INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: (L-R) Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo of BLACKPINK perform at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 22, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella)
Getty Images for Coachella
On January 26, 2026, BLACKPINK wrapped their Deadline World Tour at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium. Over seven months, the quartet performed 81 shows across three continents to more than 2 million attendees, cementing their status as the highest-grossing touring act among female K-pop groups. They became the first girl group to sell out two consecutive nights at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. By every commercial metric, the tour was a triumph.
But as the final encore faded, the question hanging over the industry wasn’t about what BLACKPINK accomplished—it was about what comes next.
The group’s future remains one of the biggest unknowns in K-pop. In December 2023, all four members—Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé—renewed their group contract with YG Entertainment. However, they declined to renew their individual contracts with the agency, instead establishing their own independent companies: Jennie founded ODD Atelier, Lisa launched LLOUD, Jisoo created Blissoo, and Rosé signed with The Black Label, a YG subsidiary.
YG Entertainment never publicly disclosed the length of the renewed group contract. Industry observers expect contract discussions to resurface in 2026, potentially as early as the second half of the year, according to The Korea Herald. Renewed K-pop contracts typically run for about three years, though terms vary significantly by group and can range from two to five years.
The timing is significant. BLACKPINK’s 10th anniversary falls in August 2026, and the group is set to release their third EP, DEADLINE, on February 27 — the same title as the tour that just concluded. Following album promotions in the spring and a potential anniversary encore concert in the summer, the group may offer clearer signals about their future.
Solo Success, Group Questions
The past two years have seen each member flourish independently. Rosé’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Apt.,” became a global phenomenon, spending 37 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Lisa made her acting debut in Season 3 of The White Lotus and performed at the Academy Awards. Jennie headlined Coachella as a solo artist while expanding her fashion ventures. Jisoo completed an Asia tour and released her single “Earthquake,” as well as “Eyes Closed” with Zayn.
This individual momentum has raised questions about the group’s cohesion. Some critics noted that the Deadline World Tour felt less like a unified group performance and more like four solo artists sharing a stage. Acts 2 and 4 were dedicated entirely to solo performances. Reviews were mixed on the members’ chemistry: Rolling Stone praised how their individual growth “has allowed the group to work even better together,” while some Ticketmaster reviews noted members looked “over it” and performances felt “uncoordinated.”
In November 2024, Rosé told The New York Times that “disbanding was never an option,” but she offered no clarity on what would happen after the tour. In September 2025, an unverified social media post claiming BLACKPINK wouldn’t renew their contract after the tour went viral, generating millions of engagements. YG Entertainment did not respond to the speculation.
At the last stop of the DEADLINE tour, Rosé said, “We need to take in every single moment, because we’re gonna be missing this atmosphere for a while. I must say, it has been an absolute honour, and privilege to be performing in front of so many of you, so many nights on this tour. I think tonight is just a celebration of this whole journey we’ve put on for the past 6 months, and if anything—for the past almost like 10 years. It’s just time to celebrate all the love we’ve received, and all the memories we’ve created together, so we’re really really grateful for every one of you.”
What’s At Stake
The stakes are considerable for all parties involved. When YG announced in January 2024 that the members wouldn’t renew their individual contracts, the company’s stock dropped 6.6%. BLACKPINK remains YG’s most successful act, and their absence from group activities would significantly impact the company’s revenue streams.
For the members, the calculus is different. Group activities mean shared revenue and creative constraints, while solo careers offer direct earnings and artistic control. The challenge is whether they can maintain their individual trajectories while committing to the intensive scheduling demands of a K-pop group.
The industry has seen different outcomes for groups in similar positions. BIGBANG has maintained sporadic group activities while members pursue solo careers. 2NE1, on the other hand, disbanded in 2016. BLACKPINK’s situation is unprecedented due to their two-year group-only contract structure, which separated group and individual activities in a way few K-pop acts have attempted.
If BLACKPINK scales back or ends group activities, the K-pop industry loses its most globally successful female act. The group’s influence extends beyond music—they’ve become cultural ambassadors, performing at Coachella, meeting with world leaders, and breaking streaming records. Their departure from active group work would leave a void that few current girl groups are positioned to fill, if any.
For now, the final images from Hong Kong show Blackpink’s four women at the peak of their commercial power, having just completed one of the most successful tours in K-pop history. Whether those images represent an ending or simply an intermission remains the industry’s biggest unanswered question.