BLACKPINK become first K-pop girl group to land UK Number One album

BLACKPINK have become the first-ever K-pop girl group to achieve a Number One album in the UK.

The South Korean band hit the top spot today (September 23) with their second full length record, ‘Born Pink’, which was released last Friday (September 16).

BLACKPINK previously peaked at Number Two in the United Kingdom with their debut album, 2020’s ‘The Album’ (via the Official Charts Company).

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive at the Official Charts Company, said: “Congratulations to BLACKPINK.

“Being any kind of chart first is a record which can never be taken away, so for their new album ‘Born Pink’ to become the first UK Official Number One by a K-pop girl group is a fantastic achievement – and puts them in the record books forever!”

Back in 2019, BTS became the first Korean act to hit Number One in the UK albums chart with ‘Map of The Soul: Persona’. Their 2020 record ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’ went on to achieve the same feat.

The remainder of this week’s UK top five is made up of Suede‘s ‘Autofiction’ (Number Two), Rina Sawayama‘s ‘Hold The Girl’ (Number Three), Marcus Mumford‘s ‘(self-titled)’ (Number Four), and Pink Floyd‘s ‘Animals’ reissue (Number Five).

In a review of BLACKPINK’s new LP, NME wrote: “‘Born Pink’ is about protecting BLACKPINK’s ‘original identity’ while experimenting with new elements.

“Now that BLACKPINK seem to have whetted their appetite for experimentation, let’s hope they go all the way on the next record – flip the script completely, propelled by the confidence that no matter what they do, they’ll come out on top.”

BLACKPINK’s forthcoming world tour includes two shows at The O2 in London – check out the full list of UK/European dates here.