<Blackpink members, from left, Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and  Rosé Park – Source: Sydney Morning Herald>

Rose Park was born in New Zealand and came to Australia with her family when she was 7 years old. While he was in Australia, he didn’t think there were many ways to become a singer, he says. “Especially for him, it was unthinkable for him to become a K-pop star… … “He didn’t think it was possible because he lived in a far away country,” he says at the time.

Less than two months after passing the audition, she, then a 16-year-old girl, boarded a plane and went to Seoul to receive training at YG Entertainment, one of Korea’s three major entertainment companies. She had a busy schedule consisting of vocal, dance, guitar, Korean and Japanese classes. “Coming to YG as a trainee and receiving training was one of the most difficult things in my life so far.” She says that while she was training as a trainee for four years, she had the opportunity to appeal her potential while receiving monthly evaluations from Yang Hyun-suk (YG), the head of the agency. “We received these evaluations at the end of each month with the CEO, and we had to prepare dances and songs as a group and individually.”

It is a standard practice for large Korean agencies to meticulously monitor the media image of K-Pop stars. This interview was also conducted through and approved by the agency. She showed a positive attitude toward the agency’s careful management. Her sincere love for her music and her joy at being chosen by a leading music agency in Korea are well expressed in her long and detailed answer.

The Blackpink group, comprised of Roseanne Park, known as ‘Rosé’, Lisa Manobon from Thailand, Jenny Kim, who grew up in New Zealand, and Jisoo Kim, who grew up in Korea, currently holds an important position in the agency. Over the past few years, many top girl groups, including 2NE1, have suspended their activities. Meanwhile, Blackpink is enjoying great popularity and is setting new records in the number of views and streaming on YouTube. Together with Twice, a 9-member girl group that is enjoying popularity in overseas markets beyond Korea, and BTS, a popular 7-member boy group that recently performed in Australia, it is playing an important role in leading the new era of K-Pop change. There is.

<◀Park Roseanne, who began her career as a K-Pop singer at the recommendation of her father – Source: Sydney Morning Herald>

There have been a few singers like Kevin Kim, a singer from Sydney, who moved to Korea to become successful as K-Pop singers. Kevin has achieved chart success with the group ‘Children of Empire’, and recently became a host on SBS PopAsia, a radio music show in Australia. It can be said that Rosé and her group Blackpink’s performance surpasses their previous achievements.

According to Mimyo, a music contributor to the web magazine Idology, Blackpink achieved successful results on the music charts and gained a large number of overseas fans. In particular, the third digital single, ‘Playing with Fire’, is evaluated as a turning point that gained the attention of more people.

“This is a great song that appeals to a lot of people. These days, K-Pop has many layers of meaning, including concepts, paradoxes, biographical facts, and secret messages to fans… … People… try to listen to simple, dancey pop type songs. The (recently disbanded) girl group SISTAR provided just that. …If we can do that, Blackpink will have a bright future.”

However, K-Pop is a highly competitive industry, and they still have many mountains to overcome. Maimyo emphasizes that in order for Rosé and her group BLACKPINK to achieve greater success, they need to go beyond the image of “a good-looking version of 2NE1” or “a cute version of 2NE1.” Rose Park now hopes that their fame will spread to the West, especially to Australia, where she is from. She said, “I dream of one day being able to come back to my hometown (Australia) and perform for everyone.” I hope that her hopes will come true in the near future.

<Reference>

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/blackpinks-rose-how-a-joke-turned-into-kpop-stardom-for-an-australian-singer-20170629-gx15a2.html