We met in the daytime, yet it’s already evening. At this time, would you usually be in the practice room?

• Jisoo: We probably would? We’ve been practicing for our next promotions, so we’ve been constantly practicing. We went back to being trainees again.
• Jennie: Thanks to today’s photoshoot, we’ve had some time to rest.

Since when did the four of you become a team?

• Lisa: It’s been over about four or five years since we’ve been together. We originally had many friends that practiced with us, but one by one, it decreased. The four of us were practicing regularly, then at some point, we became a team.
• Jisoo: No one told us “The four of you are one team”. It was a really natural process.

Lisa’s Korean is so natural.

• Lisa: At first I wasn’t that good at it, but I improved because Jisoo unnie helped me a lot by my side.
• Jisoo: I’ve always liked talking with others.
• Rosé: Since we all endured our long trainee period together, we’re always stuck to each other, and there’s no way it can’t get better. Of course we practice together, but we eat, listen to music, and laugh to relieve our stress too.

Just like how naturally your team was made, your teamwork seems natural as well.

• Jisoo: Usually, we’re separated from our family, whether we go to school or stay at the company. However, since we go to the practice room together and live together, we’re even closer than family. Now, we know immediately what’s wrong with others when they’re having a hard time.
• Jennie: Other teams might be the same, but for us, we get along more like friends rather than unnies and dongsaengs. And so, we don’t have a leader. I think our president chose for us not to have a leader because he would be afraid that picking one of us to be a leader would disrupt our relationship as friends.

Since you’ve watched over each other for a long time, what are the strengths of each of you?

• Jennie: For me, I like Rosé’s unique voice. Personally, I think it’s really nice. It’s really pretty when she sings while playing guitar too. I think it’s very charming, and it’s the type of voice that you can’t find anywhere else in Korea.
• Rosé: Sometimes, when I watch Lisa, it feels like I’m watching TV. She’s so pretty, and I feel like I’m being compared to her when I’m next to her. However, looks are looks, but her personality is really good. She’s like a trickster, yet she’s also bright and easy-going. She has the ability to light up the whole room when you’re with her.
• Lisa: Thanks.
• Jisoo: Rosé must see Lisa as a perfect person.
• Lisa: Jisoo unnie is a mood maker. She also makes a lot of jokes, to the point where it leaves you speechless.
• Jisoo: I keep making jokes until someone laughs. No matter what, there’s always someone who laughs. Look. They’re all laughing because of me now! When I first entered the company, I relied on Jennie a lot. Whether it was dance, rap, or singing, she was good at everything, and there was nothing she lacked. I think she’s the member that made our relationship what it is.
• Rosé: Since she’s a fashionista, I always ask Jennie about new clothes I wear. If I wear something weird, she’ll tell me.

Of course, a name makes a person. What was your first impression of the name BLACKPINK?

• Jennie: We all applauded and loved it. The images of black and pink are really different. Even while we were practicing, we wanted to show a variety of sides to us, so we prepared both feminine and intense versions of our performances.
• Jisoo: If we become what our name is, we’ll succeed. We liked it because it fits well with the direction we’re going in.

You set a record for the shortest time to be first place. You’re at the level to set records only two weeks after your debut, and I think that you’re worthy of your name.

• Rosé: Since before we debuted, we only were able to practice in front of people who judged us and picked at everything we did. However, since it was suddenly the rehearsal for our first broadcast, we were nervous. We were curious. “Who will know us? Will they like us?” We were shocked because more people came than we expected.

What was the feedback you got the most before BLACKPINK stood on stage?

• Jisoo: First off, our president saying nothing is already a compliment. If he likes it, he doesn’t say anything. However, that’s a rare case. Haha. He told us in detail about everything we needed to fix.
• Rosé: We’re the determined type that doesn’t cry when we’re in front of others. I think we’re the type to take the criticism to heart and work harder.

Since you have determination, you endured your trainee period as well. Sometimes, do you think about the first time you came to the company?

• Rosé: I lived in Australia. It wasn’t urban but more of the countryside, so I sang alone at home or played the piano or guitar. My dad realized that I liked music, so he sent me to audition. Before that, I thought of music as merely a hobby, but after coming to Korea and becoming more aware of my skill, my passion and desire grew.
• Jennie: I’m similar to Rosé. I lived in New Zealand alone to study abroad, but I was finally brave enough to talk to my mom when I was about fifteen. I told her that I wanted to make a future for myself by going back to Korea and doing the music | love.
• Jisoo: When I think about practicing back then, I see the image of all the other kids completely immersed while listening to music through their headphones. I couldn’t rest at the fear of “I have to work as hard as them, what should I do?”

Like a survival?

• Jennie: That’s right. There’s a lot of survival shows, but it felt like we were doing a real survival without cameras.
• Jisoo: It’s because at the end of the month, some of us went back home. When I finished with practice and went back to the dorms, I’d see friends packing up their luggage to go home. I would go back to the practice room again after that.

It feels like everything disappears in a flash. Your promotion period was a bit short too.

• Rosé: That might be true, but we have more to show you than what we showed first with ‘Whistle‘ and ‘Boombayah‘. We learned dances that are typically more done by boys, and we learned rap too. We want to expand the variety of genres we can do in the future.
• Jisoo: The promotion period is just the promotion period. When we monitor our performances, we thought we expressed something really intensely, yet the gestures don’t appear as well on screen as we thought they would. We are practicing in order to prepare a more perfect stage.

Is there anything you think you’re lacking in that you’d like to improve on?

• Jisoo: I’m a bit lacking in dance. It’s easier to learn when we all practice together… please help me a lot in the future, erveyone.
• Jennie: I like to try on clothes, and I also like to accessorize. If I get freetime, I’m the type that often looks at magazines.
• Rosé: Sometimes, I play the guitar or the piano. If you don’t play often, your hands get stiff.
• Lisa: I memorize song lyrics a lot. There’s no way to be more natural at pronouncing Korean unless I practice consistently.

I feel as if we talked too much about work. What kind of hobbies do you have nowadays?

• Jennie: I like taking pictures with camera with film. I think the color is unique. However, since we’re always in the dorm, can’t really shoot anything. If we get time, I want to go with the members to somewhere with nice scenery and take pictures. It would be good to go to the Han River, but it would be too cold right now, right?
• Rosé: I like movies and looking up videos on YouTube. I’m the type that has to finish everything once I start it. I’m really into the novel , and I’ve started to become more interested in books. I thought was fun, yet a bit disappointing. I like happy endings.
• Jisoo: When practice is finished and I’m tired, I spend my time playing games with Jennie. Since I like games, I normally play on my phone, and I’ve even thought about getting a laptop too. But Jennie left me hanging.
• Lisa: I have a lot of interest in makeup. There’s been times where, before we sleep, I come out in front of the members with a full face of makeup. I collect lipsticks and eyeshadows, and I recently bought a brown lipstick.

What kind of topics come up the most in your group chat?

• Jisoo: We often use emojis with quotes. However, we slowly transitioned into not using words and just naturally talking with emojis.
• Jennie: Rather than emojis, there’s a lot of times where we send each other funny pictures. In the morning, as soon as we wake up, someone sends a picture of food. Without saying anything. And then everyone replies “me!” like we’re raising our hands. We get the most notifications when it’s time to eat. Haha.

We’ve come to know you through articles. Soon, you’ll have new music released.

• Jisoo: We’re happy that people have been waiting for us. We can’t just sit still when we get that kind of response. In the future, we want to keep showing you waht you’ve been waiting for.
• Jennie: Our promotions weren’t long, so there wasn’t a lot that we could show you. Our strength is that we can show you a variety of genres in our music and performances. Please anticipate our new songs. I’ll just say it like this. As you said, it’s soon.

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