeback Live” on Sept. 26. Little else was shared about the live event, other than the date and time: Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. ET — a mere three hours before their record is set to drop. Later that day, and into the early morning hours of Sept. 27, the girls continued to tease The Album by releasing four concept teaser videos — one each per singer.
The Album includes another major guest feature and songwriting credits from two of the girls
Blackpink unveiled the official eight-song track list for The Album on Sept. 28 and revealed that a collaboration with Cardi B, titled “Bet You Wanna,” is included in the LP. Cardi herself even took to social media to celebrate the big reveal by teasingly tweeting, “Bardipink in your area” following the news.
Earlier that same day, the girls also confirmed that “Lovesick Girls,” which features co-writing credits from both Jennie and Jisoo, would serve as the project’s next official single with its own concept teaser poster.
‘THE ALBUM’ TRACKLIST POSTER#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #Tracklist #TITLE #LovesickGirls #HowYouLikeThat #IceCream #PrettySavage #BetYouWanna #CrazyOverYou #LoveToHateMe #YouNeverKnow #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/eYgDSnHZ1M
— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) September 29, 2020