BTS will temporarily suspend group activities for at least the next 2 years while members perform military service. During that time, BlackPink can achieve more achievements for an already illustrious career.
On November 22, The Korea Times reported that BTS’s management company, Big Hit Entertainment, said members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook are completing procedures to perform mandatory military service. Jungkook’s specific enlistment date is December, while the remaining 3 members have not yet made an announcement.
BlackPink’s difficult position to overthrow
In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for about two years.
The four members are allowed to postpone their military service until they turn 30, according to the military service law amended in 2020. However, if they choose the same direction as Jin, J-Hope and SUGA, they will give up. right to postpone military service, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook will enlist when notified by the military.
Their enlistment will most likely take place as early as the end of this year or early next year at the latest. Meaning, by 2025, when all members are expected to complete their military service, BTS will be able to work as a group again.
Before BTS joined the army, they and BlackPink were the two “hegemons” of Kpop in the field of boy groups and girl groups. Of course, among girl groups, there have been IVE, aespa, New Jeans, Le Sserafim rising up and dividing the “piece of cake”, but none of them has been able to overcome the huge influence like BlackPink in the international market. international.
Not only have they not been able to enter the Billboard Hot 100 as many times as BlackPink did, the above mentioned girl groups also cannot have the same level of discussion and recognition as the 4 YG girls in the field of brand ambassadors and event participation.
According to The Korea Times, BlackPink recently won the Medal of Commendation for contributions in the field of arts from King Charles III, on the occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the UK.
During a special investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the king awarded the girl group the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of the K-pop group’s role in spreading the message of sustainability. environment to a global audience.
A week ago, BlackPink achieved an important milestone in their career when receiving an award at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. According to the results announced on Billboard’s official website on November 20, BlackPink won the Top Kpop Touring Artist category, surpassing fellow candidates SUGA from BTS and TWICE.
This win marks them as the first girl group to win at the BBMAs since Destiny’s Child in 2005 and is the group’s next notable achievement in the global music industry.
Therefore, with BTS’s absence for 2 years, if no group can create a miracle in the international market and BlackPink still maintains group activities, they will become the hegemon of Kpop.
Strong opponents aim to claim the throne
As for boy groups, Seventeen and Stray Kids are the two groups with the most potential to follow in their seniors’ footsteps. While Seventeen is strong in digital music in the domestic market and album achievements, Stray Kids is making a strong impression on international audiences.
Seventeen sold a total of 11 million albums based on Circle Chart data from January to the end of September. Significantly contributing to this impressive sales was their tenth mini album – FML – released in April. This album sold more than 6.27 million copies.
With their 11th album Seventeenth Heaven released not long ago, the group achieved pre-order sales of 5.2 million copies – the highest level in Kpop history.
As for Stray Kids, they are ranked 90th on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song LALALALA. They are the second Kpop boy group after BTS to enter the Billboard Hot 100. JYP’s boy group has a large fan base in Europe and America.
LALALALA is included in Stray Kids’ newly released album called Rock-Star. This album also rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 200, helping Stray Kids become one of two Kpop groups (with BTS) to have more than 4 albums achieving this achievement.
Korea JoongAng Daily reported that Stary Kids is one of the Kpop artists dominating Billboard’s year-end charts and showing their global popularity this year. The list also includes Fifty Fifty, Jungkook, New Jeans, TXT, TWICE or ITZY.
Billboard’s year-end chart summarizes the achievements of songs, albums and artists from November 2022 to October this year.
Girl group Fifty Fifty ranked No. 44 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 Songs chart with Cupid, becoming the first K-pop girl group to enter the chart. BTS’s Jungkook ranked 82nd on the same chart as Seven.
Meanwhile, on Billboard’s year-end 200 album chart, Stray Kids’ third full album 5-Star ranked 82nd. Stray Kids is the highest-ranking Kpop artist on the chart.
Following Stray Kids, boy band Tomorrow X Together ranked 122nd with their 5th EP The Name Chapter: Temptation. This is the third consecutive year the group has entered the year-end rankings.
TXT or NCT, ENHYPEN are all famous boy bands with a large fan base in Kpop. Therefore, they are also highly expected to become global stars like their seniors BTS.
However, as Dailian newspaper commented, most 4th generation boy bands such as Stray Kids and TXT do not have high rankings on domestic music sites even though they have achieved good results on the country’s iTunes charts. outside.
In the past, it was normal for singers to become famous in Korea and then move to Asian countries like Japan, Europe, and America. But in recent years, they have received attention from abroad first while not being too popular in Korea.
With girl groups like New Jeans, IVE, aespa… they have not yet reached a prominent position in international music charts.
It can be seen that Kpop groups are currently in a situation where the male group is not famous in their home country and the female group is still obscure in the US. No one has achieved as many records both domestically and internationally as BTS or BlackPink. Therefore, there is still a long way for them to achieve the same achievements as their seniors.
Looking at that situation, it is probably difficult for any group to defeat BlackPink to become the Kpop hegemon during BTS’s temporary hiatus.