Blackpink singer Rose became the first K-pop artiste to win a Brit award on Sunday in Manchester, taking home the International Song of the Year trophy for the track APT., a number she collaborated on with American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars.

In 2021, K-pop boy band BTS became the first Korean group to bag a nomination in the International Group of the Year category at the Brit Awards. In 2023, Blackpink bagged a nomination in the same category.

On Sunday, Rose clenched the trophy, defeating strong contenders including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Sombr, and Gracie Abrams. Audrey Nuna, Ejae, and Rei Ami, who sang the chartbuster track Golden from the Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters, also competed in this category.

In her award acceptance speech, Rose gave a shoutout to her bandmates Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo. She said, “Let’s give a shout-out to Blackpink. Jennie, Jisoo, and Lisa, I adore you all so much. Thank you for your continuous inspiration.”

On her Instagram handle, the 29-year-old singer also thanked the organisers of Brit and her fans in a heartfelt note. “Thank you @brits for an incredible night at my first ever Brits, and thank you for this award. International Song of the Year. Let’s gooooo. Here's to you numberones. THANKYOU for loving APT.”

Blackpink has continued to receive immense support from Blinks (their fans) worldwide, with their return to group activities in 2026. Their latest music video, Go, from their newly released mini-album Deadline, has garnered positive reviews from critics and fans.

The song APT., also featuring singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, was released in 2024. It also earned Grammy nominations, and Rose bagged the Song of the Year award at the Video Music Awards (VMA).

Released in October 2024, Rose’s APT. achieved the rare feat of staying at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 for multiple weeks. It also emerged as the fastest Asian Act music video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, and the fastest K-pop song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.