It’s time to talk about the girls…
As I’ve shared before, I’ve loved music all my life. It’s formed the soundtrack of my life. I even do most of my writing to music. I’m listening to piano covers of Blackpink songs right now. It doesn’t distract me either, but helps me focus on the work.
The golden age of pop for me died once rock became became more hip-hop and hostile. It didn’t help that the bands I loved became full of rich hypocrites. I retreated to soundtracks and classical music.
Then I discovered IU through her dramas and music. Here was a woman who suffered terrible poverty as well as rejection after rejection, but she never gave up. She persevered to become the richest woman in Kpop and an icon in Korea.
but I discovered she was also a humble woman who never failed to display her gratitude to her fans and donated millions to local charities to help single mothers, children, and the elderly. Here was a woman whose music I could love and not be ashamed or defensive about loving her. She truly is a role model in the best sense of the word.
And that led me to Blackpink.
I’d heard about them, of course. It’s hard to go anywhere near pop culture these days without hearing about them. I spun them up on YouTube and was utterly astonished. Their music was catchy, their choreography like nothing I’d seen before, and their videos insanely elaborate and colorful. I started researching them and discovered they were unlike any musical group I liked before, but let me let their producer “Teddy” Park introduce them…
These four women came to Korea in their early teens to join a trainee system that had them living together in dorms and going to classes from noon to midnight, seven days a week, thirteen days at a stretch with only one day off on the fourteen day. They were trained more like atheletes. It’s a sometimes-brutal system that had the girls watch in sadness as people they joined with fell away. They had moments of terrible self-doubt and wondered if they should quit too.
Of course they didn’t quit. They finally debuted as a group in the fall of 2016 and within three months, they were already becoming legendary, having won award after award for Best New Artist.
Seven years later, the girls have smashed record after record, becoming the most popular musical group in the world, as well as becoming Brand Ambassadors for some of the most luxurious fashion and jewelery houses in the world, such as Dior, Yves St. Laurent, Chanel, Bulgari, and Celine, increasing their sales many fold. Jennie’s latest limited collection with Calvin Klein sold out One Second! after it was released. They’re currently on a sold-out world tour which has already amassed a staggering eighty million dollars and they’re only halfway through it.
They’ve also made their mark in music individually. Unlike in Western music where solo projects are a sign a group is breaking up, Kpop encourages its artists to do solo projects, giving the girls a chance to do something different.
Lisa, for instance, has not only released the record-breaking “Money” and “LaLisa” but was the dance mentor for a show called “Youth with You.” The first clip shows Lisa teaching a dance to kids that have barely danced before, and she’s tough on them because she feels for them and wants them to succeed. Blinks love “Mentor Lisa” because it shows the eagle-eyed, no-bullshit serious side of her.
Now, we couldn’t let you wonder how it turned out, could we?
Pretty amazing what she did with them.
Rosé did a Blackpink-style song, “On the Ground” but also went back to her musical roots to do simplier songs like “Gone” and “The Only Exception” that shows all she needs is a guitar and her voice to break your heart.
One of the fun things some Blinks have done is created a world-wide fanbase of Reaction videos where people ranging from sophisticated music producers like Knox Hill who can point out every oddball musical sound and production trick the videos use; to hardcore rap and metal fans, and to ordinary housewives like “Lex Listens” where she usally does her reactions with her baby, cat, or dog in the background.
I haven’t counted but there’s at least a hundred Reactors to Blackpink videos, usually with tens of thousands of viewers. For Blinks, the fun is not only rewatching the MVs themselves tucked in a corner of the frame, but the reactions of the Reactors. I’ve yet to see one Reactor whose first reaction to the girls isn’t one of stunned amazement and wonder how good they are, usually followed by asking commenters what videos they should watch next!
And some Blinks just have fun, like “Bongo Cat.”
Blinks also feel a bond with the girls because of their “Behind the Scenes” videos about their travels and lives. Unlike Western artists who seem to hate being photographed unless they’re on stage, Kpop artists grow up being constantly photographed and evaluated. To them, being photographed with their sisters is just a part of the Life, and they’re completely at ease with it.
More so, it’s a way to keep in touch with their fans. The girls never fail to acknowledge they have the lives they do because of the millions of people that listen to them (most of their songs are in the hundreds of millions range with some hitting one and two Billion views) and humbly thanking them for their support. They always try to make it clear that when they’re not the Blackpink Badassses on stage, they’re just four normal women working hard to be good role models, make great music, and not get caught up in the hype around them. Several excellent documentaries have been made on them with the best probably being “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” on Netflix.
I haven’t been able to cover everything about the girls, but I’ve tried to give at least a look at some of their work, their lives, and the world-wide fandom that have taken them to their hearts. As sociologist Sam Richards said, “If you want to see the future, look to Korea.” Nowhere is this truer for music and social fandom than Blackpink. Hope you’ve enjoyed this…