For years, I have wanted to write this article. I never got around to doing it, so I’m really curious to see how I make sense of the conflicting emotions and opinions I’ve always had when it comes to Blackpink.
You see, my first encounter with this megahit South-Korean girl group was the year, 2018. They debuted in 2016, but I’d never listened to their songs or watched any of their videos until the time I was neck-deep in love with BTS, the insanely successful South-Korean boy band.
Whenever BTS broke a crazy record on YouTube, Blackpink’s name always appeared in the articles I would read. They were doing wild numbers as well. But it wasn’t until Blackpink’s music video for Ddu-du Ddu-du came out, smashing YouTube records to pieces and causing headline frenzy, that I finally decided to check out this video and see what the hype was all about.
WELL, I was blown away, guys. Genuinely left speechless. You’ll find out why later on. I’m only laying this foundation to let you guys know that Blackpink did make a huge first impression on me.
At the time, I was like, yes! Finally I can be crazy over another group other than BTS. The girl group counterpart to my boy band obsession.
But something happened.
I decided to watch the live performance of Ddu-du Ddu-du.
Now, something about me is that, whenever I decide to support and love an artist, your stage performance has to be right up there too. I have to be just as immersed and impressed, or else something about the artistry would just feel off and disingenuous to me (particularly when it comes to the manufactured K-pop industry).
And wow. Boy was I disappointed when I watched Blackpink’s live performance. It was lacking, flat and just didn’t match the charisma, energy and savageness I had been blown away by in their music video.
Of course, I watched more of their live performances, but they were of no use. I was met with the same underwhelm. This made me no longer excited to support them, and every further hype about them (especially the “girl-crush image” marketing and “record-breaking” laced headlines) were always met with my skepticism. Even eye roll.
But something kept happening. I found myself enjoying their music (even the ones that sounded outdated). I found the members to be genuinely talented (even found their talents to be largely untapped), and most importantly, I giddily looked forward to their comebacks and live performances (weird, I know. I hope to make sense of that in this article).
To be honest, compared to the past, Blackpink’s stage performances have improved. It admittedly has more energy, confidence and sass now. However, I still feel compelled to write this article because I can’t seem to completely reconcile Blackpink’s enormous success with the kind of artistry, consistency, and integrity they have displayed.
In other words, why is Blackpink actually the revolution they claim to be even when it feels uncomfortable to hear? Why does their crazy success feel earned yet unearned at the same time? Why can’t I call myself a proud and true fan of theirs, but light up at the news of their comebacks? Let’s find out.
Each Member is Extremely Unique and Memorable
One of the truly genius strategies Blackpink’s management company – YG Entertainment – displayed, is their calculative formation of the group. Each member seemed to have been handpicked with shrewdness and precision.
To start with, they kept the members to 4. How easily digestible for an industry known to be okay with creating 10 or more-member groups. Now, the real cleverness is in how distinct and memorable each member is. From the face, to vocal tone, and archetype.
Jennie is a badass with a cute and savage face, and her voice is strong, powerful, and swag-filled. Lisa is a Barbie-beauty dripping with charisma and she’s got a sweet voice skilled enough to dish dope-sounding raps. Rosé is a Pinterest, romantic kinda girl who’s got a mesmerising, golden vocal colour hard to find in the world of music. And Jisoo is the elegant queen with a deep, wine-filled voice that contrasts with her face.
One look at each face and one listen at each voice, and you are enthralled. You know who is who and you’re by turn fascinated and hooked. It’s hard to say the same for other popular K-pop girl groups such as TWICE, Girls’ Generation, Red Velvet, Itzy and Aespa. For these groups, it was hard for me to instantly identify the voice of each member. Only a few immediately stood out. Till now, I struggle to know when certain members are singing.
Even big western groups such as Destiny’s Child, Little Mix and Fifth Harmony suffer from this as well. Most of the time, you can recognize only the voices of certain major members clearly, but the rest mostly sound the same, making it hard to appreciate each member fully.
It’s not the case with Blackpink. You know what each member is bringing to the table. You know who exactly is singing 90% percent of the time and it’s gratifying!
This distinction is accentuated by each member enjoying grand, individual spotlight in their music videos.
Extremely Polished Sound and High Production Values
If there’s one thing I have to credit Teddy Park for (Blackpink’s record producer), apart from his repetitive but obviously catchy hits, it’s the natural polish of his bombastic sound.
Big, brash Ddu-du Ddu-du’s production is flawless. So immaculate in its bluster. Kill This Love, Lovesick girls and Whistle are other examples of his spotless production. With many of Blackpink’s songs, especially the past ones, you just feel like you’re listening to something that has been recorded, mixed and produced with expensive equipment. Even BTS doesn’t have the polished sound that Blackpink has. Honestly. Back in the day, only EXO (another popular K-pop boy group) came close to Blackpink’s sound for me.
Now, let’s talk music videos.
Blackpink, hands down, has some of the most dazzling and fascinating music videos in the whole K-pop industry. YG Entertainment overloads the budget when it comes to Blackpink’s music videos. The sets, props, high-end fashion, make-up, accessories – everything is usually orchestrated to make your jaw drop and keep you entranced. Their recent videos have not been as show-stopping or breathtaking, but I still have to credit them for how sleek and stylish their videos are.
In this age of video streaming, views hype and influencer marketing, I would say this strategy of splurging on their visual production (gotta catch the eye of designer brands and impressionable fans!) has worked immensely in their favour. Their many record-breaking billion views are actually one of the biggest reasons, if not the biggest reason, for their immense success both in the streaming and fashion influencing world.
Sticking To Hard-Hitting Kiss-off Comebacks & Playing The Bad Girl Damn Well
Blackpink’s music has always been critiqued for not being diverse, experimental, and real. And I wholeheartedly agree. However, I have long discovered that sticking to formula is actually one of the reasons I (and many others) enjoy their music a lot (YG Entertainment is all about the dough, guys, not tasteful or artful music🤣). I know that a part of me likes their formulaic sound because of its western vibe slightly mixed with Korean flavours, but gosh, how I loveee the way Blackpink pulls off those hard-hitting, sassy, kiss-off anthems. No one does it like them.
The mesh of grandiose choruses, blustery raps, orgasmic bridges, and rich tones – they genuinely make me feel on top of the world, like some bleeping bad chick high above rubbish😆. Even though I’m aware that a lot of Blackpink’s music is posturing and just bad b–ch pretend, I still buy it!
Ever since the wild success of Ddu-du Ddu-du, they’ve been recycling the same girl-crush sound to keep milking what the sound and image afford them, but I really have no complaints here. The members deliver their lines with flair, talent and mega confidence, and strut in their music videos with high-caliber sass and badassry. And they do it in such riveting and affective ways. I’ve really got to give them kudos for it.
Sure, the whole badass concept can get boring, obvious and obnoxious, even downright hilarious at times, with the overplayed lyrics targeted at “lowly” fans like me that can see through their ruses but can’t stop listening to their music or ever reach their “high-pay, glamorous life”🤣.
Actually, I burst out laughing whenever I hear Jisoo’s rap-sing in their recent song, Shut Down. It’s just so obvious that she was trying her hardest to sound cocky😅. As for Lisa, despite rapping perfectly in almost all their songs, she consistently sounds so rehearsed that I can’t help but cringe or laugh at times.
However, GUYS, when Blackpink does this posturing well, trust me, they hit that shit!
Songs like Ddu-du Ddu-du, Kill This Love, Pretty Savage and Shut Down (never mind Jisoo’s try-hard rapping here) are songs that really exemplify Blackpink’s skill at posturing yet delivering so damn well and convincingly.
The Minimality and Exclusivity of Content
Here comes the saucy and meaty part, guys!
So this is where Blackpink’s management company, the infamous YG Entertainment, can’t override my senses or fool me with their lazy, but coincidentally genius marketing strategy.
When it comes to content – I’m talking full-fledged albums, critically acclaimed singles, strong, consistent music award show appearances and performances (basically, things that show that an artist or agency takes integrity and responsibility to heart) – you would hear other fandoms say these words to Blackpink’s fans – “crumbs”, “starved”, “wild ravens”.
This is because YG entertainment not only makes the group drop mere 3 to 4 (recently, 8 songs) every two years and call them albums, they also do not properly promote these songs with seriously planned, back-to-back performances that cement Blackpink’s artistry, forge their growth as artists, and most importantly, fully honour fans who have had to wait long and hard for something.
And you know the crazy part?
This whole minimality and exclusivity thing was not a deliberate strategy from the start. It was rather a lacking interest in real musicianship and more of a quick cash-grab, drop-one-hit-single attitude that upon sweet, sweet results, evolved into a USP (unique selling point) of “minimal” and “exclusive” content.
Hence, YG Entertainment dropping hot but scanty albums that keep the fans craving and wanting more, and streaming past content more. This advantageous spot has been a huge game-changer for the company in terms of frenzied anticipation and outrageous streaming.
K-pop is an an overly-saturated industry that makes their groups comeback with music and performances every other month, but Blackpink does the opposite. So you can imagine how exhilarating and enticing it is for the fans and general audience whenever Blackpink makes a comeback.
Now here’s where they really thrive with this USP – whether each comeback is repetitive or not; whether it’s high quality or not; they usually leave such an imprinting, lasting impression that you are bound to check out whatever they release in the next long two years.
If any other artist or group tried doing sparse comebacks that aren’t consistently imprinting, promising, or impressionable enough to keep people hooked and dying for the next, “better round” – such artists/groups would fade into oblivion. But YG Entertainment and Blackpink manage to do the reverse without fail and it’s as impressive as it’s manipulative.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s true that their singles and albums, are to my standards, enjoyable. But when you holistically and critically gauge the quality of their releases (especially when you think of their most recent album release, Born Pink, and Rosé and Lisa’s debut solo album releases) – they really show you that Blackpink does not take their artistry or integrity seriously.
Lisa and Rosé’s solo albums actually made me wonder:
“Did they really proudly release albums with just two songs?”
The thing is, I don’t really care that they don’t release music frequently (sometimes I actually appreciate it. It keeps me eager. K-pop is constantly noisy) the problem for me is that when they finally make a comeback, critical aspects of their releases feel cheap, lackluster and uninventive. From the number of songs, to the overall value of songs, choreography, and stage performances. To worsen things, they display their laziness (and cheap gaining tactics) with blatant complacence.
The Born Pink album is still manageable. But don’t get me started on Rosé and Lisa’s albums. These “albums” are colossally disappointing and startlingly mediocre to say the least. With all the immense talent and time had, both of them made 2 singles an entire album (where is the integrity and shame😀?). And the 2 songs in the so-called albums are sooooooo basic, underwhelming, and unbefitting of Blackpink’s “revolutionary” status.
Putting out robust, well thought-out albums and setting up amazing shows, consistently, are actual things that prove to fans that their beloved artist is competent and hardworking, and not only concerned about quick money and hype, but also about repaying the love and support that have been showered on them.
Anyway, remember what I said about Blackpink’s promising, impressionable releases whether they are serving something truly remarkable or not?
With each comeback, fans will always come back for more, stacking up those billion views that YG Entertainment have come to revel in and exploit.
In conclusion
Blackpink’s songwriter and producer, Teddy Park, would say the reason for Blackpink’s striking success is the girls coming from different countries. Some would say it’s because of their western appeal, English fluency and company’s media play. Others would say it’s because they are from one of the biggest K-pop agencies with famously beloved predecessors, debuting at the perfect time eyes were on them.
People like me would list all the reasons I dissected in this article.
But I would say with finality, that it’s a coalescence of everything, including of course, the members’ undeniable pull. They are simply interesting to look at, listen to and talk about.
With every single thing put together, Blackpink was bound to have tremendous success. Even if it doesn’t feel conscientiously or painstakingly earned. Even if it feels as though there is much left to be desired.