Blackpink virtual in-game concert watched by nearly 16m viewers

Special music video viewed more than 146 million times

Last month, K-pop superstars Blackpink took to PUBG Mobile’s first ever virtual stage for The Virtual concert series as part of the most ambitious partnership in PUBG Mobile history.

Running over two weekends in July, the immersive audio-visual experience captivated the world with a total of 15.7 million views across the concert series. The in-game concert featured virtual performances of Blackpink’s chart-topping hits and the debut of a new special track “Ready For Love.” The nine minute show was watched by audiences all over the world. Promotion for the concert took over iconic global locations including the famous Times Square in New York.

The “Ready For Love” music video was released as part of the partnership, has now been watched over 146 million times since its launch. The video marks the first time Blackpink has appeared in avatar form for a music video and the first time PUBG Mobile has collaborated with artists on a music video featuring virtual images.

The clip transports Blackpink member’s avatars into iconic locations from the PUBG Mobile universe from the island of Erangel, the rainforest of Sanhok, the desert of Miramar, the icy tundra of Vikendi and across a sea of flowers in Livik. Familiar game elements such as airdrop, helmets, planes and bullets embellish the video to further immerse viewers in the PUBG Mobile world.

The global superstars made history this week as their new single, “Pink Venom” broke Spotify and YouTube records. Released on August 19th, the anthem had the biggest release by females (group or solo) of this decade debuting at No. 1 on Spotify’s global top songs chart and amassing 7.9 million streams within the first 24 hours. On YouTube, the “Pink Venom” video reached 100 million views faster than any video by a female group ever, garnering 86 million within its first 24 hours. Already at over 164 million views, this was the biggest YouTube debut of 2022.

The group’s highly-anticipated return has been building for “Pink Venom” since the K-pop superstars shared a series of visual teasers and a poster, which finds the K-pop icons staring through a pane of broken glass. The record will be followed by the arrival of Blackpink’s second full album, Born Pink, on September 16th via YG Entertainment/Interscope Records.

This fall, the most popular girl group on the planet will hit the road on a world tour predicted to be attended by more than 1.5 million people. It kicks off in Seoul, South Korea, on October 15th and then visits the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, among others, before landing in New Zealand on June 21, 2023.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com