Blackpink survives 7-year curse, renews exclusive contract with YG

Jennie, Lisa, Rose and Jisoo will remain as Blackpink, defying K-pop's infamous “seven-year curse.”

The seven-year curse in K-pop refers to the disbanding of most K-pop groups seven years after their debut as the exclusive contracts with their agencies come to an end.

“Based on our strong trust in one another, Blackpink renewed its exclusive contract with the agency for group activities,” YG Entertainment announced Wednesday.

YG said it plans to actively support Blackpink for future album releases, world tours and other group-related promotions.

“We are so happy to continue our relationship with Blackpink. We will do our best to help them become artists that represent K-pop and shine even brighter in the world’s music market. We will give our fullest support and trust to the group,” said Yang Hyun-suk, founder and former head of YG Entertainment, in a press release.

Since their debut in 2016 with singles “Whistle” and “Boombayah,” the quartet has flourished as a world-renowned K-pop girl group, enchanting the public and topping major US and UK music charts.

The group’s other releases have all been hits, including “Playing With Fire,” “Kill This Love,” “Lovesick Girls,” “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down."

Blackpink rewrote K-pop history for female groups last year when their second studio album, “Born Pink,” topped the Billboard 200 and the British Official Albums Chart Top 100, the first K-pop girl group to do so.

Earlier this year, the group ended their second world tour, "Born Pink," on a high note, attracting 1.8 million fans worldwide.

The group also runs a YouTube channel with more than 92 million subscribers -- the highest number for any singer.

Their “DDU-DU DDU-DU” music video on YouTube surpassed the 2.1-billion view mark, another first for a K-pop girl group.

Meanwhile, it still remains unclear whether individual members will be renewing their exclusive contracts with YG.

YG continues to maintain its position that individual contract renewals are “still under negotiation.”