'Pink Venom' Global Press Conference
19 Aug ‘22 — After 22 months of hiatus since their first album release, Blackpink finally has made a comeback with their new pre-release single, ‘Pink Venom’, ahead of their sophomore album release in September. The day began at 10:00 am (KST) with Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa sitting down together addressing the press and sharing their thoughts on their highly anticipated comeback track, as well as their upcoming album and world tour.
Blackpink Pink Venom Global Press Conference | Photo Courtesy: Blackpink/YG Entertainment
“According to Blackpink, “Pink Venom” was chosen as the pre-release single because the track expresses their identity as a group the best. “Since our album’s title is Born Pink, we wanted to relay our identity in the song as much as we could,” said Jennie. “Since ‘pink’ and ‘venom’ have contradicting images, we thought they were kind of reminiscent of us.”
Composed by Blackpink’s longtime collaborators and producers Teddy Park, R. Tee, 24 and IDO, the single’s soundscape was described as a blend of hip-hop and traditional Korean instrumentals. “I remember the first time I listened to the song in our studio,” recalled Rosé. “It had a very new sound, which we haven’t tried before. I just wanted to record the song right away and show the song’s performance to our fans. I’m so excited for it.”” —Riddhi Chakraborty for Rolling Stone
“'Pink Venom’ is a hip-hop track with a striking sound from the beginning,” Jisoo said. “It features sounds of geomungo [traditional Korean six-stringed zither] and an addictive hook, which show a new side of our charms.” About the song title “Pink Venom,” members said the contrasting imagery of the two words captures Blackpink’s essence.
“Since the moment we debuted as Blackpink, we’ve been portraying that kind of contrasting image as our greatest charm,” said Jennie. “A loveable poison; pretty poison. I think it’s a phrase that captures our identity. It’s also a very conceptual song, as it’s the first revelation of ‘Born Pink.’” —By Hayley Yang for Korea Joongang Daily
Reading the articles and tweets that were covering the press conference, it seems that ‘Pink Venom’ will serve as a prequel to Blackpink’s upcoming full-length album ‘Born Pink’ as well as a reflection to Blackpink’s origin. While explaining that the song will be something new that we will be hearing from them, the group also mentioned the fact that it will still be reminiscent of the essence of who they are as a group.
Combining these facts with the MV teaser that has been released two days prior, the statement made complete sense. Observant Blinks have been pointing out the connections of various items on the scenes from the teaser to Blackpink’s previous music videos. And although sometimes fans could read too much into things, this time, I have to agree with the majority of their observations that there are a few nods to their past works in the teaser that made complete sense if reflecting to or staying true to their origin is something that they have in mind.
Blackpink Pink Venom Global Press Conference | Photo Courtesy: Blackpink/YG Entertainment
“The music video for “Pink Venom” finds Blackpink experimenting with new fashion, styling and intricate choreography as well as conceptual sets. It is reportedly the most expensive music video the group’s label YG Entertainment has ever produced. “In terms of our music video, there’s an impactful dance break at the end, and the set is just amazing,” shared Lisa. “Our makeup, styling and dance performances are also very impressive and powerful.” The members demonstrated the key point of the choreography, a move titled ‘Fang Dance’ which they hope fans will recreate on YouTube and social media after the track’s release.” —Riddhi Chakraborty for Rolling Stone
The statement made by YG Entertainment about ‘the most expensive music video they have ever produced’ also caused quite a stir online as soon as it was released, building up fans’ excitement and expectation for the music video, especially when Blackpink’s music videos are well-known for its well-designed real-life sets (like the fans like to point out, Blackpink respects the green screen community but they aren’t a part of it).
“It’s difficult to summarize our identity in one keyword,” Jennie added when asked what Blackpink’s identity exactly is. “Over the past years, we’ve been trying to convey many kinds of messages through various genres. But the one message that we always put first and foremost is reminding ourselves and others to be confident and proud.”
The upcoming “Born Pink” album has already sold over 1.5 million copies in pre-orders, according to YG Entertainment on Thursday. Considering that pre-orders have only been available for a week, “Born Pink” is likely to become a multi-million seller and set a new record among female K-pop acts.
“For us, more so than breaking the record, we want our fans to enjoy our new album as much as we put our work into it,” Rosé said. “Of course, since we worked so hard on it, achieving some honorable records would also make us so grateful, whatever the record may be.” —By Hayley Yang for Korea Joongang Daily”
It’s obvious by now that Blackpink’s songs mostly revolve around the theme of being strong, independent, confident and knowing one’s own self worth. Their songs are unapologetically self-assured and empowering and hearing Jennie reiterated that message (and also the journalist who quoted her on the article) is something that I personally appreciate.
In the world of K-pop, it’s very easy to get dragged into the less than positive side of things that are going on around and within the fandoms. A lot of the time, fans can get lost in unnecessary online dramas that unfortunately bury the core messages the idols’ are trying to convey. Rosé also added on to Jennie’s reminder of focusing on what’s important by saying that she hoped the fans would enjoy their new album rather than focusing so much on breaking records.
And I completely agree with her. Having been using Twitter as a source to keep me updated with Blackpink’s news and activities, I know how those statistics wars can really took away from the joy of enjoying Blackpink’s music. Don’t get me wrong. Of course seeing all the reports of the records they are breaking make me happy for and proud of them. But when those records are used as weapons to instigate war with other fandoms and within the fandoms, that is what I have a problem with. I think we all should be able to celebrate the group’s or individual member’s achievements without having to put other group or people down.
After the release of “Born Pink” in September, Blackpink will embark on a world tour and meet approximately 1.5 million fans around the globe.
“It’s been ages since our last world tour,” Jisoo said. “Fans have been waiting for us for so long, and we’re also preparing very hard with determination to give it our everything. I want to feel that excitement we felt during our previous world tours.” —By Hayley Yang for Korea Joongang Daily”
“Regarding their Born Pink World Tour, Jisoo stated, “We are ready to give everything we have,” adding that it’s been way too long since they’ve seen their fans and they’re looking forward to being onstage again. The tour will feature a much longer set list than previous shows, brand new stages and choreography. “Since it’s our first one in a very long time, we’d like to focus on our originality and include a lot of new songs,” said Jennie. As of now, a total of 36 dates have been announced for Asia, the U.S., Europe, and Australia with more to come.” —Riddhi Chakraborty for Rolling Stone
‘Born Pink’ world tour that will kick-off in Seoul in mid-October has been labeled as the largest world tour by a girl group in K-pop history, with 1.5 million fan attendance projection by YG Entertainment. As exciting as the news is, the one thing that I’m pretty sure is nagging in the back of every single Blinks’ mind who wants to go the concert is whether we’re going to get tickets to the show because ticket war is going to be bru-tal.
Blackpink will become the first female K-pop act to perform at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), scheduled for Aug. 28 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Lisa is also a nominee for this year’s award for Best K-pop for her EP “Lalisa.” During the almost two-year hiatus, members Rosé and Lisa made their solo debuts.
“I was so excited to reunite with members after my solo activities,” said Rosé. “It felt different than before, to see them again. It motivated me to work even more enthusiastically with them.”
“For me as well, being active as a solo was fun for me, but I felt a sense of emptiness whenever I was alone in a waiting room or while moving from one place to another,” Lisa added. “I love you,” she told her groupmates. —By Hayley Yang for Korea Joongang Daily”
Blackpink’s confirmed attendance at the VMA is also another exciting thing that Blinks are looking forward to. On top of the live stage debut of ‘Pink Venom’ during the event, the group’s nomination for Best Group and Lisa’s nomination for Best K-Pop added to the whole excitement of ‘Pink Venom’ era that will officially marks Blackpink’s comeback.
The press conference wrapped up after 30-minute or so with Jennie thanking all the press for attending and saying that she hopes everybody loves the ‘Pink Venom’ MV too.
Other Updates:
19 Aug ‘22 — Jisoo updated on her Instagram and her Weibo posting photos of her outfit she wore during the press conference.
Photo Courtesy: Jisoo’s Weibo Account
23 Aug ‘22 — Lisa updated with photos from the day on her Instagram.
