BLACKPINK Is Better Together Than Apart, and Their New Mini-Album “Deadline” Proves There's Still Potential
BLACKPINK Is Better Together Than Apart, and Their New Mini-Album “Deadline” Proves There's Still Potential
Brendan LeFri, February 27, 2026 at 10:45 PM UTC
0
Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie of BLACKPINKCredit: Emma McIntyre/Getty -
BLACKPINK’s limited discography and long gaps between releases have hindered their artistic and professional growth
The group’s new mini-album Deadline, released Feb. 27, 2026, features a bold sonic evolution, but their future as a group remains uncertain
Members Jennie, Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo have found solo success, but they are at the peak of their powers as a group
It’s hard to look at BLACKPINK and not see wasted potential.
Under YG Entertainment, one of the four major K-pop labels, they were set up for success from the jump. Their debut singles, “Boombayah” and “Whistle,” have become K-pop staples, along with much of their early catalog.
Songs like “As If It’s Your Last” and “Stay” reimmersed me in the K-pop landscape after a touch-and-go interest in groups like Girls’ Generation and BIGBANG. I was part of their exponentially growing, increasingly global fanbase that has since become 58.5 million followers on Instagram, 100 million subscribers on YouTube and 22.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The four members, Jennie, Rosé, Lisa and Jisoo, were well on their way to becoming the biggest girl group in the world. For a time, there was a strong case to say they were, but lengthy periods of silence and a limited discography have ground their momentum to a halt.
After four years without a group project, BLACKPINK returns with their latest mini-album (the equivalent of an EP), Deadline, on Feb. 27. The lead single, “Go,” departs from their traditional structure and sound — the melodic pre-chorus into a shouty chorus backed by a sparse, bold beat — and opts for a heavier, space-filling instrumental. Still, it remains wholly BLACKPINK: brash, confident, booming.
Almost a decade into their careers, and they’ve released their most interesting track yet. In theory, it would inspire hope for future artistic growth, but the group’s status moving forward remains nebulous.
Rosé vaguely alluded to what may cause the group to part ways on Call Her Daddy in January: “If one person is not ready for something, then it should just be respected, and I think we will always be ready to do that, because BLACKPINK is only four members.”
Advertisement
It conjures up several hypotheticals. Like: What if BLACKPINK had maintained a release schedule consistent with the rest of the K-pop industry (typically, at least one project a year)? What if, after their history-making 2023 Coachella headlining set, they built on that momentum with more music?
Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé at 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalCredit: Emma McIntyre/Getty
To put it in perspective, BLACKPINK has a total of 39 songs, including the four new tracks on Deadline. They began releasing music as soloists in 2019, but no member released a full studio album until 2024. The sum of their solo work, which only picked up steam in 2025, outnumbers BLACKPINK’s entire discography of 10 years.
“Go” would have been the kind of song they could have released at the midpoint of their career, as an intriguing sonic evolution and exciting step forward. Instead, with their label’s strategy of scarcity, we’re left perpetually wanting and waiting for more, alienating budding fans and often disappointing loyal ones who mourn the time lost.
Their individual music — Rosé’s confessional Rosie, Jennie’s versatile Ruby, Lisa’s star-studded Alter Ego — is respectable. There are certified hits on these records: “APT.” made Rosé the first female K-pop soloist to notch a No. 1 and a Grammy nomination; Lisa’s “Born Again” with RAYE and Doja Cat was pop perfection; Jennie’s “Like JENNIE” and its choreography went viral.
But nothing has evoked the same euphoric feeling as 2020’s “Lovesick Girls” or made a unique statement of artistic identity like “DDU-DU DDU-DU.” To this day, I go back to “Don’t Know What to Do” and “Hope Not” from their 2019 EP Kill This Love for their charismatic vocal delivery and earworm melodies.
Because when united as four, BLACKPINK is greater than the sum of its parts, with each member bringing their own abilities to the table while offsetting each other’s weaker points.
If this is the end of the line for one of K-pop’s defining acts, all four women will thrive in their own lanes with their devoted followings. As for BLACKPINK, the group's story will be signed off with a big, permanent “what if?”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
