Blackpink were formed in 2016, with four members: Rose, Jennie, Lisa, and Jisoo, and became incredibly popular incredibly quickly, basically becoming the face of the girl-crush in k-pop. Part of this is of course being from YG entertainment, but another is due to excellent marketing and timing.

Here are my credentials: So…I used to be a Blink. Blackpink was the first group I liked when getting into k-pop, even though Red Velvet was the first group I really loved. I first heard a song of theirs in early 2019, which was the beginning of my becoming a k-pop fan and also how I met my childhood best friend. But they’ve kind of lost me over the years, and I’m doing this deep dive because, with some distance and (hopefully) more objectivity, I want to see how well their work stands up to what are now my favorite artists.

Single #1: Whistle

Blackpink debuted with double title tracks in Whistle and Boombayah, which, despite both being girl crush, couldn’t be more different. Boombayah begins with a distorted EDM sound and what would become a worldwide phenomenon in “Blackpink in your area”. Within its first minute, it references Oops I Did It Again, several 2NE1 videos, and many other k-pop classics. It’s oddly dissonant, being in separate parts a love song, a dance song, an I’m-cooler-than-you song, and cycling through several different genres with several different tempos. And yet…it works. I’m not sure if this is nostalgia clouding it, how well it mixes K-pop and Western music hallmarks, or BP’s charisma, but I feel like I can’t look away.

Single #2: Boombayah

Whistle was very notable for its time. 2016, which is pretty commonly known as a huge transition year in k-pop, was a period of earlier 2nd gen groups slowly disbanding (not all, of course), later 2nd gen groups becoming very popular, and the heyday of 3rd gen, which was dominated by a lot of cute and / or bubbly concepts vs EDM. So, this song is notable because it doesn’t go down either easy path. It’s become infamous for its minimalistic production (and obviously, its distinctive whistle and clapping in the verses), and the rising acoustic guitar in the pre-chorus before the anti-drop of the chorus. The bridge adds the guitar again, and again the instrumental cuts out for the final chorus before any resolution can be had. I don’t even particularly love this song, but its structure fascinates me and some parts are damn catchy.

Single #3: Playing With Fire

Playing With Fire is another of BP’s early songs that starts with odd instrumentals—in this, piano—before spiraling into another EDM extravaganza. It’s probably their most dramatic song, which is saying a lot, but who doesn’t love some over-the-top flames and a chorus centered around the words “burn baby burn”? I don’t even dislike the tropical inspiration or the rap in this song, which is unusual for me, and the second it came on, I was singing from a memory I didn’t even know I had. I haven’t heard this song in years, and my Korean, despite still being terrible, has improved so much that I could both recognize a decent amount of the words and recognize how distinctive their voices really are, two things I had no idea of when I first heard it.

Single #4: Stay

Stay is the companion title track to Playing With Fire, and unique in their discography, the rare song to both be almost entirely in Korean and showcase their vulnerability. Its folk-country inspirations and harmonica strip down the superstars behind one of the biggest groups in the world and reveal…that they’re just people. I loved seeing Rose play the backing acoustic guitar and may or may not have teared up watching them reunite and dance together at the end. This is another of their songs that holds a special place in my heart, as it happens to be the first that I learned (and performed) on piano, and the first song I performed that wasn’t in English, all the way back in early 2020. God, I feel so old.

Single #5: As If It’s Your Last

As If It’s Your Last is a poppier sound than the last few mega-singles, and feels much more emblematic of the k-pop of the era with its disco-y production and very upbeat vibes. To be honest, on re-listen, it doesn’t really sound like a BLACKPINK song, which could be because it was originally written for 2NE1 as I’ve heard said. Still, this one is also a welcome breath of youthfulness in a discography that so often feels very mature and very closed-off, which is perhaps why it’s still my ringtone after all these years.

All the singles mentioned so far were only in one year, which was, quite frankly, almost unheard of at the time. It was a blitz that brought them to the top of the charts while other groups only had two or maybe three comebacks in that time, and was seen as preparation for what would surely be several full albums to come, right? Right?

EP #1: Square Up

So, next we have what’s sure to be a familiar face in Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du, which brings back the I’m-better-than-you girl crush not just in spades but in buckets. I’m not the biggest fan of this one, to be honest, but at the time I heard it I dismissed it as a one-off and didn’t care too much. I had no idea that its electronic crooning, sing-talk heavy verses, empty, chanty chorus, post-bridge breakdown rather than a last chorus, and nonword hook, while fresh at the time, would become the blueprint for five years of BLACKPINK singles going forward, each getting slightly less original.

With Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du finally comes an EP in Square Up, which has three b-sides: Forever Young, Really, and See U Later. Really didn’t leave much of an impression on me, and neither did See U Later (besides its catchy “see you later, boy, see you later later, maybe never”). Forever Young, though, caught my attention.

It’s a pretty good song, and I know that I’m reading too much into it but I couldn’t help pausing at the line “BLACKPINK is the revolution”, and wondering if that was true. I don’t think that they were in terms of the music itself, as a lot of it, despite being good, is fairly standard for pop. But in terms of bringing k-pop to a global audience, changing the way people perceived it, and making thousands of people into bonafide k-pop fans, it’s hard to argue that they didn’t change the landscape for good.

EP #2: Kill This Love

Kill This Love announces its presence with an audio bombast including synth, EDM, and horns, and never lets up from there. Its minimalist background makes way for notably very charismatic vocals, which are really the thing that makes the song. I take back what I said about Playing With Fire being their most dramatic single, because nothing could beat the scream-singing of “Let’s Kill This Love” at the beginning of each chorus. In this song, you can see the blueprint I mentioned before that started in Ddu-du-Ddu-du continue on, although it’s masked a little bit here since the song has quite a good build up in its pre-chorus and its anti-drop isn’t quite as pronounced as usual.

From the Kill This Love EP, I liked the catchiness in Don’t Know What To Do, and the sudden tempo change and scream-along bridge in Kick It, but my favorite was Hope Not. As I’ve mentioned, BLACKPINK are at their best for me when they blend posturing with vulnerability, and Hope Not is a beautiful expression of that in an apology. I especially liked the “yeah yeah yeah” chanting in the outro mixed with the third and final rendition of the chorus.

Single #6: HYLT

How You Like That is the first pre-release for BLACKPINK’s first album, aptly titled “The Album”, and begins with strings and a somewhat understated first verse that seems like it’s about to build to the heavens with its “1, 2, 3”…and then the entire thing collapses into a posturing, irritating sing-talk chorus. Songs like this drive me utterly crazy, because they’re so, so close to being something great. It was just a few things that needed to change and I could love it as much as I want to, but no. I especially enjoy the bridge, despite it being way too short, but for me as a fan, this was the beginning of the end.

Single #7: Ice Cream

Ice Cream is both a second pre-release for the upcoming album and a mostly English language collaboration with Selena Gomez. I…I honestly wish I liked this song because it has all the elements to be good and I’m definitely a fan of Selena. But this song just doesn’t do it for me. Despite sounding like a children’s playground, it’s practically all innuendos, which is a slightly queasy combination, all things considered. It’s not quite aegyo but still grates on the ears.

Album #1: The Album

Lovesick Girls was the first comeback I was really a part of as a Blink, and I really couldn’t have asked for a better song to do that with. Lovesick Girls exemplifies everything BLACKPINK is at its best: at times vulnerable, strong, brave, young, mature, about love, about friendship, quiet and anthemic. There’s something so poignant about knowing that something isn’t going to end well, but wanting to see it through until the end because you feel like it’s worth it.

This has always been my favorite BP song, and maybe that’s because it reflects how I feel about them too. I’m glad I was their fan, even though I wasn’t for life. Whenever I hear it, it makes me remember high school, my best friend, and all the terrible decisions I’ve ever made, in the best way possible. It feels now, knowing what comes after, like goodbye.

The Album has a lot of good tracks, and though I know Pretty Savage and Bet You Wanna are the fan-favorites, I’m partial to both the moving on from a toxic relationship in Love To Hate Me and the emotional appeal to cruel critics in You Never Know, the latter of which is my hidden gem.

Single #8: Ready For Love

After a nearly two year long hiatus, Ready For Love arrives as the pre-release for their second album Born Pink. It’s nothing trailblazing, but it’s a really nice break from the admittedly overwhelming posturing that takes up so much of their recent work and a reminder that when they put their effort into it, they can make such good music. I think that this song needs more of a cathartic point or some kind of pay-off for the build up, but overall I do like it.

Album #2: Born Pink

Pink Venom, one of two title tracks, starts, unsurprisingly, with sing-talk. Unlike with How You Like That, it’s not that the song is pretty solid but the chorus lets it down, but that the song is overall…eh but the pre-chorus establishes such a good build up that, despite knowing where it was going, I was still disappointed. And that bridge! Pink Venom’s bridge is, no asterisk, excellent. If it was in a better song, I could see it being a crowning moment that really makes something good into something great. But…it isn’t, and all the good ideas that make it into this are masked by all the bad ones that took precedence.

Shut Down is the album’s other single, and I dislike it even more. There’s just almost nothing salvageable in this one. From Kill This Love which had just an iffy moment or two, it’s as though every title track since (besides Lovesick Girls) just went further and further into exhausting sing talk, until they became almost unrecognizable from the BLACKPINK I began liking four years ago. I’m not going to repeat myself, so let’s leave it at that.

From Born Pink, I had one hidden gem, which was Yeah Yeah Yeah, and I loved the way it leaned into disco and synths, almost like a more toned-down version of As If It’s Your Last. It’s not the best song of the year, but I did add it to my roller skating playlist. I also liked Hard To Love, which is a single for Rose.

Verdict: TL;DR

So, I’m glad I did this. I admit that the experience was far more bittersweet than my other reviews, because I was both reminded of when I first fell in love with them and why I’m no longer a fan. I went into this knowing that I would be disappointed after a certain point and yet that didn’t make it sting less. Their music hasn’t been for me in a while, and probably won’t be again, given the trends that they’re following and the fact that they haven’t made a comeback in nearly three years.

But, even if that’s true, there’s no changing the fact that Boombayah was the first k-pop song I ever heard, when it came on my YouTube recommendeds in early 2019, and well…look at me now, I have a k-pop review blog. So, I wanted to say thank you, BLACKPINK, for changing my life, even if you’re no longer part of it.

My Top 5 songs by BLACKPINK are Lovesick Girls, Playing With Fire, STAY, As If It’s Your Last, & Boombayah, with an honorable mention to Hope Not. BLACKPINK gets a 7.25/10 from me, which I think is one of the lowest scores I’ve given a group thus far. If you’re a Blink and you’ve made it this far, I get that you might want to grab your pitchforks, but believe me, I’m not any happier about this than you are. I don’t hate them, I promise. But I just don’t think I can call myself a fan anymore.

Next Time, we’re back with our regularly scheduled programming. Tschüss!