LOS ANGELES • K-pop's most successful girl group Blackpink have been named Variety magazine's Hitmakers Group of the Year for their breakout success.

Comprising Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa, the hardworking South Korean group have been taking America by storm this year despite the pandemic.

They released several hit singles, including high-profile collaborations with A-listers such as Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Cardi B and Ariana Grande, and shattered records with their first album, The Album, to become the first million-selling K-pop girl group.

A quarter of those album sales came from the United States.

When they released their latest music video, How You Like That, in June, it set a record on YouTube when it garnered 86.3 million views in 24 hours.

A Netflix documentary, Light Up The Sky, gave an insider's look at their meteoric rise and boosted their visibility worldwide - not that the quartet needed further introduction.

Blackpink is currently the most-followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act and Asian act on YouTube.

Addressing their fans, known as Blinks, the group said: "We want to communicate and enjoy our music with them.

"It's sad - we haven't been able to directly meet our fans, but we have been trying to make memories with them through different platforms."

One of these platforms will be a virtual stage.

They announced on Thursday that they will perform for the first time in a live-stream concert, Blackpink: The Show, on YouTube Music on Dec 27. Fans have not seen them live in concert for more than a year.

Access to the concert starts at 36,000 Korean won (S$44), including a live broadcast and rerun.