#Blackpink album series#

The former is saucy and sweet, a series of ice cream-based puns served over minimal, refreshing pop that slowly carves a home in your brain until you wake up one morning rapping: вЂњ Mona Lisa kinda Lisa needs an ice cream man that treats herвЂќ.

The recordвЂ™s two giant collaborations вЂ“ the divisive pre-release single вЂIce CreamвЂ™ with Selena Gomez and вЂBet You WannaвЂ™, aided by Cardi B вЂ“В offer early highs. For a band known for bodying tracks with badass energy, itвЂ™s surprising and a little disappointing. Rapper JennieвЂ™s verse feels forced and stunted, like sheвЂ™s trying to find the attitude she needs but got lost on her way. вЂњ We are the lovesick girls,вЂќ the group declare in its chorus, moments later throwing in the sucker punch: вЂњ But we were born to be alone/But why we still looking for love?вЂќ Female empowerment has become a big part of the bandвЂ™s brand and, here, they deal it out subtly, turning singledom and the search for love into an adventure rather than a need that must be fulfilled to make them whole.В Even as the standout track from the album, though, here lies flaws. Vibrant dance-pop in a similar vein to RihannaвЂ™s вЂWe Found LoveвЂ™, itвЂ™s built to be blasted in the back of an Uber with your best mates, on the way to make new stories. Title track (K-pop parlance for the main promoted song) вЂLovesick GirlsвЂ™ shines as the recordвЂ™s glowing highlight and, happily, features writing credits for BLACKPINK for the first time (Jennie and Jisoo contributed to the lyric writing, while Jennie also worked on the composition). By the time rapper Lisa spits: вЂњ Bring out the boss bitchвЂќ in the final bridge, its fiery attitude has your heart racing and eardrums thumping.

As the recordвЂ™s opener, it sounds majestic вЂ“ a fun, experimental piece that charts a journey from hitting вЂњ rock bottomвЂќ before rising victoriously back up. The hip-hop-influenced, swaggering вЂHow You Like ThatвЂ™ might have sounded jarring upon its release in June вЂ“ like several different songs stitched together вЂ“В but time has been kind to it. There is gold buried within its eight tracks, but itвЂ™s far from overflowing. Unfortunately, вЂTHE ALBUMвЂ™ doesnвЂ™t quite reach the heights it should for a band of this stature. TheyвЂ™ve collaborated with household names like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa and, last year, became the first all-female K-pop group to perform at Coachella. Despite only sharing a handful of material in that time, the band have become one of the most talked about K-pop artists on the global stage. No wonder their fans (known as Blinks) have been calling on their label YG Entertainment to give them more and sate their appetites.ДЄt long last, then, BLACKPINKвЂ™s debut album arrives, loaded with four years worth of anticipation.

Before they started rolling out pre-release tracks from their long, long-awaited first LP, they had just three EPs and one single to their name. For BLACKPINK, though, who emerged in 2016, releases have so far been scarce. The Korean music industry is one thatвЂ™s built on a steady stream of releases, often seeing artists put out multiple singles, EPs and full-length albums within months of each other. In the west, taking four years to release your debut album isnвЂ™t that big a deal, but in the world of K-pop that time feels like a lifetime.

Blackpink album