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Lei Tan is a 22-year old high school graduate from the Philippines, and listens to Korean girl group Blackpink, “when I eat, when I’m in the bath, on the way to work, when I work out. Whatever I do, I am listening to Blackpink.” She doesn’t understand the lyrics – minimalist Korean rap layered over a pulsing clubhouse beat and offset by a simple, catchy hook – but she has a tattoo of one of the four female twentysomething band members, Lisa, on her waist, “to relieve stress.”

Jen, a 25 year old Blackpink fan and applications developer from California, last summer spent $500 on a single VIP ticket to see the band on their North American tour in New Jersey, alongside a further $1,000 on a plane ticket and a hotel. “Anything more than that though, I would have to re-evaluate,” she says, while Brook from London tells me he “can’t sleep at night” unless he watches several YouTube videos of bandmates Rosé, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo, in succession.

Another “Blink”, as Blackpink’s staggeringly large global fandom has monikered itself, says he averages 73 YouTube videos of the band’s performances, reality TV series or interviews every day. “And that’s watching them beginning to end,” he adds.