Timeline of Ariana Grande and BLACKPINK’s friendship explored

Throughout her career in the music industry, Ariana Grande has made many celebrity friends alongside making music. Some of them include Justin Bieber, Victoria Monét, Jennifer Coolidge, Elizabeth Gillies, Nicki Minaj and Courtney Chipolone, among others.

BLACKPINK - the first Korean girl band that has left a mark in the industry by charting on several music charts, including the likes of Billboard - also happens to be close with the Bang Bang singer. Here's a timeline of Ariana Grande's friendship with BLACKPINK.

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BLACKPINK has covered several of Ariana Grande's tracks through the years

The BLACKPINK members have hinted at being fans of Ariana Grande's work on several occasions.

Billboard reports that Jisoo - a BLACKPINK member - was also an MC in a Korean music program called Inkigayo for a year in 2017. As she was being introduced as the show's new host, Jisoo made an entrance by performing a dance cover of Grande's Side to Side.

The same year, when BLACKPINK fans were still getting to know the band, it began singing Ariana Grande's Into You impromptu in a live stream broadcast. They've covered the same track on several TV and social media moments, according to Billboard.

In 2017, Grande was touring for her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. In August, the singer-songwriter arrived in South Korea for the Asian leg of her concert.

She was set to perform in Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome on August 15, which the BLACKPINK member Jennie attended. Latin Times reported that the singer went into full fangirl mode by buying lightsticks and Grande's merchandise for the show.

In 2018, Ariana Grande liked Jennie's fan art post on Instagram, which suggested the start of their friendship. Another band member, Rosé, showed her appreciation for one of the tracks from Grande's fourth album, Sweetener. The singer posted an Instagram story of herself in a car with Goodnight n Go playing in the background.

Around the same time, Jennie captioned her Instagram post with the lyrics of Ariana's LP tracks, The Light Is Coming.

Fast forward to 2019, Rosé uploaded a funny cover of the singer's 7 Rings on Instagram, which attracted a lot of attention. Around the same time, in an Instagram Q&A with fans, Ariana revealed that she not only knew BLACKPINK but was also planning to catch their show in the second week of Coachella, where the band was debuting that year.

Grande wrote in a now-deleted tweet that she couldn't meet them in the first week but not because of lack of want:

"They weren't there. We performed on different day, but I hope to see their set/meet them this week! They are so great."

In 2019, when the Korean girl band was invited to perform in Manchester on the second anniversary of the Manchester bombing that happened before Ariana Grande's show in 2017, the singers paid their tribute to the victims of the tragic incident, performing their hit track Stay.

They also released a special message on the big screen of the show, dedicated to the loved ones of the bombing victims, ending it with the #OneLoveManchester hashtag created by Grande at the benefit concert she organized to help the victims' families in June 2017. Here's what the message read:

"Blinks, thank you for being with us tonight. It's a privilege to be performing here in Manchester, especially at this time. We send our love and prayers to the friends and families who fought through the hard times. We are here for you. #OneLoveManchester"

Ariana Grande, who had posted a bee emoji in her Instagram story following the tragedy, was quick to take note of BLACKPINK's thoughtful gesture. The Wicked actress commented "love you" on the picture Rosé shared from the show on social media.

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Ariana Grande collaborated on a track with BLACKPINK in 2020

In 2020, Ariana Grande shared an Instagram story about BLACKPINK's upcoming song, Ice Cream, captioning it:

"Proud of the squad, and so proud of this!!! so much love for this team and these ladies!!!"

Soompi later announced that the singer-songwriter was one of the composers for the track, alongside Selena Gomez, Victoria Monét, Tommy Brown, Steven Franks, Bekuh Boom, Teddy and 24.

While Grande wasn't featured in the music video of the song, BLACKPINK fans are eagerly waiting to see her on-screen with the band.