Ten years at the absolute summit of global pop ended with forty chairs in a room.
YG Entertainment announced a Saturday anniversary fan event to mark a decade of BLACKPINK, restricting entry to a sliver of forty attendees. Outrage followed instantly. Blinks across the globe slammed the agency for turning a monumental milestone into an exclusive lottery, prompting the four members—Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa—to step in directly across social platforms to calm their bruised fanbase.
Jisoo chose Bubble to speak frankly about the misstep. "I think this anniversary is a day where I'm feeling especially sorry," she posted. "Over these 10 years, as BLACKPINK and as Jisoo, so many things happened this and that—but I always wanted to exist as someone who only shows you my good side and gives you happiness in hard moments... but seeing so many BLINKs feeling upset makes my heart feel heavy." It was an unvarnished admission. The singer acknowledged that the fandom built their empire, hoping her sincerity would land through the disappointment.
Jennie reflected on the sheer scale of the journey on Instagram, writing that the words "thank you" carry immense weight after a decade of stadium runs and relentless scrutiny. Lisa described the four-way sisterhood as "a rollercoaster filled with highs and lows" while committing to stand by her bandmates indefinitely. Rosé rounded out the messages by dedicating the anniversary directly to the quartet's decade-long partnership.
Big-label friction has always tracked BLACKPINK's orbit. The group broke out on August 8, 2016, with their twin-track single album Square One, instantly charting an aggressive sound with "Whistle" and "Boombahyah" before rattling streaming records with global anthems like "DDU-DU DDU-DU", "Kill This Love", "How You Like That", and "Pink Venom". Despite seismic commercial clout, long release droughts have tested fan patience for years. Their latest collective outing, the third mini-album Deadline, landed on February 27, 2026.
Saturday's Seoul gathering proceeds under heavy public scrutiny, leaving YG Entertainment facing lingering resentment over an anniversary rollout that should have been an undisputed victory lap.