After opening Coachella 2019, winning prestigious awards such as Mnet Asian Music Awards and the Teen Choice Awards, and topping countless music charts as one of the highest grossing Korean girl groups of all time, it is undeniable that BLACKPINK has become one of the most acclaimed K-pop girl groups in international history. However, whether or not they deserve all this credit is debatable.
Under the Korean entertainment company YG, BLACKPINK consists of four members, Jennie, Lisa, Rosé, and Jisoo. Since their breakthrough debut in 2016, BLACKPINK has produced four EPs and one single, all of which have garnered immense profit and helped them build their enormous, passionate fanbase, the BLINKS.
Despite the feeble attempts of previous generations of K-pop girl groups, BLACKPINK seems to be the first to have effectively figured out how to break into the American music industry. Their American debut has been so successful, that they managed to top charts such as the Billboards Top 100, which have led to features on shows like Good Morning America and The Late Late Show With James Corden. Nonetheless, minor and major flaws within BLACKPINK have not flown under the radar.
As of BLACKPINK’s most recent EP release, Kill This Love, named after its title track, BLINKS noticed that Kill This Love sounds an awful lot like their previous EP’s title track
DDU-DU DDU-DU. The overall sound along with the line distribution seem identical between the two title tracks. Not just these two tracks, but most, if not all, line distributions for BLACKPINK’s songs flow the same way. It goes somewhat like this:
This repetitive order of who gets to sing what, is becoming increasingly annoying. BLACKPINK’s main rapper, Jennie, seems to be getting plenty more lines than the other members of the group. Jennie simply does not have the singing capability of a vocalist, negatively impacting the vocal standard within BLACKPINK’s music and live performances, all of which could be avoided if YG simply just let the vocalists sing and the rappers rap.
This bad habit of BLACKPINK’s can also be applied to their choreography. BLINKS and netizens, avid Korean internet users, have complained that BLACKPINK’s choreographers are running out of ideas because their new choreographies don’t seem to be that “new” at all. Formations and overall dance moves are recycled, which completely strips BLINKS of the excitement factor of newly released choreography.
Reused choreography leads into another complication of BLACKPINK, their bland performances. BLACKPINK: IN YOUR AREA North American tour tickets can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. For such a high price you’d expect the concerts would be over-the-top extravagant and that you’re bound to have the time of your life, but sadly that’s not the case. BLACKPINK’s lack of diversity of sound within their music, or lack of music in general (seeing that they have yet to release a full album), combined with other aspects like boring choreography, lack luster stages, bland set lists, and etc. are all the reason not to waste your money on a BLACKPINK concert ticket.
Most BLINKS save up for months to be able to purchase tickets to go see BLACKPINK’s performances in person, only for them to show up and realize that their hard earned money was wasted on a chance to listen to the same couple of songs and watch the same couple of dance moves live, all of which you can watch on the internet for free. If BLACKPINK is not going to make the value and quality of their live concerts worth the price point, they shouldn’t bother charging at all.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate BLACKPINK and everything that they do. In fact, I think the members are all incredibly beautiful and talented in their own individual ways. And as hard as it may be to believe, I do find myself enjoying some of their songs and choreography. However, they have a lot of room for improvement and need to start making these improvements now before they progress further on the global scale. I honestly wish the best of luck for BLACKPINK and hope to see them continuing to grow and fulfill their overflowing potential throughout the next couple of years.
Under the Korean entertainment company YG, BLACKPINK consists of four members, Jennie, Lisa, Rosé, and Jisoo. Since their breakthrough debut in 2016, BLACKPINK has produced four EPs and one single, all of which have garnered immense profit and helped them build their enormous, passionate fanbase, the BLINKS.
Despite the feeble attempts of previous generations of K-pop girl groups, BLACKPINK seems to be the first to have effectively figured out how to break into the American music industry. Their American debut has been so successful, that they managed to top charts such as the Billboards Top 100, which have led to features on shows like Good Morning America and The Late Late Show With James Corden. Nonetheless, minor and major flaws within BLACKPINK have not flown under the radar.
As of BLACKPINK’s most recent EP release, Kill This Love, named after its title track, BLINKS noticed that Kill This Love sounds an awful lot like their previous EP’s title track
DDU-DU DDU-DU. The overall sound along with the line distribution seem identical between the two title tracks. Not just these two tracks, but most, if not all, line distributions for BLACKPINK’s songs flow the same way. It goes somewhat like this:
- Jennie starts off the song with a small rap
- Lisa also does a small rap
- Either Rosé or Jisoo sing the pre-chorus
- The chorus ensues and is usually either Jennie or all the girls singing simultaneously
- Lisa or Jennie (sometimes both) proceeds to do another rap section
- Either Rosé or Jisoo sing the second pre-chorus
- The second chorus begins
- The bridge consists of some “epic” bass drop
- The third chorus closes the song.
This repetitive order of who gets to sing what, is becoming increasingly annoying. BLACKPINK’s main rapper, Jennie, seems to be getting plenty more lines than the other members of the group. Jennie simply does not have the singing capability of a vocalist, negatively impacting the vocal standard within BLACKPINK’s music and live performances, all of which could be avoided if YG simply just let the vocalists sing and the rappers rap.
This bad habit of BLACKPINK’s can also be applied to their choreography. BLINKS and netizens, avid Korean internet users, have complained that BLACKPINK’s choreographers are running out of ideas because their new choreographies don’t seem to be that “new” at all. Formations and overall dance moves are recycled, which completely strips BLINKS of the excitement factor of newly released choreography.
Reused choreography leads into another complication of BLACKPINK, their bland performances. BLACKPINK: IN YOUR AREA North American tour tickets can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. For such a high price you’d expect the concerts would be over-the-top extravagant and that you’re bound to have the time of your life, but sadly that’s not the case. BLACKPINK’s lack of diversity of sound within their music, or lack of music in general (seeing that they have yet to release a full album), combined with other aspects like boring choreography, lack luster stages, bland set lists, and etc. are all the reason not to waste your money on a BLACKPINK concert ticket.
Most BLINKS save up for months to be able to purchase tickets to go see BLACKPINK’s performances in person, only for them to show up and realize that their hard earned money was wasted on a chance to listen to the same couple of songs and watch the same couple of dance moves live, all of which you can watch on the internet for free. If BLACKPINK is not going to make the value and quality of their live concerts worth the price point, they shouldn’t bother charging at all.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate BLACKPINK and everything that they do. In fact, I think the members are all incredibly beautiful and talented in their own individual ways. And as hard as it may be to believe, I do find myself enjoying some of their songs and choreography. However, they have a lot of room for improvement and need to start making these improvements now before they progress further on the global scale. I honestly wish the best of luck for BLACKPINK and hope to see them continuing to grow and fulfill their overflowing potential throughout the next couple of years.