Blackpink took nearly 4 years to return to the music race with a new album - "Deadline" (released in February 2026) - since the studio album "Born Pink" in 2022. But album achievements on digital music platforms and many international charts are disappointing.
In that context, Rosé's sharing - the main vocalist of Blackpink - on the Hot Ones program - was refuted, causing a major controversy.
When asked what makes Blackpink different, Rosé emphasized the group's dedication: "The point that all 4 of us want to make a difference from other groups is that each person has great ambition and always strives their best every day.
I've never heard anyone in the group say "want to rest". Even when we used to say that, I don't think anyone is really serious.
Blackpink member's statement "never wanted to rest" unintentionally touched the long-accumulated dissatisfaction of a part of fans.
From a fan's perspective, Rosé does not emphasize the unique music style, global influence or outstanding ability of each member, but repeats the image of "working hard" quite simply.
This has rekindled major controversies surrounding Blackpink for many years: the small number of products and unstable stage performance.
According to statistics, during 10 years of operation, Blackpink has only released about 40 official songs. This girl group has 2 studio albums, 3 mini albums, and 3 tours. The interval between comebacks is up to 2-4 years; the number of songs in studio albums is also only about 8 songs, much lower than the industry's common standard of over 10 songs.
Blackpink is put on the scale with same-generation groups such as TWICE, Red Velvet, Seventeen... to see that the music activities of this 4-member girl group are too thin compared to the general Kpop level, and not commensurate with fame and recognition.
Besides, the performance performance of some Blackpink members in concerts or music stages is sometimes unstable, and also often becomes a topic of discussion.
According to the media, in a fiercely competitive Kpop environment, "hard work" is the basic thing, not a plus point. When a top girl group still takes that as the core difference, this has caused frustration for the Kpop fan community.
However, another question is raised whether Blackpink members are really "lazy"?
In fact, Blackpink operates based on the specific management system of the Korean music industry. The process of training, team selection, music production and image building is carried out with a purposeful and strategic operating team of Kpop entertainment companies.
In most Kpop groups, artists are limited in creativity, because behind them there is always a system of control and direction. Blackpink is no exception, the management company YG Entertainment has allowed this group to follow a "rare" operating strategy - releasing music in small quantities, creating huge expectations to enhance brand value.
Music creation also depended on the production team led by Teddy. In the long run, Blackpink gradually became dependent on Teddy, and at the same time caused mixed reactions that the group's music became increasingly boring.
There are controversies about Blackpink members rarely participating in the group's songwriting process. But in fact, Blackpink does not have much initiative, and the decision is made by YG.
After the 4 members ended their personal contracts with YG and separated to operate separately, they seemed to turn into different people. At this time, Rosé's "hard work" was completely true. In just 2 years, Lisa, Jennie and Rosé have released studio albums with a number of songs up to 12-15 songs.
When there is space for creativity, they immediately reshape themselves and reap impressive results.
