Will Blackpink survive the 7-year curse, like BTS and Exo? Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie are in talks with YG Entertainment about their contract renewal amid lucrative solo careers and endorsements

Since Blackpink’s entrance into the music scene in 2016, the K-pop group has amassed a legion of devoted fans. The girls have accumulated plenty of triumphs over the years, becoming one of the biggest names to come out of South Korea.

But as the group just celebrated its seventh anniversary, fans are apprehensive about its future. Speculations of a possible disbandment has been following Blackpink for months as everyone wonders whether they will fall victim to the looming threat of the notorious seven-year curse.

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What is K-pop’s seven-year curse?

The seven-year curse may not be well-known among those who are new to the world of K-pop.

In the past, it was not uncommon for aspiring idols to enter into contractual agreements that bound them to their respective agencies for extended periods, surpassing a decade in some cases.

Labelled as “slave contracts” by the media, these agreements imposed excessively stringent conditions, overwhelmingly favouring the management agencies and leaving K-pop idols with meagre financial gains.

Some K-pop groups took a stand against this, exposing the darker sides of the music industry.

In 2009, three members of the boy group TVXQ sued their agency SM Entertainment over a 13-year contract, per Kbizoom. The legal dispute is still one of the most famous cases in the industry, given TVXQ’s popularity and SM’s reputation as an industry titan.

Following the lawsuit, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission issued a new regulation that curtailed entertainment contracts to seven years, states the same source.

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Which groups survived the seven-year curse?

At the 2018 Mama Awards, one of its members Jin shared that the group had gone through a particularly rough patch that year. He even said that the seven members of BTS were considering disbanding. Luckily for fans, that didn’t happen and the boy group is going stronger than ever, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

What’s happening with Blackpink’s contract renewal?

According to Evening Standard, the quartet initially signed its seven-year contract with YG Entertainment in August 2016. As the agreement reached its culmination this summer, the impending contract negotiations – often regarded with apprehension by fans – is now reaching a crucial turning point.

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As reported by Evening Standard, Rosé is rumoured to be the only member who has chosen to extend her contract with YG Entertainment so far.

South Korean media has also reported that Lisa is likely to join another agency.

While neither the girls nor YG have commented on the rumours, YG did make a statement announcing, “Nothing has been decided on Blackpink’s contract renewal and future activities. We are in discussion with the members.” Watch this space …