By Reuters and published by CNA
BRITAIN’S King Charles on Wednesday (Nov. 22) presented K-pop band Blackpink with honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire medals in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his state visit to the United Kingdom, Buckingham Palace said.
The quartet – Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose – chatted, laughed and took photographs with the British monarch as he presented the medals.
“It’s amazing you’re still talking to each other after all these years,” King Charles jokingly said to the band at the ceremony.
“I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point”.
Blackpink received the MBEs in recognition of the band members’ role as COP26 Advocates for the United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow in 2021, Buckingham Palace said.
Blackpink made history in July, becoming the first K-pop group to headline a major UK music festival and took to the stage at the BST Hyde Park summer festival in central London in front of a crowd of 65,000 for a sold-out concert.
Since their debut in 2016, Blackpink has become one of the most successful girl groups in the world, breaking records such as becoming the most subscribed to music artistes on YouTube.
Blackpink member Lisa is from Thailand with her full name being Lalisa Manobal,
She made her solo debut with her single album Lalisa in September 2021, which made her the first female artiste to sell 736,000 copies of an album in its first week in South Korea. The music video for its lead single of the same name broke the record for the most-viewed music video in the first 24 hours on YouTube by a solo artiste, Wikipedia said.
Both “Lalisa” and the album’s viral second single “Money” charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200, the latter becoming the longest-charting song by a female K-pop soloist on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Lalisa and “Money” became the first album and song by a K-pop solo artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, respectively.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim and Jennie Kim, from the K-Pop band Blackpink pose with their Honorary MBEs (Members of the Order of the British Empire), awarded to them in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021, on the day of a special investiture ceremony conducted by Britain’s King Charles in the presence of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain on November 22, 2023. Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool via Reuters and published by CNA
First below: Britain’s King Charles presents the members of the K-pop band Blackpink Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim, Jennie Kim, and Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), with Honorary MBEs (MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) during a special investiture ceremony in the presence of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol (not pictured), and his wife, Kim Keon Hee (not pictured), at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain on November 22, 2023. Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool Reuters and published by CNA
Second below: Members of South Korean girl band Blackpink attend the State Banquet during the South Korean President’s state visit, at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain on November 21, 2023. Photo: Yui Mok/Pool Reuters and published by CNA
Front Page: Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Jennie Kim, President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, Britain’s King Charles, First Lady of South Korea Kim Keon Hee, Rose (Roseanne Park), and Jisoo Kim following a special investiture ceremony to present the members of the K-Pop band Blackpink with Honorary MBEs (MBE – Member of the Order of the British Empire), conducted by King Charles in the presence of the President and his wife at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain on November 22, 2023. Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool Reuters and published by CNA
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