YG Entertainment’s “Shades” and HYBE Leveraging BLACKPINK’s New Album, Generating Strong Reactions

BLACKPINK is facing controversy amid the release of their new album DEADLINE.

The album dropped recently and has already smashed records with huge first-day sales.

BLACKPINK | YG Entertainment

Fans and netizens are buzzing, but not just about the music. The drama started when court documents leaked on February 26 revealed HYBE’s shady business tactics involving sajaegi — manipulating album sales by bulk buying and returning unsold copies. Min Hee Jin, a former HYBE exec, reportedly refused to take part in this.

This same case exposed that some HYBE groups had benefited from this practice before.

| Hanteo Chart

The timing put BLACKPINK’s DEADLINE release under a microscope. Ktown4u, a Korean distributor, posted videos showing their real stock arrival and packing process — something no recent album releases from other companies have shown.

These moves looked like a clear dig from YG Entertainment claiming BLACKPINK’s sales are 100% real and organic — no manipulations here.

The clips went viral on X (formerly Twitter), where fans reacted fast. Many think YG is shading HYBE without saying it outright.

“love how YG is showing that BLACKPINK album sale numbers are 100% real, organic, and are being shipped to real fans, they don’t fake sales!”
— @pinksview

“YG is so evil sjnskjs. They started showing off the Blackpink album shipping and sales are organic since THE ALBUM era.”
— RED (@_bitchgtfo)

“Kpop stans keep accusing BLACKPINK album sales are fake because it’s selling millions like BGs so YG have to show off every comeback that it’s REAL, ORGANIC, and GET SHIPPED. YG you’re nasty and obviously shading other companies lmfao”
— RED (@_bitchgtfo)

YG’s transparency on BLACKPINK sales is stirring controversy against HYBE’s ongoing legal issues. This case is far from over and fans are watching closely.