The Moment BLACKPINK’s Jennie Realized She Had Become A Global Superstar

In the latest episode on Fairy Jaehyung‘s YouTube channel, BLACKPINK‘s Jennie revealed the moment she realized that her group and she are global sensations.

BLACKPINK’s Jennie | @jennierubyjane/Instagram

To K-Pop fans, Jennie was sensational from the very beginning: Even before BLACKPINK, Jennie was already a well-known YG Entertainment trainee—especially with YG Entertainment’s official video “JENNIE KIM” and her appearance in G-Dragon‘s “That XX” music video.

So, when BLACKPINK debuted in 2016 with the album SQUARE ONE, the girl group was “a hit from the get go” as the hosting singer-songwriter Jung Jaehyung put it. But when he suggested that she and the group immediately soared to stardom, Jennie shared that she felt otherwise.

Jung Jaehyung: After [enduring a long and difficult training period], you finally debuted and became BLACKPINK. The group was a huge hit from the get go, wasn’t it?

Jennie: Well, yes. Thankfully, a lot of fans supported us right from our debuting album.

Jung Jaehyung: Was it like an overnight rise to superstardom? Like, boom! And your life did a 180?

Jennie: Well… The thing is, for me, I consider a different moment in my career as when my life did a 180. And that wasn’t immediately after debut.

For Jennie, because YG Entertainment kept BLACKPINK rather “locked in the basement” (as long-time K-Pop fans refer to their inactiveness) even after the huge debut, life was no different post “BOOMBAYAH” and “Whistle.”

Personally, right after debut, BLACKPINK didn’t have a lot of promotional schedules. Our activities as a group were limited. So… even after debuting, the next day I was sent right back to my daily routine of waking up and going to practice. I didn’t really have anything else scheduled to do. People would be like, ‘What a successful debut! Good for you!’ I wouldn’t get it. I was like, ‘Was it, though? It feels the same to me.’

— Jennie

It was in June 2018, after “DDU-DU DDU-DU” dropped as part of the SQUARE UP album, that Jennie really noticed the differences and it all felt real. Jennie explained, “It was when DDU-DU DDU-DU came out and we began gaining attention from international fans that our schedules began getting packed.”

“DDU-DU DDU-DU” remains BLACKPINK’s most successful release, with its record-breaking, most-watched music video—making BLACKPINK the first K-Pop act to reach 2 billion views, excluding soloist PSY. With this, BLACKPINK became the second K-Pop artist in history to achieve 2 billion views after PSY, the first K-Pop artist ever to do so, and the fastest female K-Pop idol group to reach this milestone.

| YG Entertainment

Watch Jennie on Fairy Jaehyung here:

BLACKPINK