Blackpink fans celebrate singer Lisa's nine-year music run as she wards off death threats
Blackpink fans have been setting social media abuzz with their celebrations of Nine Years With Lalisa in honor of member Lisa's ninth year as a South Korean star.
Lisa (real name Lalisa Manoban), a Thai national living and working in Korea as a member of the world-famous group Blackpink, first entered the Korean entertainment industry in 2010 when she auditioned to join YG Entertainment in Thailand.
Lisa was the only individual to pass out of 4,000 applicants, officially joining YGE as the label's first foreign trainee in 2011.
The 23-year-old spent the next few years as a model for brands like Nona9on and Moonshot before making her official debut in 2016 as one of four members in Blackpink, taking on the roles of rapper and dancer.
As part of the group, Lisa has gone on to release several chart-topping singles, including hits like 'Whistle', 'Ddu-Du Ddu-Du', which surpassed BTS' 'DNA' in 2019 to become the most-watched music video by a South Korean group. More recently, 'Kill This Love' made Blackpink the highest-charting female K-pop act on the Billboard charts as well as the first female K-pop group to have four number-one singles on the World Digital Song Sales chart.
Blackpink is also the most followed girl group on Spotify. Lisa has earned the respect and adoration of fans in Korea and Thailand, as well as worldwide, both for her top-notch dancing skills as well as her bubbly personality and hardworking nature.
After her many years of working as an idol, she took on the role of mentor and dance coach as part of the Chinese survival TV show 'Youth With You'. While on the show, she revealed her schedule generally involved about 12 hours of training and practice each day, followed by a few more hours of personal practice.
"Let's make Lisa feel appreciated and lived for her talents and her hard work all these years," tweeted one fan, while another stated, "Now 9 years later she’s a successful mentor, let’s take a moment to appreciate how far our lili has come."
One fan said, "I am proud of the way Lisa always work hard and never give up no matter what," and another shared, "LISA I really wished I had been here with you from the start just to see how you've grown into such a great woman over the years. But that doesn't make me love you any less. I'm definitely here now and here onwards. Love you LALISA."
Despite her dedication, however, the idol has been subjected to intense hatred and scrutiny, often on account of her ethnicity. More recently, the Thailand Embassy in Korea revealed that Lisa has been receiving death threats.
It tweeted, "From May 2 to 6, we have received many e-mails and Direct Messages (DMs) regarding the threats made online against Lisa’s life. We have notified her agency YG Entertainment." In response, YGE has vowed to take strong action against those making the threats following a thorough investigation.
One fan tweeted, "I am proud of Lalisa coz she maintains her positivity despite all the negativity those racist given to her," while another shared, "I'm proud of her for being strong leaving her home her country to unknown place culture and future."
And one fan stated, "I’m proud of how Lisa overcame the negativity towards her and still being her love-able weirdo self." Between mentoring young artistes and fielding death threats, Lisa is also preparing to make a comeback with Blackpink this June.
