SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/YONHAP)- Blackpink continues to set records, this time with the highest first-week album sales for a K-pop girl group with their latest release, The Album.
Citing music sales tracker Hanteo Chart, their agency YG Entertainment said the physical album sold around 590,000 copies in just one day since its release on Tuesday (Oct 6).
The group's first full-length album, which includes tracks like Lovesick Girls, How You Like That and Ice Cream, was released online on Oct 2, before the hard copy was released this week.
Their music video for How You Like That became the fastest video in YouTube history to reach 100 million views - in 32 hours. Blackpink are also the highest subscribed music group on YouTube with 50.3 million subscribers, placing just behind Canadian pop star Justin Bieber's 57.4 million.
However, YG Entertainment is considering editing a scene in their Lovesick Girls music video following outcry over member Jennie's nurse outfit.
In the video released on Oct 2, Jennie is dressed in red high heels and a white nurse costume - sparking social media posts with hashtags such as #Stop_Sexualizing_Nurses and #nurse_is_profession.
In an official statement released on Tuesday morning, YG Entertainment said: "The scene showing a nurse and a patient in the Lovesick Girls MV comes from the lyrics 'no doctor could help when I'm lovesick'. We had no specific intention and are worried about the distorted views.
"We ask that people watch MV as an independent art genre and understand that the scenes do not have any other intention (other) than expressing the music," the statement said.
"The producers are contemplating and discussing editing the specific scene," they added.
YG Entertainment's response came a day after the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) posted a comment on its website criticising YG for the sexual portrayal of nurses.
"Despite many nurses fighting to reduce the sexual portrayal of nurses, in 2020, when talk of women's rights is more active than ever, YG Entertainment sexually portrayed a nurse in its Blackpink MV," said KHMU. "If pop culture repeats distorted images of nurses, the situation will get worse."
The music video has over 110 million views on YouTube, and the album shot to No. 1 on iTunes in over 50 regions upon its release.
Blackpink is also set to release their Netflix documentary Light UpThe Sky on Oct 14.
The trailer, released on Tuesday, features live footage, their 2019 Coachella performance and interviews with each member of the group as they reflect on their journey to global stardom.
