Blackpink named Entertainer of the Year by Time Magazine

Group Blackpink was selected as "2022 Entertainer of the Year" by TIME, a US weekly magazine. The magazine released a list of the most influential people in respective fields this year on its official website on Tuesday.

Beyond K-pop, Blackpink became the first girl group in the world to be named Entertainer of the Year.

Time magazine said, "Blackpink is an icon of the present era that leads the trend, and has become the biggest female band in the world. With the second full-length album, it broke several records," explaining the reason for the selection.

"Even though Blackpink claims they are ordinary girls, their 2022 has been anything but. Last August, they appeared at the MTV VMAs and were in the midst of a blockbuster world tour. Their shows were selling out in minutes, these were blockbuster performances that famous pop stars such as Selena Gomez and Usher also attend, and it continues to dominate on YouTube, where Blackpink is the biggest musical act with over 83 million subscribers,” continued the magazine.

Blackpink expressed their feelings to Time magazine, "We are happiest when we are doing music. We enjoy every moment, so we have achieved good results along with it." Then, regarding a loyal fandom called Blinks, the group said, “We think the greatest power was the fans who always love and support us without change. We will do our best every moment with a grateful heart.”

Previously, Blackpink was selected as one of the "Time 100 Next 2019" figures, drawing attention as an artist whose global influence is highly anticipated. In addition, the group has been steadily raising the status of K-pop, such as being nominated for "Times Person of the Year" in 2020.

Currently, Blackpink is cruising through the largest world tour of a K-pop girl group, attracting about 1.5 million spectators. The foursome, who met a total of 200,000 spectators by selling out all tickets for 14 concerts in seven cities in North America, moved to Europe and successfully held 10 concerts in seven cities.

Write to Jun-sik Bang at silv0000@hankyung.com