Lalisa Manoban, a global megastar who performs as Lisa in the K-pop group Blackpink, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, her production company announced.
The other members of Blackpink, a four-woman group whose fame and commercial success have traveled far beyond South Korea, were not listed as close contacts but were awaiting results of a PCR test, the production company, YG Entertainment, said in a statement sent to Korean news organizations.
As of Wednesday morning, Ms. Manoban, 24, had not yet addressed her nearly 68 million Instagram followers on the positive test.
A Thai-born singer and rapper, Ms. Manoban is among the most acclaimed faces of K-pop, with legions of fans. She is part of K-pop’s most globally successful all-female group; five of Blackpink’s videos have been watched more than 1 billion times on YouTube, including 1.7 billion views for “DDU-DU DDU-DU.”
Ms. Manoban’s debut solo album, “Lalisa,” was released on Sept. 10; her first single, “LALISA,” set a YouTube record for the most-viewed music video by a solo artist in 24 hours with 73.6 million views, dethroning Taylor Swift’s “ME!” in 2019.
With strict limits on international travel and consistent masking, South Korea has been among the world’s most successful countries at limiting coronavirus outbreaks, reporting about 3,300 total deaths. Cases have surged to record levels in the past two weeks, reaching a new high of 4,116 new cases on Tuesday, but they have remained relatively low compared to much of the world: currently six daily cases per 100,000 people, compared with 29 in the United States, 35 in Singapore and 158 in Austria.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
