BLACKPINK Cancels 'Kill This Love' Comeback Press Conference Due To Wildfire; Lead Track MV Reaches 20 Million Views

by Jessica Rapir / Apr 05, 2019 05:11 AM EDT

YG Entertainment has decided to cancel BLACKPINK's comeback press conference for the group's newly released extended play, Kill This Love. The reason for the cancellation is the ongoing wildfire that is affecting the large part of Gangwon Province in South Korea.

BLACKPINK's press conference is set on April 5 at 11 a.m. but YG canceled the event in support to the residents of the area that are affected by the Goseong-Sokcho forest fire. The company apologized for the fans who are waiting for the event.

The fire started after a transformer at a local gas station had exploded. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated as firefighters are trying to contain the fire. The South Korean government has already declared a state of emergency in Gangwon province due to the extent of the wildfire.

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK dropped their brand new EP, Kill This Love, along with the music video of its lead track of the same name at midnight on April 5. The MV quickly reached 20 million views on YouTube in less than 10 hours.

This makes BP the fastest K-pop girl group music video to do so."Kill This Love" reached the milestone in nine hours and 38 minutes, smashing the previous record of 10 hours and 27 minutes that set by TWICE in November with the group's "YES or YES" song.

Additionally, "Kill This Love" became the first BLACKPINK song to reach the No. 1 spot in the US iTunes sales chart. It's another history for the group as first Asian girl group and the second girl group after Destiny's Child to rank No. 1 in iTunes USA.

Kill This Love is BLACKPINK's follow up to their hit EP Square Up and its Billboard-charting title track "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" that was released in June 2018. The song debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100. Many are expecting that "Kill This Love" will also chart high on Billboard.

Following the release of their new album, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa will be heading to the U.S. to kick off the North America leg of their In Your Area world tour on April 17. BLACKPINK will be performing in California, New Jersey, Georgia, Texas, and in Canada.

The "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" hitmakers will also headline in the 2019 Coachella Music Festival on April 12 and April 19. BLACKPINK is also the first ever K-pop girl group to perform at the Coachella.