Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Countdown Livestream

19 Aug ‘22 — At 12pm (KST), Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa greeted Blinks through a livestream for the ‘Pink Venom’ countdown event. After the livestream was over, Jisoo, Jennie, and Rosé said hi and interacted with Blinks who were waiting outside the venue before they left on their separate vans.

Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ Countdown Livestream Poster | Photo Courtesy: Blackpink/YG Entertainment

Watch the full livestream below:

Blackpink also reacted to their ‘Pink Venom’ music video when they watched it for the first time with the rest of the world on that same day. Their reaction video was released on their Youtube channel on Aug 25. Watch the full video below.

Here are some snippets I found on Twitter during the day of the countdown livestream:

Jennie updated her Instagram story minutes before the livestream started.

220819 제니 스토리 업데이트

유튜브 라이브 5분뒤 !#제니 #JENNIE #블랙핑크 #BLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/yB6SubP5pE

— DC 제니 갤러리 (@JennieDCGallery) August 19, 2022

Jennie is BLACKPINK's "workout queen" 😂

— NJ (@NJARCHIVED) August 19, 2022

Everyone working out and busy with their own schedules and lisa?? “I beat all the levels on the cooking game”😭😭😭😭

— ً🫣 (@perfectlalisa) August 19, 2022

Lisa thought she picked herself as the member who fit the choreo the most but held up Jisoo and immediately held hers up when she noticed 😂 pic.twitter.com/vwmha0ikSk

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 19, 2022

Lisa really like playing this quiz that she got frustrated when her turn was done.

Hearing that.. Jen immediately said that she can answer one more question.

Look at how happy Lisa after that. She such a baby 😁#Jenlisa pic.twitter.com/BEMoZONVqw

— JL (@ND230917) August 19, 2022

“i want to try the rappers’ parts” JENLISA RAPPING BACK AND FORTH FINALLY??? pic.twitter.com/cQIvLDfcfc

— rj ᱬ (@slytherjennie) August 19, 2022

Jennie chose Jisoo as member who shows new sides for this #PINKVENOM MV because of Jisoo’s charisma 🫶🏻 pic.twitter.com/Ta86so8GhY

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 19, 2022

Is that really a hard question Jen 😏

Jen almost spill their moment here but she suddenly held back and change the reason 😌#Jenlisa pic.twitter.com/zbDOTgAjXA

— JL (@ND230917) August 19, 2022

L: I am anyone???

J: NO!#Jenlisa pic.twitter.com/d7ILfnvFwH

— JL (@ND230917) August 19, 2022

jisoo & jennie doing the crab walk 😭🦀 pic.twitter.com/85TREcxrvm

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 19, 2022

💭 who gave the most spoilers about the new song?

jisoo ▶️ jennie
jennie : me??

her spoiler during vlive 😂 https://t.co/rl9E6LtZwX pic.twitter.com/dHjZPausxO

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 19, 2022

💭 who was the moodmaker during the cb preparation?

Jennie : “I hope she says it’s me. Say it is me”

Jennie’s 🤭😍 after Jisoo chose her 😂

pic.twitter.com/MueDwhyCb6

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 19, 2022

jisoo was copying jennie’s teaser pose lol 😭😂pic.twitter.com/sRcxj9rgZ7

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 20, 2022

JENNIE FAST READING??? YESS MAIN RAPPER pic.twitter.com/deHwXGFDrq

— ❦ (@egirIjnk) August 19, 2022

Jennie rapping while reading that letter and the translator's struggling

— 터틀 🐢 (@xx_turtle_) August 19, 2022

jisoo & jennie “we love you 🫶🏻” 🥹😭 pic.twitter.com/UV53Rqe6Zj

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 19, 2022

After the livestream, fans and masternims were waiting for the members outside the venue. Here are some of the clips before the members left the venue:

Rosé

Rosé had a little fan meeting outside the venue where she cried after meeting Blinks again after all these times. She said she misses Blinks, thus the tears.

I found the whole video as one of Rosé leaving in the car and it really captures the atmosphere and I'm just
😭😭😭🤧#ROSÉ #PINKVENOM #BORNPINK pic.twitter.com/qxbshizx7G

— Colourmeblue99 (@ColourMeBlue99) August 19, 2022

Our little cutie Rosie 🤍 Rosé found out they got first and she was like “Really?” and whispered “I knew that’ll happen” 😂pic.twitter.com/U3PrGvIOFw

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 19, 2022

Rosé is too precious, she cried over the fans waiting under the rain and cried again meeting the fans after a long time 💔

— -𝗥- (@artisticrozay) August 19, 2022

she’s crying coz she missed the fans 🥹 pic.twitter.com/6Iri8SzRMC

— ❀ᐢ·͈ʷ̣̫·͈ᐢ❀ (@joohwangie) August 19, 2022

Photos by: @allurelove_rose

Jennie

쿠마웃음 직관 최고야 pic.twitter.com/KQKz5bXbxN

— 가방 (@Gabangaa) August 19, 2022

Photo Source: @jennieedyou, @official_jensoo

Black Pink's Jennie 😘

Soooo pretty! 😵 She parked the car at a corner near the sidewalks so that we (fans) were not at the middle of the road and at the danger of getting hit by passing cars! 😭

Outside YG Entertainment
Pink Venom MV Release
2022-08-19#BLACKPINK #Jennie#YG pic.twitter.com/9j5V904zwP

— HallyuToYou (@HallyuToYou) August 28, 2022

Jisoo

Photo Source: @ohingchu__, @official_jensoo

Some think she may had another schedule because she never came out the entrance the others did

— Disney fanatic (@dwprincess20) August 19, 2022

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'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.

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Other Updates:

19 Aug ‘22 — Jisoo updated on her Instagram and her Weibo posting photos of her outfit she wore during the press conference.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JISOO🤍 (@sooyaaa__)

Photo Courtesy: Jisoo’s Weibo Account

BLACKPINK 'PINK VENOM' Global Press Conference 🕷️🖤#PinkVenomOutTODAY#PINKVENOM pic.twitter.com/ohWZcNmpHo

— JISOO STYLE 🤍 (@jisoocloset) August 19, 2022

JISOO, Dior fashion and beauty global ambassador, elegantly appeared in a black gown by Maria Grazia Chiuri for the release event of the Pre-Release Single 'Pink Venom' by @BLACKPINK. pic.twitter.com/UGsbKAFydV

— Dior (@Dior) August 22, 2022

23 Aug ‘22 — Lisa updated with photos from the day on her Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LISA (@lalalalisa_m)

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On My Playlist: Pink Venom by Blackpink

“[마이데일리=김나라 기자] Group BLACKPINK’s new song ‘Pink Venom’ broke another record on YouTube, letting the world know of their successful comeback.

According to their agency YG Entertainment on the afternoon of the 20th, the music video for BLACKPINK’s ‘Pink Venom’ surpassed 100 million YouTube views as of 6:35PM.

This feat was reached in about 29 hours and 35 minutes since it was released at 1PM of the 19th, becoming the fastest K-POP girl group music video to reach 100 million views.

The previous record holder was also BLACKPINK with their ‘How You Like That’ music video (32 hours and 23 minutes). The music video for ‘Pink Venom’ reached the feat three hours earlier, breaking the new record they set.

The number of subscribers on their YouTube channel is also increasing faster. The number of subscribers on their channeled increased by 1 million after the release of the ‘Pink Venom’ music video. Currently, it has more than 77.7 million subscribers, and they’re expected to reach 80 million subscribers soon.

‘Pink Venom’ is a pre-release single from BLACKPINK’s second full-album. ‘Pink Venom’ is a hip-hop genre song that stresses BLACKPINK’s original charisma. Korean traditional sounds create perfect harmony with intense beat from the intro, and the powerful rap and strong vocals intensifies the charm all 4 members have.

On the first day of its release, the song topped the iTunes chart in 73 countries including the U.S. and UK, topping the world wide song chart. It also proved its unrivaled popularity by sweeping various charts of QQ Music, China’s largest music chart, such as downloads, popularity, and music video chart.

BLACKPINK now has a total of 33 videos that have more than hundreds of millions of views. The cumulative number of views on their YouTube channel now exceeds 25 billion, and among them, the ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ music video is heading toward becoming the first 2 billion view music video as a K-POP group.”

2022. 8. 20. —yg-life.com

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Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Teasers & Pre-Release Promos

23 Aug ’22 — Right at midnight during their 6th anniversary, Blackpink dropped the pre-release single ‘Pink Venom’ release poster with the date and time of when the track and the music video is going to be released, finally marking Blackpink’s official comeback this year. 

3 days later, the teaser posters and videos started to roll out to the public with YG releasing new updates twice a day, right at midnight and midday everyday. Although teaser posters and videos were expected by Blinks, what really surprising this time around was the amount of other promotional events YG is doing for Blackpink. It’s been a well-known fact (or a common complaint I should say) among Blinks that YG is not doing enough to promote the group during their comebacks considering how big their fan bases are. The short promotional period on music shows and the lack of public appearances and interviews didn’t go unnoticed by the fans who usually are looking forward to see the members on-screen during their comeback periods which are usually short-lived and leave much to be desired.

This time around though, it’s different. Something shifted in YG’s marketing strategy and they definitely put more budget and effort to promote the group’s comeback.

Starting with the ‘Light Up The Pink’ Campaign that was announced just two days shy of the D-day, ‘Pink Venom’ big billboards that were spotted in Seoul, ‘Pink Venom’ Youtube shorts challenge, and ‘Pink Venom’ scavenger hunt one day before the comeback, these new promotional events caught Blinks’ attention immediately. Many online were saying that it must have to do with Blackpink’s contract renewal next year and that’s why YG is promoting them properly this time around so that they would renew their contract with YG. 

Although that does sound like a very plausible theory, from a business and marketing standpoint, I think it makes sense that they put more budget this time around. Since their last comeback, Blackpink’s global popularity has grown significantly. Even though they weren’t active in the music industry, the members have been making connections and expanding their network outside South Korea during their hiatus period through other events, mainly through their roles as global ambassadors for their respective brands. And as much as the number of social media followers doesn’t necessarily define someone’s popularity, it is one good measure to at least see the growth of public interest on them. Not to mention that their name kept trending on Twitter on different occasions even when they’re not releasing music. I think that shows how relevant they are as public figures. 

With what has happened in the world during the past two years forcing everything to be conducted online, Blackpink’s growth was also something that I witnessed largely in the virtual world. But now that we’re slowly transitioning back to the new normal, making their presence known in the offline world makes sense. It’ll allow them to connect with the fans (old and new), get the general public to know their name and reach more audience in the process. I think it’s a natural progression for their marketing strategy and I’m just glad YG is finally starting doing it instead of just giving the girls the same promotional strategy over and over again.

Now that the pre-pre-release promotional period is over and ‘Pink Venom’ has been released, the one thing that I wonder about is how are they going to top this one for the release their title track that’s coming up next month. Oh it’s going to be big and exciting. Can’t wait to see what they have in store next. 

Below are the promotional items Blackpink released for the ‘Pink Venom’ release. 

19 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ D-DAY Poster. All members reposted on their IG stories shortly after.

Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ D-DAY Poster | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink x #PinkVenom ❤️‍🔥#JISOO #JENNIE #ROSÉ #LISA #BLACKPINK @BLACKPINK 🖤💖 pic.twitter.com/n8bJnyVXxp

— adorable J (@adorable__JS) August 19, 2022

18 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink dropped Pink Venom’ D-1 Poster.

Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ D-1 Poster | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

헐 음성메시지도 있어 pic.twitter.com/IxZYKG13cQ

— 뚜 (@wuvrubyjane) August 18, 2022

UMG has sent out an invitation link via E-Mail to participate in a #PinkVenom 'Scavenger Hunt' in your Area.

🔗https://t.co/Q6o51tGQPP pic.twitter.com/6GWLt5xDOs

— THE BLINKS POST (@TheBlinksPost) August 17, 2022

Blinks has anyone found their gifts yet? Reply screenshots of your hunt!🖤💗

PINK VENOM D-1 #LightUpThePink
🔗:(https://t.co/3eXUr2n5nW)#1DayToPINKVENOM @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/v2Ea09YYIt

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

우와 신기해 pic.twitter.com/1az0xIx7kN

— cʟɪᴅᴇ (@BP_CLIDE) August 18, 2022

Another piece. Nah i think they draw us clowning 🤡 #PINKVENOM #LightUpThePink #1DayToPINKVENOM @BLACKPINK
📍: The Source, CA, US pic.twitter.com/O23S1iKF9W

— aa 🎣 (@aanglerrr) August 17, 2022

WE FINALLY COMPLETED ALL THE PIECES BLINKS!#LightUpThePink @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/inMt7SlXgC

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

17 Aug ‘22 — 00:00 (KST) Blackpink released the ‘Pink Venom’ M/V teaser on their Youtube channel.

.@BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' MV Teaser garnered 63.5M views in its first 24 hours, across all platforms.

— BLINKSTATS (@BLINKSTATS) August 17, 2022

12:00pm (KST) Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ [Light Up The Pink] Campaign 2022

►SCHEDULE
-SEOUL 8/18-8/19 8PM(KST)
-TOKYO 8/19 8PM(JST)
-SHANGHAI 8/19-8/21 7PM(CST)
-BANGKOK 8/19-8/21 6PM(ICT)
-NEW YORK 8/18 8PM(EST)
-LA 8/18 8PM(PDT)

Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ [Light Up The Pink] Campaign 2022 | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

wonder what blackpink threatened yg with cause they never ever do promo like this

— ً (@IaIisaIover) August 17, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗#NamsanSeoultower 🚠#BLACKPINK_IN_SEOUL

Coming Up Next✨
🗼→ 08.19 8PM JST
🛍→ 08.19 6PM ICT
🌉→ 08.18 8PM EST
🎡→ 08.18 8PM PDT

Show us your area colored in pink by Quote RTing your pics!#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpSEOULPink #YG pic.twitter.com/76NmwhgDSt

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 18, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗

Light Up The Pink #TokyoTower in Tokyo🗼#BLACKPINK_IN_TOKYO#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpTOKYOPink #YG https://t.co/acGXR3I3L1 pic.twitter.com/NzOxvJREBj

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 19, 2022

#BLACKPINK “PINK VENOM” Light Up The Pink - Tokyo Tower, Japan!#LightUpThePink #PINKVENOM @BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/G2PpDHZ80M

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 19, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗

Light Up The Pink #centralwOrld in Bangkok🛍#BLACKPINK_IN_BANGKOK#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpBANGKOKPink #YG https://t.co/acGXR3I3L1 pic.twitter.com/cZQDSTDJx2

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 20, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗

Light Up The Pink #BrooklynBridge in New York 🌉#BLACKPINK_IN_NY#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpNYPink #YG https://t.co/acGXR3I3L1 pic.twitter.com/jAz86hjU5T

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 20, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗

Light Up The Pink #HammersmithBridge in London 🌉 #BLACKPINK_IN_LONDON#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpLONDONPink #YG https://t.co/acGXR3I3L1 pic.twitter.com/8bJrgNVwc8

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 20, 2022

#BLACKPINK #LightUpThePink 💗

Light Up The Pink #SantaMonicaPacificWheel in LA 🎡#BLACKPINK_IN_LA#블랙핑크 #PinkVenom #LightUpLAPink #YG https://t.co/acGXR3I3L1 pic.twitter.com/IJeRKq84sD

— BLACKPINK GLOBAL BLINK (@ygofficialblink) August 20, 2022

In the spirit of the campaign, apparently YG also turned their building pink.

YG Building turned PINK!!#LightUpThePink #BLACKPINK #PINKVENOM @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/FtYHw9Rw5V

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 18, 2022

Some fan bases also joined the fun project by sponsoring their own #LightUpThePink project.

#BLACKPINK “PINK VENOM” Light Up The Pink project by Filo Blinks 🇵🇭 #LightUpThePink #PINKVENOM @BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/8Y0QVVuZQl

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 19, 2022

We are so happy to bring LIGHT UP THE PINK in MANILA.

Thank you Filo-BLINKS for coming! 🖤💗

PINK VENOM LIVE COUNTDOWN#BLACKPINKVenomInYourArea#오후한시_핑크베놈에_중독될시간 @BLACKPINK #LIGHTUPTHEPINK_MNL pic.twitter.com/rVJwqDcItd

— BLACKPINK PH 🇵🇭🐍🕷 (@BLACKPINK_PH) August 19, 2022

💓 LIGHT UP THE PINK by THE OT4 VIETNAM 💓

One of the 5 highest Ferris wheels in the world located in Vietnam has been lighting up in pink for the welcoming of Blackpink and Pink Venom!

BLACKPINK IS BACK#PinkVenomOutTODAY#PINKVENOM @BLACKPINK @ygent_official pic.twitter.com/nBTpg4eVYG

— Catherine Nguyen (@caseenguyen) August 18, 2022

Other landmarks around the world also joined the #LightUpThePink campaing. Here are some of them that I found:

EGYPT PYRAMIDS TURNING PINK FOR #LightUpThePink 💗 Egyptian blinks this's our moment! #PINKVENOM #PinkVenomOutTODAY #BORNPINK #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/Bysjp5sWKl

— TayPink || PINK VENOM (@TaylenaAlwyn) August 18, 2022

Niagra Falls turns pink for #LightUpThePink to welcome blackpink comeback#PINKVENOM #PinkVenomOutTODAY #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/nxHsmsRM2s

— J (@ho3forrosie) August 18, 2022

개간지작살 pic.twitter.com/KSb6WD5Wke

— 츄이밍z (@chuwimming) August 18, 2022

#BLACKPINK “PINK VENOM” large billboard ad in Seoul, South Korea#2DaysToPINKVENOM #PINKVENOM @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/UJCBzZgRZG

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💕 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

The ‘Pink Venom’ Billboard in Seoul is now completed! pic.twitter.com/b73XrBZCjK

— 🕷 (@GIRL0VESICK) August 18, 2022

검은색도 있오#PINKVENOM #BLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/PgjFiu1Q1A

— 젠뚜기 (@jenddukie_S2) August 21, 2022

yg suddenly doing a better job in promoting the pinks, you know they're trying to get those renewal papers signed 😭

— Js1𓆏 |∞ (@MISSDIORJISOO) August 17, 2022

that contract renewal meeting must've been harsh bcs yg is suddenly promoting bp???

— sé (@yslfruity) August 17, 2022

07:00pm (KST) Blackpink announced #PinkVenomChallenge that’s coming soon.

BLACKPINK #PinkVenomChallenge Coming soon! #JISOO⁰
Stay tuned for #BLACKPINK 🖤💖 #PinkVenomChallenge Only on YouTube Shorts
▶️https://t.co/NVCUk0pNBr#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #JISOO #지수 #PreReleaseSingle #PinkVenom #PinkVenomChallenge #YouTube #Shorts #YG

— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

BLACKPINK #PinkVenomChallenge Coming soon! #JENNIE⁰
Stay tuned for #BLACKPINK 🖤💖 #PinkVenomChallenge Only on YouTube Shorts
▶️https://t.co/cEXWrh9UQI#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #JENNIE #제니 #PreReleaseSingle #PinkVenom #PinkVenomChallenge #YouTube #Shorts #YG

— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

BLACKPINK #PinkVenomChallenge Coming soon! #ROSÉ⁰
Stay tuned for #BLACKPINK 🖤💖 #PinkVenomChallenge Only on YouTube Shorts
▶️https://t.co/wDFCOkQIMK#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #ROSÉ #로제 #PreReleaseSingle #PinkVenom #PinkVenomChallenge #YouTube #Shorts #YG

— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

BLACKPINK #PinkVenomChallenge Coming soon! #LISA

Stay tuned for #BLACKPINK 🖤💖 #PinkVenomChallenge Only on YouTube Shorts
▶️https://t.co/iDCsIwskpx#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #LISA #리사 #PreReleaseSingle #PinkVenom #PinkVenomChallenge #YouTube #Shorts #YG

— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) August 17, 2022

16 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Countdown Livestream schedule is announced. 2022.08.18 11PM (EST) & 2022.08.19 12PM (KST) on BLACKPINK Youtube channel.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Countdown Livestream Poster | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

15 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink released ‘Pink Venom’ concept teaser #2.

14 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink released ‘Pink Venom’ credit poster.

Blackpink ‘Pink Venom’ Credit Poster | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

13 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink released ‘Pink Venom' individual teaser videos set #2.

12 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink released 'Pink Venom' individual title poster set #2 & individual teaser videos.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Lisa | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Rosé | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Jennie | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Jisoo | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

11 Aug ‘22 — Blackpink released 'Pink Venom' the first set of individual title posters.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Jisoo | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Jennie | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Rosé | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

Blackpink 'Pink Venom' Individual Title Poster - Lisa | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

8 Aug ‘22 — (00:00 KST) Blackpink dropped pre-release single ‘Pink Venom’ release poster.

Blackpink Pre-Release Single ‘Pink Venom’ Release Poster | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

YG Entertainment said on the 8th that “BLACKPINK is making a comeback on the 19th. The title of their new song is ‘Pink Venom’, and will be pre-released at 1PM that day.”

The title is already under spotlight for combining the color ‘PINK’ which represents BLACKPINK, and ‘Venom’ which means ‘poison’. A poster was also unveiled that used the canine tooth as the main object. The canine tooth also appeared on BLACKPINK’s comeback trailer.

YG said “We’re happy we could disclose information on the pre-release song, which also represents the start of the major ‘BORN PINK’ project, on the day of the girls’ debut anniversary (August 8th). We hope this serves as a gift for global fans who have been waiting for their comeback”. —yg-life.com

---

Blackpink 6th Anniversary Recap

8 Aug ‘22 — There has been a lot of anticipations all week long from Blinks leading up to Aug 8 since Blackpink’s comeback announcement last week. Not only the expectation for the second teaser poster to drop, today also marks Blackpink’s 6th Anniversary, which usually means there’s going to be some kind of video that will be published for the anniversary or hopefully a live with the OT4, which hasn’t happened for a while now. Blinks (me included) are hoping they would do a casual live instead of a formal studio live for this year because we all miss seeing them in a more casual setting (OT4 3rd Anniversary VLive was one of the more fun ones to watch). But we’ll see if we’re getting any live at all this year.

I just want a casual ot4 live for blackpinks anniversary, where they’re all comfy and squished together to fit into a phone screen and not in a studio where they sit on a huge couch 2 metres away from each other with 100 staff watching them

— 🦦 (@drunkoffjennie) August 4, 2022

0808 🙏 pic.twitter.com/dZHrSBEgI6

— DY. (@Blackpink88xo) August 5, 2022

manifesting for another casual ot4 anniversary vlive PLS @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/oUG1lS3DWv

— Lei ☃️ (@baddestjendeuk) August 7, 2022

Right at midnight (KST), the day kicked-off with the second teaser drop for their comeback. Pink Venom poster was posted on Blackpink’s official Instagram and Twitter account along with the pre-save/pre-added links to the track.

#BLACKPINK Pre-Release Single ‘Pink Venom’ Release Poster

"Pink Venom" is available for Pre-Save now!
✔ https://t.co/WM0YOPNg9s#BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #PreReleaseSingle #PinkVenom #20220819_12amEST #20220819_1pmKST #Release #YG pic.twitter.com/OWwGvJtey1

— BLACKPINKOFFICIAL (@BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

Minutes later, Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé updated on their Instagram accounts almost simultaneously for their 6th anniversary. From Instagram posts, Instagram stories, to Weverse updates, the four members wrote heartfelt messages for their fellow bandmates as well as to Blinks who have been in on the journey together with them these past 6 years. I still can’t believe it’s been 6 years since Blackpink debuted. Has it been that long? It sure doesn’t feel like it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JISOO🤍 (@sooyaaa__)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LISA (@lalalalisa_m)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J (@jennierubyjane)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ROSÉ (@roses_are_rosie)

Rosie’s caption translation:

Rosé: “My beloved Blackpink members!! Thank you so much for becoming my members and my family. I’m not perfect but please continue to take care of me heehee I love you Blackpink!!!” pic.twitter.com/Du0VVCd48Y

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

The members’ Instagram story updates:

Jennie IG update ❤️ @Blackpink

‘6 wonderful years with these cutiess~ Still very thankful and happy to be apart of this family and wouldnt be us without our Blinks around the world~ Thank you so much !!!

And now.. excited to announce our new single coming to you very soon’ pic.twitter.com/IbAYj9Bzkm

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

Jennie IG story update ❤️ @Blackpink

“We’re so pretty~~~”#JENNIE #제니 #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/uXlWOYvI8F

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa’s (Lisa posted hours later) Weverse updates:

Jennie weverse update ❤️ @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/jSIOpTO050

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

Jennie weverse update ❤️ @Blackpink

“Hello BLINK!
Blinks, who I miss! I’m gaining strength at the thought of seeing you soon so~ see you all soon my Blinks 🌈 Thank you for always being with us; It makes me happy! Let’s enjoy with good music now! happy 6th anniversary 🎉” pic.twitter.com/yo95pjOhdc

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

Jennie’s polaroid apparently was taken for Blackpink’s first anniversary. (Source: @jenniedebuts)

Jisoo weverse update 💗 @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/WNxp96PCEf

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

[TRANS] JISOO WEVERSE UPDATE

“My loving Blinks!!
Time has passed and it's already been 6 years
When I first debuted and saw Blinks, I was wondering, 'We didn't even debut yet, how did they know us?!?!' and that felt like yesterday but it's already our 6th anniversary.” (+) pic.twitter.com/HbOXKylY36

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

Lisa: “Everyone! Blackpink is 6 years old 🫣 I’m so happy we were able to celebrate with Blinkeu again this year 🫶🏻 Blinks, stay with us for a long, long time + forever! I miss you so much! Let’s see each other soon~ Love you guys~ Let’s have a ‘Beul-night’ together!!! 🐬💗” pic.twitter.com/BzXCYO9G5l

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

Lisa: “I’m sorry for posting at such a late time~ Everyone~ quickly go to sleep! I love you Blinks 🥹🫶🏻” @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/TYgclWxzpD

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

There were so many things going on at the same time during the first hour of the update, it sent Twitter to quite a bit of a frenzy because it’s rare for us to get this many updates at the same time.

TOO MANY THINGS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME😫 PINK VENOM, WEVERSE, IG POST WHAT MOREE

BLACKPINK PINK VENOM#SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK#육년동안_내심장의색은_블랙핑크 @BLACKPINK

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

I’m convinced they’re together (maybe except for Rosie who updated last this time around. But it could very well be because she’s still looking for good pictures to share or writing a long essay for her captions 😝) because it’s rare to see Lisa posted at 12 on the dot (except for that one time when she wished Jennie happy birthday when she was in China if I remember correctly). She’s usually late with updates or sometimes doesn’t even post at all. My theory is other members (most likely Jisoo who’s always been consistent with updates or Jennie) probably told her or reminded her to.

Big fan accounts scrambled to keep up with reposting the members’ new posts on Twitter and at some point one of them gave up to do it in real time because things got hectic real fast.

i give up

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 7, 2022

With all the throwback pictures the members posted, they immediately commented on the picture quality which seems to be mostly in low-resolution. Most of them do look like they’re taken out of google image search or Pinterest posts. One of the pictures Jennie posted even has a watermark of the poster on it. 😂 Here are some funny reaction tweets from Blinks that I found:

did they google "blackpink" and post the first few pics they could find bc 😂😂😂 they're hilarious

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 7, 2022

jennie searched "blackpink ot4" in google, downloaded it, and posted it in instagram for her 68.7M followers to see

— eight (@jnkimchi) August 7, 2022

What really happened before jisoo posted for their anniversary pic.twitter.com/eZODbufpoM

— jj (@jjalt5) August 7, 2022

jennie was scrambling through google saving tons of debut pics and she sent them all to their gc 😭

— b (@lisalareine) August 7, 2022

#JENNIE and #JISOO searching on google “BLACKPINK DEBUT PHOTOS” “BLACKPINK PHOTOS” 😭😭#육년동안_내심장의색은_블랙핑크 #SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK #BLACKPINK出道六周年快乐 #อยู่กันมา6ปีแล้วนะBLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/OumbuviyVY

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

the quality of the pictures that they both posted 😭

it’s the thought that counts 🥹🫶🏻 it’s okay jensoo pic.twitter.com/soRFaBvt1Y

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 7, 2022

the pinks looking like fan accounts rn posting random pics and some are even blurry which pretty sure came from twitter 😭

— Js1𓆏 |∞ (@MISSDIORJISOO) August 7, 2022

Jennie posting with watermark and then there’s Jisoo posting an edited picture ssksksksks jensoo please pic.twitter.com/qrUwYdbd4u

— R (@pinksbaee) August 7, 2022

Not only them using watermarked photos, but also edited ones im crying 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/KHY0UWJmqd

— ria || BORN PINK (@Iinibeh) August 7, 2022

why do they act like they don't have photos together on their phones 😭

— lucy (@jennieandroses) August 7, 2022

Those are the pictures that should be saved in your camera roll please those are YOUR pictures YOU are in it @BLACKPINK 😭😭😭

— jj (@jjalt5) August 7, 2022

blackpink are actually the most unserious group ever i can't stop laughing

— ً (@IaIisaIover) August 7, 2022

Update: It’s confirmed that Jennie indeed googled those photos. Jisoo shared the story during her Weverse live with Lisa later that night. Jennie also confirmed it herself during her CH+ live with Rosé even later that night.

[TRANS] #JISOO: When we were posting our anniversary posts, #JENNIE googled pictures that she thought looked the best and shared with us saying, "I found all these photos, select some of them and use them!" #SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK@BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/OCUiaRTNFX

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

jennie is so proud that she googled the ot4 pics the girls used 😭 rosie said "shes so sensible and cool!! she said 'whoever wants to use it, just use away!'" 😂

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

jennie proud face of her google photos 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/YZFTHKvjav

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 8, 2022

Some Blinks also were wondering if the throwback photos the members posted is some sort of hint for Blackpink House Season 2 because lots of the photos seem to be from that era. I personally wouldn’t mind watching Blackpink living in the same roof again. It’s fun to watch them in a more relaxed setting.

why are they posting photos from blackpink house are we getting another blackpink house

— jc (@kapsyon) August 7, 2022

There’s also this observation which I realized too earlier. Does this means we can expect new updates from the group when Lisa posts next time? 😆

lisa posting before the born pink announcement and now she uploaded a vlog a day before the anniv shes so real pic.twitter.com/qoAm02QBlS

— r (@lisasuperior) August 7, 2022

One and a half hour later, unseen video and photos of pre-debut Blackpink started to circulate on Twitter. @axis_sinxity, a former YG creative director who was responsible for Blackpink’s pre-debut and debut visual concept direction shared some unseen video and photos from the shoot on his Instagram account.

The Set Up:

[IG] axis_sinxity (ex YG creative director) Instagram update with #BLACKPINK #육년동안_내심장의색은_블랙핑크 #SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK #BLACKPINK出道六周年快乐 #อยู่กันมา6ปีแล้วนะBLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/ilvtDy63v4

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

The Shot:

Blackpink Pre-Debut Photo | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment

I always thought that this picture was taken at night time. Guess I was wrong. Here are some other unseen pictures from Blackpink’s pre-debut era:

Former YG creative director shared that their concept for @BLACKPINK was to create that effortlessly cool look. They want them to be different from all the existing groups at that time.

It was not easy. But during the shoot, the girls embodied this natural talent and chemistry. pic.twitter.com/zjX8d9bQyY

— 지 🏹 (@inthemoodforbp) August 8, 2022

Blackpink also posted handwritten messages and a special video message for their 6th anniversary on Weverse. The clips of the video were first seen on Twitter playing on one of the screen at YG building. Hours later, the HD version of the video is posted on Blackpink’s Weverse account.

#BLACKPINK Video at YG Building#육년동안_내심장의색은_블랙핑크 #SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK #BLACKPINK出道六周年快乐 #อยู่กันมา6ปีแล้วนะBLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/n3rg1WfFCs

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

#BLACKPINK 6TH ANNIVERSARY 2022

Hello this is BLACKPINK
JN: BLINKS, it has already been 6yrs since our debut
JS: I think our 6th anniv has been more happy since it's shared with BLINKS
LS: Thank you BLINKS always
RS: You guys will be there for us, @BLACKPINK until the end right? pic.twitter.com/giiCau91eL

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Jennie: “BLACKPINK 💗 BLINK~ Happy 6th Anniversary BLINK~ Thank you always and let’s stay together for a long, long time~” @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/zzbzQcbCdi

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Jisoo: “BLINK♥️ Happy 6th Anniversary ^_^ Thank you for staying with us for 6 years and let’s continue making happy memories together. BLACKPINK ♥️ BLINK FOREVER” @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/RElUmkuBro

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Rosé: “BLINK ♥️ Happy 6th Year Anniversary~ I can’t believe it’s already been 6 years! Thank you so much for always giving us strength besides us and I love you~ BLACKPINK ♥️ BLINK FOREVER” @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/mNYAxBWua6

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Lisa: “Thank you so much to the Blinks who came to congratulate our 6th anniversary 💘 Thank you for always supporting and loving us! The thought of meeting Blinks often makes me so happy >.< Let’s make lots of good memories together. See you soon! Blackpink + Blink = Forever” pic.twitter.com/QOulBMsMOH

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Rosé updated her Instagram account later that morning with pictures from her archives. The post also made Blinks speculate that she’s hiding her new hair.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ROSÉ (@roses_are_rosie)

After a whole day of waiting for the member to go live, Jisoo and Lisa finally went live on Weverse for the first time a couple of minutes before 9pm (KST) at Lisa’s house (Watch the replay here).

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

The bright bubbly duo greeted Blinks through the screen with their usual introduction followed by singing Happy (Birthday) Anniversary song together. Jisoo then quickly told Blinks that they wanted to do an OT4 live together, but since their schedule didn’t match, she and Lisa decided to go live just the two of them to greet Blinks for their 6th anniversary and promised that the four of them will go live together next time.

[WEVERSE] They wanted OT4 LIVE but they're schedules didn't match so #JISOO and #LISA turned it on first. #JENNIE and #ROSÉ (Chaeyoung) will join soon. @BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/mPf2y5FFL4

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Jisoo then started talking about Lisa’s new hair. Lisa said she actually has recent pictures of them for their 6th anniversary but couldn’t upload them because she wanted to hide her hair. Jisoo told her to post them in black and white but Lisa doesn’t want to. Jisoo then said these days Blinks are good at figuring out their hair colors from changing the hair colors on the photos they posted and they’ll definitely find out. She then added that they actually had a lot of pictures taken lately but they’re all with various new hair colors and contain spoilers so they can’t actually post any of them.

So in the end, they ended up looking through old pictures from their trainee days. Lisa said they actually opened their old computer and went through the pictures one by one, asking the members if there’s any photo that they all happy about. They didn’t find anything that all of them like, but they ended up liking the photos from the Blackpink house era which they then looked through. But while they’re doing that, Jennie Googled Blackpink pictures and complied a bunch which she thought were the best ones and shared them with the group. Jennie said to use the photos and so they posted the photos that Jennie found. Jisoo said that they didn’t realized that the Coachella picture was an edit and Lisa agreed because they couldn’t remember what pictures were taken back then. Jisoo then said (to Blinks regarding the edited picture) that your editing skills are very nice.

[TRANS] #JISOO: When we were posting our anniversary posts, #JENNIE googled pictures that she thought looked the best and shared with us saying, "I found all these photos, select some of them and use them!" #SIXcredibleYearsWithBLACKPINK@BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/OCUiaRTNFX

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Jisoo said Lisa was trying really hard to hide her new hair color but didn’t even realize that it’ll be revealed when they shoot the anniversary message video. Lisa said when she saw the video the next morning (where her new hair is on display), she was questioning why she was hiding it so hard all these time if it’s going to be revealed in the video. Lisa said she originally wanted to keep her new hair a secret until the day of the comeback and was even planning to wear a blonde wig today to hide her new hair color that she’s been keeping under wrap so well. But when she saw the anniversary video this morning, she realized she doesn’t need to hide it anymore so the wig plan was cancelled.

From some of the late comers, the most frequently asked question was where are Jennie and Rosé. Jisoo said they all wanted to go live together, but Jennie and Rosé couldn’t make it because they have schedules so they’ll go live together later when their schedules end. Lisa and Jisoo told Blinks to make Jennie and Rosé make hearts for their 6th anniversary later when they’re live.

chaeyoung, ni ni 🥺#JISOO #LISApic.twitter.com/Xyp4tvSOzU

— adorable J (@adorable__JS) August 8, 2022

<

[WEVERSE] They wanted OT4 LIVE but they're schedules didn't match so #JISOO and #LISA turned it on first. #JENNIE and #ROSÉ (Chaeyoung) will join soon. @BLACKPINK

pic.twitter.com/mPf2y5FFL4

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

🐰*reads comment* "Lisa I love you"
I'm looking for a "Jisoo I love you"
🐣 Jisoo I love you!!

Jisoo makes a heart with Lisa, then breaks it 😂 and Lisa said is that a spoiler???? 😱 pic.twitter.com/iab6ZBwXiH

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

[WEVERSE] #LISA: I love you! Was that a spoiler?#JISOO: Was it a spoiler..? Find out!

🤔👀 @BLACKPINK
pic.twitter.com/KeoBR6BBmO

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Jisoo talked about their debut days where fans came and supported them. She remembers finding it fascinating that people already knows who they are when they debuted.

lisoo heart 🥺🤍 @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/wVM5uMMo7i

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

For the live, Jisoo purposefully wore black and pink and even matched her hair ties. Lisa wanted to match her black pink color coordinated outfit as well so she went to change in the middle of the live, leaving Jisoo with Blinks. When Lisa came back with her new pink top, Jisoo commented that even during their promotion periods, they never wear obvious black and pink color coordinated clothings like this.

For the live Jisoo wore black and pink even her hair ties matched and Lisa wanted to also so she went to change pic.twitter.com/5xLY9yYNB0

— 터틀 🐢 (@xx_turtle_) August 8, 2022

Not Lisa mid-live wardrobe change 😂🖤💗 pic.twitter.com/C3PTfLkSQU

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blinks asked if they’ve eaten and Lisa said they did. They went out and ate something delicious together. Jisoo ordered a course meal and Lisa ordered a regular meal. Then Lisa complained that Jisoo stole some of her meal while enjoying her course meal. Jisoo said it was the best followed by Lisa’s whines.

Jisoo said that since there’s now a video livestream on Weverse, they will come to play a lot during comeback, which Lisa agreed immediately.

When Lisa asked Jisoo the most memorable moment with Blinks, Jisoo answered with their first fan meeting where they gave away ice cream to Blinks on a rainy day. She said they wanted to create a good memory with Blinks but it ended up raining and she ended up feeling sorry to Blinks who came. For that reason, that day is one of the most memorable day for her that now has became a good memory. She then added because today it was raining too, it reminded her of the times when Blackpink has big events and it’s always raining. Lisa quickly added that it was a rainy day too during their 5th anniversary. Jisoo feels sorry to Blinks that rain seems to always follow them during their special days (including this year too, which led to one of the worst flooding in Seoul this year in Gangnam area).

[WEVERSE]
LS: Most memorable moment with Blinks?
JS: When we gave away ice cream to Blinks on a rainy day.
It was a good intention but I felt sorry because it was raining. That's why it was memorable for me@BLACKPINK

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

When Jisoo asked Lisa the same question, Lisa answered with their ‘Stay’ stage during their first concert.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

Blackpink Lisa and Jisoo Live on Weverse during Blackpink's 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

#JISOO and #LISA weverse live has ended with 674,600 viewers!#JENNIE and #ROSÉ will do separate live later on. @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/3WCpfBIagQ

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Not long after the live ended, Jisoo updated on her Weibo account as well as her Instagram story.

JISOO (sooyaaa_智秀) Weibo update.

🔗 https://t.co/mbeG5zxLgQ#JISOO #지수 #블랙핑크지수 pic.twitter.com/mB5vVnZjzx

— JISOO NEWS (@NEWSJISOO) August 8, 2022

Jisoo IG story update 💗 @Blackpink

“Happy 6th Anniversary~ BLINK~ love you, love you”#JISOO #지수 #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/3LELCV1P0Y

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

At 10:35PM (KST) Chaennie went live on Blackpink Vlive CH+ channel at Jennie’s house. Watch the replay here.

#ROSÉ & #JENNIE are live on VLIVE CH+! pic.twitter.com/3KXo7x2WOJ

— 🖤✨ (@jenniesrenes) August 8, 2022

CHAENNIE IN JENNIE'S HOUSE 😭 pic.twitter.com/lrnY4hGs6J

— JENNIE CHILE (@jenniebpchile) August 8, 2022

took them 6 years to finally do a live together 😭

— “ (@delightjens) August 8, 2022

Honestly, kinda bummed that they went live on a channel with a paywall the one time they decided to do it. I don’t have a subscription to the Ch+ anymore (I didn’t renew my subscription after paying for it for three years since they only updated once in a blue moon during my subscription period) so I couldn’t watched the broadcast live. Here are some reaction tweets from Blinks who are in the same predicament as me as well as Blinks who were waiting for a Chaennie live all these times:

6 years and chaennie chose ch+ wtf

— ➰ (@Zense_park) August 8, 2022

i can’t believe chaennie is live and i can’t watch because i can’t buy ch+

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

the chaennie vlive we’ve been waiting since 2018 and it’s on ch+ 🥲

— ❀ᐢ·͈ʷ̣̫·͈ᐢ❀ (@joohwangie) August 8, 2022

I MEAN IT'S CHAENNIE WE WON'T GET IT FOR FREE

— 13 Chaennie Warriors (@13chnwar) August 8, 2022

the first chaennie live and most of us cant watch.. what in the capitalism is this

— ❀ᐢ·͈ʷ̣̫·͈ᐢ❀ (@joohwangie) August 8, 2022

the c in chaennie stands for capitalism it's true

— ً (@97GODSE) August 8, 2022

But fear not, we can still enjoy some of the content from Blinks who are kind enough to post clips or updates from the live stream on Twitter. Although I noticed most of the accounts that updated with the CH+ live stream are mostly Korean accounts. The accounts that usually provided translations for Blackpink contents are quieter. Guess most of them are not a Ch+ subscriber like I am? But here are some highlights that I found on Twitter:

#JENNIE : We're getting ready for our world tour, so we're in a multitasking moment right now. @BLACKPINK

— BLΛCKPIИK GLOBAL (@BLACKPINKGLOBAL) August 8, 2022

someone said they’ll like jennie even if she’s bald and she’s like “will you?” 😂 pic.twitter.com/SBNWutuyQt

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Jennie and Rosé ask that if Jisoo and Lisa come across the live, that they don’t watch cause they’ll tease them 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZhbbhbeQik

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

jennie is so proud that she googled the ot4 pics the girls used 😭 rosie said "shes so sensible and cool!! she said 'whoever wants to use it, just use away!'" 😂

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

jennie is so proud of the photos she found on google, she’s actually so funny 🤣

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

jennie proud face of her google photos 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/YZFTHKvjav

— 𝐽𝐽 (@official_jensoo) August 8, 2022

"Lisa and Jisoo left us a mission? What is it? Tell us!!" pic.twitter.com/btgDe0zAkB

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

chaennie heart 🥺🫶🏻 @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/PKEA3HTfJY

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

jennie and rosé said lisa and jisoo are the comedic duo and it’s more chaotic when they go live 😂 it’s true, it’s true haha

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

not them re-enacting their scene in light up the sky where rosie asks jennie about her pants 😂 pic.twitter.com/nwcmbF2zCk

— 🤍 (@lovesjennie3000) August 8, 2022

For context, they were reenacting this scene:

JN:You’ll never know if this is a spoiler Pink venom
RS:People will thnk were teasing them
JN:Will our pink venom be a song like this?
RS:This is too much of a spoiler. It was almost the same
JN:We should turn off the live quickly I think we'll get scoldedpic.twitter.com/rssabunuag

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

Jennie and Rosé are singing Ready for Love and acting like it’s a spoiler… 🙂 pic.twitter.com/hxkltTv9xw

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

What is this Jennie 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/rIGaeHNkxK

— NJ (@NJARCHIVED) August 8, 2022

jennie.exe has stopped working for a second pic.twitter.com/S5G7tHt5ij

— 13 Chaennie Warriors (@13chnwar) August 9, 2022

Jennie is reading Rosé’s anniversary message haha she’s so funny 😂 pic.twitter.com/KJkC5WfTbl

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

After they finished their VLive Ch+ live, they switched to Weverse and did another (free) live on the app, ASMR style, for 5 minutes. Watch the replay here.

Jennie and Rosé Blackpink Live on Weverse during Blackpink’s 6th Anniversary. | Photo Courtesy: Weverse.

[WEVERSE]
Jennie said she wore a cat shirt because it was international cat day@BLACKPINK

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 8, 2022

A - S - M - R pic.twitter.com/zqwFj3jJAB

— ؘ (@rsevrysl) August 8, 2022

데칼코마니 pic.twitter.com/LPEQGwwRgw

— ᴅᴀʟᴘɪɴɢ (@20l60808) August 8, 2022

“thank you for watching our A S M R” pic.twitter.com/IQj9LRuH4u

— lana (@jnkim) August 8, 2022

This Chaennie vlive is extremely rare and will happen again on 2028. pic.twitter.com/OkqHHnNlWV

— BLACKPINK ROSÉ DAILY (@rosedailyupdate) August 8, 2022

rewatching the chaennie videos and i have to turn the volume up and down every video 😭

— ❀ᐢ·͈ʷ̣̫·͈ᐢ❀ (@joohwangie) August 8, 2022

Even though we didn’t get an OT4 live this year, at least we got a casual Lisoo and Channie lives which were pretty fun. Lisa and Jisoo were chaotic per usual while Jennie and Rosé were giggling through out their live. Blinks certainly happy that we got a glimpse of them during the 6th anniversary celebration.

ot4 complete😭💗 pic.twitter.com/UoR3LJdS3i

— 𓁹 (@regaltypinks) August 8, 2022

It might not be an ot4 live, but we really appreciate your efforts. Thank you much @BLACKPINK ! And again, Happy 6th Aniversary 🫶🏻 We love you so much and we will wait. pic.twitter.com/AmtHkgBCBV

— ria || BORN PINK (@Iinibeh) August 8, 2022

thank you girls 🖤🫶🏻💗 @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/5aSia6zGAr

— 🌻 (@lisamygem) August 8, 2022

After Channie’s live ended, Jisoo posted another update on her Instagram story.

Jisoo IG story update 💗 @Blackpink

“Huh?!?? It’s me!!!!!!! 😍”#JISOO #지수 #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/xCQJMOWM6T

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) August 8, 2022

Lisa also updated on her Weibo account shortly after.

#LISA Weibo update! pic.twitter.com/CMwUvxSRvc

— 🖤✨ (@jenniesrenes) August 8, 2022

The day then concluded with the announcement of Blackpink’s Born Pink World Tour schedule, including the cities and dates, that will kick off in October.

Blackpink Born Pink World Tour Schedule | Photo Courtesy: YG Entertainment.

And that’s pretty much what happened during Blackpink’s 6th anniversary day. There were lots of updates (compared to when they’re inactive), which made the day fun. Can’t wait to see more updates from them leading to their first comeback.

---

Born Pink Teaser - Blackpink Comeback Announcement

1 Aug ‘22 — After 22 months of hiatus, Blackpink finally dropped their official comeback announcement right at midnight on the first day of this month. No more rumors, no more speculation articles, it’s finally happening. According to the 30 seconds teaser, they will have a pre-release single in August, followed by their album release in September before kicking off their world tour in October.

YG Entertainment also released a statement saying that “We’ve prepared special activities that live up to the girls’ reputation as a top artist, apart from the revealed schedules. The girls are determined to pay back the love global fans have been showing them. Please look forward to BLACKPINK’s activities and newly revealed information on the new songs. This will be a major project that will hold the title of ‘the greatest’ so far”.

Watch the teaser below:

The four members also posted the teaser to their Instagram stories shortly after, with Jennie posting the same trailer twice on her account prompting Blinks to say that she must really be excited for this comeback.

🥹🥹🥹🥹

BORN PINK IS COMING
BLACKPINK IS COMING #TheComeback @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/OSHVgYZp94

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) July 31, 2022

After the teaser dropped, Blinks are hoping that we’re going to at least get 2 music videos and 2 promotional periods since there are going to be two releases. Blinks also started to post possible hints that the members have dropped in the past that might be related to the teaser concept. Some of them includes Jennie’s past IG stories:

all these hints 😭 jennie is a genius pic.twitter.com/zBkzpvLIO1

— ْ (@JNKSNS) July 31, 2022

…as well as Lisa’s possible hint/spoiler during ChaeLisa VLive on July 5th. Now that I look at this clip, it is possible that Rosé was taken aback by Lisa’s comment.

"you were born to be blackpink" you can see rosé internally panicking when she answered 😭 OH LISA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE SLICK pic.twitter.com/y2KDvceebl

— SNAKES ARE IN (@Iisashady) July 31, 2022

Having just wrapped up their BLACKPINK x PUBG collaboration of the in-game concert ‘The Virtual’ (read the post here) as well as the release of the music video of ‘Ready to Love’ on July 29th (read the post here), Blackpink is clearly starting to build momentum for their comeback.

Except for Rosé, the other three members also have been active (and by active, I mean they posted to their feed because we all know how they could go radio silence for weeks) on their Instagram accounts, posting recent updates and endorsements.

31 Jul ‘22 — Lisa posted a day before the teaser dropped.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LISA (@lalalalisa_m)

2 Aug ‘22 — Followed by Jennie and Jisoo a day after the teaser dropped.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J (@jennierubyjane)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J (@jennierubyjane)

Jennie’s second post captioned “Not a secret that I’m washing my hands with body wash 😋” prompted a reaction from Blinks like these:

ok but did you wash it like ireoke ireoke tho, jennie?#JENNIE #SOLO #제니 @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/KIJlrvK2e8

— KING KUMA OT2 ERA (@HourlyKuma) August 2, 2022

The ‘ireoke, ireoke’ they’re talking about:

#JENNIE once said:
“wash your hands like ireoke, and then ireoke” pic.twitter.com/V846sLcYVI

— gi | mandu (@jennieaceitgirl) August 2, 2022

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JISOO🤍 (@sooyaaa__)

4 Aug ‘22 — Jisoo posted her most recent outfit photo from the “Hunt” VIP screening that she went to with Rosé two days prior.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JISOO🤍 (@sooyaaa__)

넘 멋있는 거 아닌가🫠🖤 pic.twitter.com/h5TfMQEVid

— ᴘᴀʜᴀ (@paha0211) August 2, 2022

Rosé finally posted on her Instagram story, promoting YSL’s latest handbag she received from Anthony Vaccarello.

220804 #로제 인스타스토리 #ROSÉ #블랙핑크 #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/PxHkdDl3sv

— DC 로제갤러리 🌻 (@RoseDCgallery) August 4, 2022

Melon has also officially added Blackpink to the August line-up as well, solidifying their announcement for the upcoming new release.

Melon August Line-Up: Blackpink | Photo Courtesy: Melon

For now, Blinks are wondering when’s the next teaser going to drop. The popular prediction is the next one is going to drop on Aug 8th, the day of Blackpink’s 6th anniversary that’s coincidentally falls on a Monday this year, making it a perfect timing for a follow up to the first teaser. Let’s see if we’re actually going to get anything next Monday. I do hope that we’re going to get something for their 6th anniversary. An OT4 live perhaps? It’s been a while since we last saw the four live. But with this group, one could only hope.

---

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love

(Last Update: 10 Aug 2022) Almost two years ago, we first heard Blackpink’s unreleased track ‘Ready For Love’ on their Netflix documentary ‘Light Up The Sky’ that was released in October 2020. The scenes where the members were recording the track in the studio were included in the documentary, garnering high interest from Blinks who wondered when the official track is going to be released. Almost 2 years (and unofficial fan versions, leak versions, and short version) later, we finally got the full official version of ‘Ready To Love’ that was released on July 29th in collaboration with PUBG Mobile who produced the virtual music video.

My take on the new song: ‘Ready To Love’ is gooood. It’s so satisfying to finally heard the full version of the song after all these years. The song opens with Rosé’s beautiful dreamy intro, followed by Jisoo’s stable husky voice and Lisa’s upbeat rhythmic tone for the first verse and then Jennie’s and Rosé’s powerful vocals buildup on the pre-chorus before the beat finally drops for the chorus. For the second verse, Lisa’s rap flow is smooth and impeccable as always. The bridge where Jisoo opens with her strong vocal and then layered with Rosé’s harmonization before she ends the song with her distinct voice was definitely one of the highlight of this song.

My favorite parts are probably the intro (that intro stuck in my head days after I first heard it on ‘Light Up The Sky’ and then later after I heard it on The Virtual) and the bridge (Jisoo and Rosé sound so good!). Although every members sounds as good as I expect them to be (they are all excellent singers after all), I feel Jisoo and (especially) Rosé really shine in this song. What’s also impressive is how the girls sound exactly the same as the clip from ‘Light Up The Sky’ where they’re recording the lines from the song in the studio live and unfiltered. (Watch the clip below)

If you’ve heard the leak version (hear it on the clip below), you probably noticed that on official MV, the song has a different outro. While the leak version ended with Lisa’s more playful melody, the official version actually ended with Rosé’s anthem-like melody which prompted Blinks to use this “La-la-la, la-la-la-la” part as a background music for sports highlight clips (I saw a bunch of them circulating on Twitter and on TikTok days after the MV dropped). I mean, it’s actually quite fitting and works well with the overall vibe of sport events.

I honestly like both versions. They’re different, but they still fit well with the overall song either way. I did a poll on my Instagram to see what other Blinks think, and it seems like most of who voted like both versions too.

For this release, Blinks didn’t really set any views goal since the track has already been featured on ‘Light Up The Sky’ and has been leaked online so it’s not necessarily a new song per se. The big fanbases urged fellow Blinks to just enjoy the song and get ready for the group’s official comeback. Despite of that, 'Ready For Love' music video received a whopping 15.7 million views and 2.5 million likes in its first 24 hours on YouTube (@BLACKPINK's channel) (Source: @chartsblackpink). As of Aug 7, the song hasn’t been officially released on Spotify yet (I do hope they’ll release it at some point so I can addd this song to my playlist).

Here’s a timeline on how Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready To Love unfolded:

25 Jul ‘22 — A day after Blackpink x PUBG Mobile in-game concert ‘The Virtual’ first weekend concert has wrapped up, PUBG Mobile uploaded a post on their Instagram account announcing the release date of the music video for Ready For Love which is scheduled to release on July 29th, 1PM (KST)

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

26 Jul ‘22 — Sneak peek of the music video was uploaded on PUBG Mobil Instagram and Twitter account, featuring six different scenes from the MV. The scenes are pretty nicely done I should say. Wondering how the avatars will look in these environments because the ones I saw from The Virtual seem to have a different aesthetic compared to these scenes.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Sneak Peek | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

27 Jul ‘22 — The concept teaser of the music video is uploaded on PUBG Mobile Youtube channel, Instagram and Twitter account.

28 Jul ‘22 — PUBG Mobile released the individual avatar posters as well as the final countdown poster and sneak peek at BLACKPINK's new virtual music video ‘Ready For Love’.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Rosé Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Jisoo Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Lisa Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Jennie Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

I did a poll on my Instagram asking which one is your favorite avatar and looking from the poll result, it seems like Rosé’s avatar is the popular choice.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Final Teaser Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

29 Jul ‘22 — On the D-day, 1.5 hours before the music video was released, PUBG Mobile uploaded a special video message from Blackpink members.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

‘Ready To Love’ music video was the released to the public at 1PM (KST). Watch the full music video below.

Minutes after the MV was released, Jisoo updated on Weverse asking if Blinks already saw the MV.

[JISOO Weverse]

It's been a while Blinkeu🖤💗
The weather is great and I thought of Blinks so I came ☀️😆
Did you see Ready For Love came out today??? hh
It's nice to show you the song that you waited for so long as a gift
Its really soon!!!!! The real BLACKPINK is coming!! pic.twitter.com/ChdGaKBpuV

— 터틀 🐢 (@xx_turtle_) July 29, 2022

Rosé also updated on her Instagram story with the link to the MV.

Rosé IG story update 🤍 @Blackpink pic.twitter.com/V7rFdjvv1L

— 젠바 🙈💕 (@blackpinkbabo) July 29, 2022

30 Jul ‘22 — PUBG Mobile released the second set of individual ‘Ready For Love’ avatar posters of the members.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Rosé Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Jisoo Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Lisa Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: Ready For Love - Jennie Avatar | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

'Ready For Love' music video has received 15.7 million views and 2.5 million likes in its first 24 hours on YouTube (@BLACKPINK's channel).

'Ready For Love' music video has received 15.7 million views and 2.5 million likes in its first 24 hours on YouTube (@BLACKPINK's channel). pic.twitter.com/doel9NN5nB

— BLACKPINK Charts #BORNPINK (@chartsblackpink) July 30, 2022

7 Aug ‘22 — #BLACKPINK x @PUBGMOBILE “READY FOR LOVE” gained the biggest weekly debut by a K-Pop Female Act in 2022 on YouTube Global Top Music Video with over 43.7M views!

#BLACKPINK x @PUBGMOBILE “READY FOR LOVE” gained the biggest weekly debut by a K-Pop Female Act in 2022 on YouTube Global Top Music Video with over 43.7M views! #BLACKPINK @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/59rsoWILkP

— BLACKPINK BLINK UNION 💗 (@BBU_BLACKPINK) August 7, 2022

9 Aug ‘22

#ReadyForLove debuts at #196 on the Billboard Global 200 chart & #97 on the Billboard Global 200 excl. US chart despite only being released on YouTube! @BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/mpDRAaZb4U

— THE BLINKS POST (@TheBlinksPost) August 9, 2022

ready for love debuted on both billboard global 200 charts without being out on any streaming platforms, blackpink's power is actually crazy 😭

— ً (@IaIisaIover) August 9, 2022

10 Aug ‘22

BLACKPINK’s AI achievements:

• VMA’s nomination (Best Metaverse Performance)
• Charting on Billboard Global 200 excl. US Chart & Billboard Global 200 chart!
• 18.7 Million views in the first 24hrs on Youtube (BLACKPINK + PUBG channels) pic.twitter.com/MDkwZzBVXS

— ً (@GIRL0VESICK) August 9, 2022

---

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual

The Virtual is Blackpink’s most recent music-related collaboration with PUBG Mobile that was announced on July 12, 2022. One of the main selling point of The Virtual is that they’re going to unveiled Blackpink’s unreleased track ‘Ready To Love’ during PUBG Mobile’s first in-game virtual concert. The Blackpink avatars will perform the track that has been featured on Blackpink’s Netflix documentary ‘Light Up The Sky’ that was released in October 2020. That fact alone was able to attract lots of Blinks’ attention, including non-gamers like I am, to tune in to see what The Virtual is all about (because honestly, I thought it was going to be like The Show or The Movie which essentially just recycled clips from The Show).

The marketing for The Virtual seemed to be coming heavily from PUBG’s side. I don’t remember YG or the members promoting the event heavily prior to the virtual concert (or maybe I might’ve missed it). Blinks helped with the hype online though because I became more aware of the event through the noise that’s happening on my timeline since the first teaser poster dropped which then built up to the day of the concert.

When I saw the concert, my first thought was that the avatars on The Virtual look so much different than the ones they used on the promotional posters. And not necessarily in a good way. It feels like a draft version of the members almost? I don’t know much about animation and computer graphics, but I do know making these avatars is not an easy task. But still, the disappointment was there especially after seeing the teaser poster version.

Anyways, the virtual concert lasted about 8 minutes or so. And I got to be honest, I didn’t even watched it on the app that I’ve downloaded for the sake of this virtual concert because I was so confused where I should access it from (it might also has to do with the time zone and how the clips of The Virtual already circulating on Twitter from Blinks who can access the concert sooner. So it’s just easier to watch the clips online). Plus, even if I figure that part out, I have a feeling I might be struggling with moving my avatar to the place where I can watch the concert properly because from the clip that I watched, it seems like you can move and fly your avatar around the concert area to get different angles of the stage. And I think when you move, the volume of the songs changes too according to where you at relative the stage. I mean it’s pretty cool and interactive. After the intro, Blackpink avatars performed 4 songs, ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’, ‘Kill This Love’, ‘How You Like That’ (in which you can play some sort of interactive tap tap game during the performance) and the last one being the highly anticipated ‘Ready To Love’, the short version that is because the song only lasted for about one and a half minute. And that’s it.

How was The Virtual overall? I think like most Blinks out there, listening to ‘Ready To Love’ is probably the number one reason why I tuned in to watch the virtual concert. Having said that, it is a little disappointing that the part that they performed on The Virtual is essentially the part of the song that’s already leaked online in the past. So it felt like there’s nothing really new there except maybe for the avatars. Even the avatars could do a little more work Imho. But overall, since I didn’t really put to much expectation on this event, it was alright I guess. It was cool to see PUBG made a virtual in-game concert with Blackpink and it’s certainly a new kind of concert experience.

Here’s a timeline on how Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual unfolded:

12 Jul ‘22 — PUBG Mobile announced their latest collaboration with Blackpink, THE VIRTUAL, PUBG Mobile’s first ever in-game concert.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Announcement | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

15 Jul ‘22 — PUBG Mobile announced that free virtual concert tickets are available to claim online through July 24th.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Free Online Tickets | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

16 Jul ‘22 — The Virtual pre-load event is announced.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Pre-Load Event | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

19 Jul ‘22 - The Virtual concert support event is announced. PUBG Mobile also dropped the D-3 poster.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Concert Support Event | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual D-3 Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

20 Jul ‘22 - PUBG Mobile dropped The Virtual D-2 poster and the global concert schedule.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual D-2 Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Global Concert Schedule | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

21 Jul ‘22 - PUBG Mobile dropped The Virtual D-1 poster and individual poster for each members.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual D-1 Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual - Rosé | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual - Jisoo | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual - Lisa | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual - Jennie | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

22 Jul ‘22 - PUBG Mobile dropped The Virtual D-day poster as well as a special video message from Blackpink members.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual D-Day Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

24 Jul ‘22 - PUBG Mobile published the opening teaser of The Virtual on their YouTube channel.

31 Jul ‘22 — PUBG Mobile published new posters and short clips from ‘The Virtual’.

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Poster | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Poster Ready For Love | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Poster How You Like That | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Poster Kill This Love | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Blackpink x PUBG Mobile: The Virtual Poster Ddu-du Ddu-du | Photo Courtesy: PUBG Mobile

Golden Voice is here! Let's get a round of applause for ROSÉ! @BLACKPINK

Download Link: https://t.co/L5IS34kizu#BLACKPINKxPUBGM #BLACKPINK #PUBGMOBILE #THEVIRTUAL #INGAMECONCERT #PUBGM pic.twitter.com/mwlCTKz7M0

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) July 31, 2022

Show your support for JISOO! Let's get excited for THE VIRTUAL! @BLACKPINK

Download Link: https://t.co/L5IS34kizu#BLACKPINKxPUBGM #BLACKPINK #PUBGMOBILE #THEVIRTUAL #INGAMECONCERT #PUBGM pic.twitter.com/P0XWWG1P2r

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) July 31, 2022

Time to shine a spotlight on LISA's amazing dance moves! Catch her at THE VIRTUAL in PUBG MOBILE again today! @BLACKPINK

Download Link: https://t.co/L5IS34kizu#BLACKPINKxPUBGM #BLACKPINK #PUBGMOBILE #THEVIRTUAL #INGAMECONCERT #PUBGM pic.twitter.com/F75TDC2vge

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) July 31, 2022

Put your hands up for JENNIE! Let's hear you rap along with at THE VIRTUAL today! @BLACKPINK

Download Link: https://t.co/L5IS34kizu#BLACKPINKxPUBGM #BLACKPINK #PUBGMOBILE #THEVIRTUAL #INGAMECONCERT #PUBGM pic.twitter.com/Syed75KzHj

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) July 31, 2022

3 Aug ‘22 - PUBG Mobile published The Virtual full concert on their YouTube channel.

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Blackpink x Rolling Stone

Blackpink x Rolling Stone project officially kicked off two days after Rolling Stone released the first teaser announcing the project. The cover article titled ‘Blackpink: From Strangers to Sisters to Pop Supernovas’ finally dropped on Monday, May 23. Here’s a timeline, Twitter reactions and my personal commentary on the article. (Scroll down for my thoughts & commentary.)

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Article’s TL:DR version

Excerpts from: Rolling Stone Magazine | Writer: Haeryun Kang | Photography: Peter Ashlee | Additional Photography: YG Entertainment
(p.s: Read the full article on Rolling Stone Magazine website. I only chose the parts that I thought was interesting. Some of the additional photos I used are from YGE because there were only a few shots from Rolling Stone. Layout graphics by yours truly.)

Here’s the TL:DR version of the article:
(Allow time for the images to load. Click on the next/previous arrow to load the images.)

Blackpink x Rollingstone

From Strangers to Sisters to Pop Supernovas
Writer: Haeryun Kang | Photography: Peter Ash Lee

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Blackpink x Rolling Stone Timeline

23 May 2022 - Rolling Stone magazine dropped their June 2022 issue with Blackpink on the cover titled “Blackpink: From Strangers to Sisters to Pop Supernovas” along with the behind-the-scenes video of the cover shoot on their Youtube channel.

They also announced the collector’s edition box set that is available to pre-order for $129 and digital covers, exclusive interviews, and more that will be released during the week. (I do wonder what this ‘more’ will entails.)

.@BLACKPINK is Rolling Stone's June cover star. #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

The world's biggest girl group give their most revealing interview yet about how they make music, deal with the demands of stardom, became family, and more.

Story/Photos: https://t.co/OofKoWn07a pic.twitter.com/89S9cESPQc

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

ON SALE NOW: Rolling Stone Collector’s Edition Box Set Featuring @BLACKPINK #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

» a copy of the June 2022 issue
» 4 issues of the magazine with solo covers
» an exclusive 44-page zine
» 4 premium photo prints
» MORE

PRE-ORDER: https://t.co/Pn69KH7U98 pic.twitter.com/yHEPNF0QEB

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

There’s no indication @BLACKPINK is anything but full speed ahead. #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

Behind the veneer of pop perfection, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé talked to us about still figuring out their paths as individual musicians: https://t.co/nfvLT55o9T pic.twitter.com/C9tcb5Ya44

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

We're celebrating #BLACKPINKxRollingStone all week long with digital covers, exclusive interviews, and more. Stay tuned. @BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 pic.twitter.com/K2A3sLz5ll

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

2.5 hours later, the hashtag #BLACKPINKxRollingStone trended alongside the topic “WELCOME BACK BLACKPINK” on Twitter. It kind of feels like a comeback (but it’s not. We’re still waiting on that).

You did it, #Blinks 📱 @BLACKPINK is trending WORLDWIDE #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

Story/Photos: https://t.co/nfvLT55o9T
Boxset: https://t.co/BWDabApMxt
Behind-the-scenes: https://t.co/eDXDwEPYk3 pic.twitter.com/l57z2BkkNw

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

Rolling Stone then started posting individual quotes from each members from the article on their Twitter.

Jisoo is the only member of @BLACKPINK who hasn't released solo music, though there’s buzz she might sometime this year. #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

Read more here: https://t.co/lNkBgl3GlE pic.twitter.com/WASa7TFXRP

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

Lisa of @BLACKPINK talks about the group's longevity: "I mean, won’t Blackpink last at least 10 more years? We’ll be nearly 40 by then. Someday we’ll get married and things like that." #BLACKPINKxRollingStone

READ: https://t.co/lNkBgkM5u6 pic.twitter.com/CHQJaEeaOu

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

Fun or not, making music is full of pressure, as @BLACKPINK recall during a break from our photo shoot.

Read the #BLACKPINKxRollingStone interview here: https://t.co/d0ATd5AF3L pic.twitter.com/9YXDfoEXWM

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

Lisa talked to us about wanting to diversify her sound, citing @rosalia as an exemplar.

"Rosalía is so cool. She has her own Spanish culture, that’s inside her person, that influences her music..." #BLACKPINKxRollingStone https://t.co/lNkBgkM5u6 pic.twitter.com/TarSp6T0Yo

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 23, 2022

12 hours later, Rolling Stone shared a TikTok video of the behind-the-scenes from their cover shoot on their account.

Hey #Blinks, enjoying #BLACKPINKxRollingStone so far?

Head to our TikTok for a behind-the-scenes look at our @BLACKPINK photo shoot, set to one of the group's biggest hits: https://t.co/U9IPLH1xCo pic.twitter.com/dwLFHtN7fD

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 24, 2022

Other than some other additional tweets they put out, that’s pretty much wrapped the first day of #BLACKPINKxRollingStone week.

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My thoughts

The Cover

Okay, honestly, I was surprised that the screenshots circulated earlier on Twitter was actually the cover of the magazine. I was definitely disappointed with the looks that they picked for the cover but wasn’t all that surprised to see another minimal set for their shoot. But still, this is the Rolling Stone we’re talking about. Even if we can’t compare it to the Billboard March 2019 cover shoot or the Vogue Korea March 2020 cover shoot since the background set ups are different, I was kind of expecting something like what they did for the Elle US October 2020 cover shoot (the article’s pretty good to if you want to read it). That shoot also used a plain background but the outfits were much better in my opinion. Individually, each outfit still feels fitting for each member and collectively, it looks cohesive as a group. Plus they each got 4 looks instead of 2-3 looks they got on this article. Also, for a supposedly big project that they’ve been promoting, they surely use so little photos for their cover article. I think other magazines use more photos in one article.

Blackpink for Elle US October 2020 | Photography by: Hee June Kim

Out of the four outfits, Jennie’s Jean Paul Gaultier outfit is probably the one that stood out the most to me. It looks unique and expensive and very fitting to her style. As for the rest, if they were going for a concept here, I need some sort of explanation of what the concept was because, honestly, I don’t really get it from the end result. The looks of the three other members feel a little like stepping back in time to their rookie days, before they were global ambassadors for the respective brands they’re currently representing. Or have I gotten used to seeing them in their current style that when they changed it up, I’m not really feeling it? Perhaps. In any case, that’s that on the cover. Moving on.

The Article

My first gut reaction after reading the article was, “Oh, that’s it? Well, alrighty then.” The article was not badly written, but there wasn’t much new information that we (the ‘we’ I’m talking about here are the fans who have been following the group for a while and not new fans) haven’t already know. It almost felt like this was Rolling Stone’s first meet with Blackpink and they just starting to get to know some basic things about the group and so they didn’t delve into deeper questions. You know, like when you meet someone for the first time, you still trying to figure this person out and wouldn’t necessarily ask them personal questions kind of thing. This article kind of feels like that to me.

Since there are going to be individual articles on each members, for this one, I’m going to focus on the group aspect and some of the things that the members talked about that aren’t mentioned on their individual articles (Some things are apparently quoted from their individual articles so it’ll make more sense to talk about it later in context).

First off, the descriptions used to introduce the group and the members are similar to other articles that have been published in the past. Maybe it’s hard to come up with new variations to introduce the origin of the group but still, I thought by now at least there will be a new way to introduce the four members in a more creative way (or maybe that’s too much of an ask from me).

The parts where they talked about their trainee days are also familiar. We’ve heard the stories mentioned on countless interviews before as well as on Blackpink’s vlog diaries on their Youtube channel. I thought this was a missed opportunity to asked other questions that have never been discussed before or maybe dig deeper to the answers that they gave. (Having said that, I’m also aware that there are probably certain restrictions to questions that the interviewer can ask to the group so maybe that’s one of the reason too? Idk) Although, it is nice to read how the four retelling some of the stories together in the interview.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone

Blackpink x Rolling Stone

Blackpink x Rolling Stone

Jennie’s part of the interview feels fresh. Most interviews in the past, I always felt that she’s more guarded and have a set of answers that she usually use when answering interview questions. Even she admitted it herself in “Light Up The Sky” when she said, “I always avoid interviews or any questions about me because I would rather not talk about myself.” because she’s pretty shy. But in this article, it feels like she’s opening up a little more in sharing her thoughts and opinions. And her answers feel more confident than how they normally were in the past.

For Lisa’s part of the interview, the most interesting parts for me are probably when she shared her struggle as a trainee, when she talked about fighting her own voice during the period between ‘As If It’s Your Last’ and ‘Ddu-du Ddu-du’, and when she talks about how she’s still finding her own identity in her music and see how much more she can grow as an artist (all these were later discussed again in her individual article).

Jisoo’s part of the interview revolve around what she’s been up to lately as well as touching a little bit on her solo plan (which will be later discussed more in her individual article). She also revealed one of the group’s never been shared schemes to get out of practice during their trainee days. One of the most memorable part for me is when she talked about mental health and how classes and therapy weren’t helpful to them. “We had the same problems, so it was better to talk to each other,” says Jisoo. It’s definitely true that sometimes family or close friends wouldn’t understand exactly what you’re going through since they never experienced the exact same thing. With Blackpink though, I think they’re in a unique position where the four of them have very similar lives, especially since they practically grew up and work together as a group. I think there are probably some things that only the four of them understand based on their shared experiences that even professional counselor wouldn’t be able to understand.

“When I recorded something for the first time, I was so excited. I didn’t know any better, so it was fun. I envy that now. Now, no matter how hard I try, a part of me is never satisfied.” —Rosé

This is definitely something that I can relate to. I think for me, this begins after I started college and entered the graphic design program. Before that, designing and creating art were fun and everything (this was the I-didn’t-know-any better period). But after I learned more and more things about graphic design, I became aware of all the do’s and don’ts and the good and the bad things about graphic design that it makes finalizing a design so hard. Even after finalizing a design and completed a project, I’d still find things that I feel I can improve on. Same thing with my photography. There’s always something I wish I could’ve done better, something to fix or something to change. It’s a never ending process. And I think this is something that every artists feel or experience every time they’re working on their crafts.

Reading how she felt about making music was fun but other than that, Rosé’s part of the interview in this article was probably the biggest disappointment for me. It almost felt like her part is somewhat weakly written compared to the rest. The stories shared about her are mostly stories from her trainee days that we already know from other interviews and the “Light Up The Sky” documentary. The mention of her recently recovered from Covid made my eyebrows raised (like do you really need to have that printed for the world to remember, honestly?). The lack of mentions of her solo achievements was noticeable. Not to mention the whole debacle of Rosé’s name description and how to pronounce it which immediately sent Blinks into a frenzy on Twitter (when I read they wrote “…Rosé (pronounced “Rosie”)” I literally scrunched my forehead and said, “Wait, what?” because that was something that I never heard in the fandom. Unless Rosé herself made a video corroborating that statement, I’m inclined to believe that that was a mistake).

More enjoyable parts of the interview includes when the four girls shared about what they’ve been up to lately, where they were sitting around in the waiting room (probably one of my favorite part) telling how they’ve devised scheme to skip practice in the past, their creative process on how they make music, a new insight into Teddy who’s usually more in the background, Jennie’s views on hip-hop, and when Lisa and Jennie talked about Blackpink’s longevity.

The ending of the article was the weakest part of the article for me. The quote from Rosé feels a little bit awkward and I honestly thought that this was a mistake. Later on I read the quote in Rosé’s individual article and it does makes more sense in context (still, they should’ve picked a better line to quote). But honestly, I would’ve ended the article with Jennie’s quote where she says Blackpink is a part of her family. That would’ve made a nicer ending (than being hungry and eating with the people that we love).

The Collector’s Edition Box Set

Looking at the mock-up image of the collector’s edition box set, I have to say that it feels like they adopted Korean’s way of selling magazines and albums. I don’t know who started this marketing tactic, but for me, I think the first time I found out about this whole multiple-version-covers-for-one-magazine-issue was years ago from Korean magazines who usually do it when idols are on the covers. I don’t think I ever saw this from a US magazine (or maybe I just didn’t pay enough attention because honestly, I have stopped buying US printed magazines for a while now). I have to admit that it is a pretty smart tactic to increase sales because when you have multiple covers, the possibility of fans buying more than just 1 copy will increase (i.e they’ll buy 1 copy with the group shot and 1 copy with their favorite member on the cover) thus increasing the total sales for the issue. Although I’m also aware that this means printing more magazines for the sake of one different spread, which is probably excessive, as well as owning multiple copies of the same issue for that matter.

Also, the box set seems to contain things that we would get when buying a Korean singers’ album, don’t you think? Although for $129, getting 5 copies of the 44-page magazine, “images you won’t find anywhere else” (their words, not mine), four premium photo prints, a sticker sheet, and perhaps a polaroid does seems a bit pricey for me. One question that I have about this 5 magazine copies is does each version contains different interviews (i.e Blackpink cover contain only the first interview, Jisoo’s cover only contain Jisoo’s interview, and so on) or the content of the magazines will be the same just with different covers (i.e The whole group and individual interviews will be printed on every single version, the only difference is the cover)? They do mentioned “and more” on the description, but after I checked the store page, no new information is added so I can only assume that you’re only getting what are pictured on the post. With that price, plus tax, plus shipping (plus another custom tax if you’re doing international shipping), the price point is a little high in my opinion.

And if I were to based my decision to buy this box set on this first interview, I would probably pass. Why? First, as much as it pained me to say this, the photoshoot isn’t that special. (Who else is tired seeing Blackpink in front of a plain background? Raise your hand). I’ve seen way better looks and better set designs from Blackpink previous shoots (as I discussed above and in my previous blog post). Second of all, like I said earlier, the interview itself feels very surface level, which is now confusing to me knowing that they’re trying to sell this as a collector’s edition box set because people who would buy this are probably mostly long-time fans, don’t you think? But the content released on this first day doesn’t really feels like it’s targeted towards long-time fans. Although an argument could be made that this is probably targeting newer fans, who haven’t been buying a lot of merch from Blackpink in the past. In that case, yes, this is probably a good fit for them.

Now I’m questioning who are Rolling Stone trying to target with this project? It’s kind of all over the place and feels a little like a money grab project to me to be honest (I’m sure to more senior Blinks who are very well aware on how YG has been pushing out more merch than new music these past few years, this kind of thing will not go unnoticed).

Also, a little OOT but I have to mention that I’ve been a fan of Korean singers’ album box sets. They’re always beautifully designed and packaged.

Twitter Reactions

Now that I’m done with my thought and comments, let’s move on to Blinks’ reactions on Twitter that day. With the announcement of the time the project’s going to drop one day prior, I’m pretty sure the majority of Blinks immediately went online at the time of the release (I know I did). The first thing I noticed along with the trending hashtag was how active my timeline was. I think lots of Blinks were definitely online and about half an hour later, tweets containing their thoughts and opinions on the article started rolling in on Twitter.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@IaIisaIover | @cookienut007 | @dollabillllls

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

First off, this warning to other fandoms to not mess with Blinks that day since everybody was online was probably accurate. Also, I learned the term ‘Rationed’ for the first time from this Twitter thread (see slide 2 above for definition). Never knew that terminology before.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@lisalareine | @BlinkLuvly | @teu12blink4 | @beulingkeu08

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@kapsyon | @neinlives_ | @lovesjennie3000

The initial reactions revolved around Blinks who enjoyed reading the whole article and felt like Blackpink is more vulnerable, mature and confident in this article, which I agree with to a certain point.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@MISSDIORJISOO | @Percabe38886791 | @daisy_ot4 | @ngsngwdnk

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@SamFlores98 | @xiaojunpinksoo

If we’re talking about vulnerability, I don’t think I necessarily agree with this point. I think both in the documentary and article, the girls showed similar vulnerability (and they still feel guarded at the same time to me) but the biggest difference is probably they do sound more confident and mature in this interview. Jisoo and Rosé have always been consistently open, honest and articulate with their answers during interviews. Jennie and Lisa who (imho) usually more reserved in their answers definitely are more open and confident this time around. I also think that since they’ve been away for so long and fans have been deprived of any official updates from them, it could played a factor on why this interview feels more special and vulnerable to those who have missed them most.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@BlinkLuvly | @PINKxBLINKS_ |

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@PINKxBLINKS_ | @BlinkLuvly

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@BP_4EVA_85 | @BlinkLuvly

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@BlinkLuvly | @lckanz

The discussion about which one is better—the ‘Light Up the Sky’ documentary vs the Rolling Stone article—naturally arose in the timeline. This thread above is one of the thread I found that kind of discussing it in an interesting way since the opinions are split (although in the end, I think all of them agree that both are good, it’s just they each have a preference on which one they enjoyed more).

For me personally, I enjoyed the documentary more than the article. I think the documentary was really well made, especially as an introduction piece of Blackpink to the mainstream audience who doesn’t necessarily know them. And prior to that documentary, I don’t think there was any official mainstream media that has covered them that in-depth (cmiiw). So during the time it was released, as an introduction piece to the general public, the content and the way it’s produced, it made sense. I feel like it’s a good piece. Plus, we got to see the girls in front of the camera, answering questions with their own words while hearing their tone of voice. We also see their expressions and their body language while they’re talking. I feel that creates more of a connection with the audience as well.

While in the article, I don’t necessarily feel those little nuances are being described well enough. Most of the quotes from the girls feels exactly just that, a quote. Plus, now that it’s been three years after the documentary was shot (I believe they started shooting it in 2019 and it was release in 2020, cmiiw), Blackpink as a group has grown so much in terms of their careers and popularity across the globe. And just because of that fact, I think that’s the reason why I was expecting more from this article. I wish they would’ve introduced a now more grown Blackpink instead of focusing so much on the trainee days and the origin of the group, which I feel took a big chunk of the article.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

This thread above was one of the more interesting opinions/reactions I’ve read on Twitter about the article. I think it does provide a good perspective on Blackpink’s life as idols—individually and as a group.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions | Source: @rsiieflrtz, @witchrsp, @rxseinmyarea, @Nipplesstan.

One Blink commented that the article was written like a fanfic, which immediately made me laugh. I mean, the comment is not wrong. The choice of words does sound like something you’d read on a fanfic.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions | Source: @jnrubydiaries, @liliesarerosie_, @lipfeatblinkeu, @trsrzxblckpnk.

In the midst of Blinks busy discussing the article on Twitter, I often saw these kinds of tweets on the reply sections from struggling Blinks who couldn’t access the article since it is behind a paywall. “We’re too broke to read it” got me there. LOL. There are also others who asked what they’re all talking about since they didn’t know about the published article. Some asked where they can watch the documentary on. All these also tells me that there are quite a lot of new Blinks out there.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions | Source: @delightjens, @firejennie.

Other topic that quickly rose to the top tweet category was the fact that Jennie now does boxing, which she never mentioned before (we know she does pilates and yoga regularly, boxing is definitely new). So that’s a pretty exciting brand new information.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions | Source: @delightjens, @JAILSETTER, @FairlyJennn.

Since we’re on the topic of Jennie, Blinks also noticed that Rolling Stone didn’t post Jennie’s individual quote on their social media (all three members got their individual post hours after the article was released), even 20+ hours after the article was published. At first, Blinks thought maybe they’ll release it later during the day (I could tell people were patiently waiting based on the lack of tweets protesting about this). But since nothing happened, their next theory was maybe Jennie’s going to be the first one who’ll get her cover released, thus the missing individual post. But that didn’t happen either so some Blinks were pretty disappointed by this.

From a branding and consistency perspective, I have to say that Rolling Stone dropped the ball on this one. I don’t know if it was overlooked or a conscious decision (if it was a conscious decision, I really would like to know the reason why), but not giving each members the same set of deliverables is weird, especially in the world of fandom where you certainly don’t want to instigate things accidentally (fair treatment to all members in a group is a big thing in fandoms. If you haven’t known by now, believe it or not, fans do keep track of things, even little things). Plus there are only 4 members in Blackpink, so it shouldn’t be that hard to keep track right? There’s spreadsheet or checklist that could help with that, just saying (‘cause I too use spreadsheet to keep track of all these information).

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions | Source: @kylericedesign.

One and a half hours later, Kyle Rice, the senior multimedia editor at Rolling Stone tweeted that OG Blinks have catching mistakes and sending them in the DMs, which I noticed too since I was monitoring Twitter at the time. When there’s a mistake or inaccuracy, Blinks were quick to point them out on tweets so it was pretty noticeable, especially when the topic and hashtag were trending on Twitter.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@allrounderrozay

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@rosedailyupdate

The first mistake that one Blink noticed was how the banner of the Rolling Stone facebook page cropped out Rosé out of the picture on the mobile version. Almost two hours later, it was fixed, reported by another Blink who was probably keeping an eye on it.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@dykechaennie

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@Haekoko | @dykechaennie | @allrounderrozay

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@rosiebratz | @YSL_TIFFANYCO | @mcactuscat | @YSL_TIFFANYCO (2)

And then, a little bit of drama started to arise regarding Rosé’s part of the interview. I think right off the bat, Blinks collectively noticed the “Rosé (pronounced Rosie)” sentence that was mentioned in the article was a problem since it’s wildly inaccurate. Blinks started to tag Rolling Stone and the writer of the article, requesting them to correct it. At some point, the writer replied to one of the tweet addressing the issue and said, “Rosé’s nickname among friends is supposed to be Rose (pronounced ‘Rosie’) without the accent.”, which is still wrong because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rosé addressed herself as Rose (pronounced ‘Rosie’). Blinks quickly replied and quote retweeted the tweet, explaining Rosé’s full name, stage name, and nickname in various different ways. It was hilarious and entertaining to read, honestly.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@CloutNewsMedia | @roseannelove97 | @1997girlie

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@StarDustRainBw | @VijayGif

The whole pronunciation issue ended up being a slightly larger on-going issue since it wasn’t addressed immediately. Clout News Media even ended up writing an article about how upset fans are with this mistake. I think if the mispronunciation is the only thing that Blinks were upset about on Rosé’s part of the interview, the issue wouldn’t be as big as it was. But since there were other things that Blinks were disappointed about, it became one of the thing that Blinks were adamant to get fix. I mean, a name is pretty important for your introduction to the world. I’d probably wouldn’t be happy if somebody calls me by the wrong name.

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@allrounderrozay

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@damnroseanne | @allrounderrozay | @ChaengChipmunk

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@ysl__print | @allrounderrozay

Blackpink x Rolling Stone Twitter Reactions

@RSupremacy14 | @yramesor86

And then Blinks whose favorite member is Rosé quickly pointed out the high number of mistakes the Rolling Stone made regarding Rosé, as well as the lack of mention of Rosé’s solo achievements. They also questioned why the interview revolved so much around her early years instead of her recent ones. Apparently, Blinks have the same thoughts as me regarding Rosé’s part of the interview. Also, I have to say, these Blinks who voiced their opinions and disappointment are very articulate and they do have some great points and questions that definitely could make the article better if they were taken into consideration during the planning or the actual interview. With Rosé’s individual article coming up, I do wonder if the Rolling Stone team will make adjustments to the upcoming article based on how Blinks reacted on today’s article.

“Whole week of content” Statement

Remember this tweet by Rolling Stone’s director of social media where he said “Whole week of content taking over the timeline”?

Recapping the first day, the actual “new” contents are:

1. The Rolling Stone Article: How Blackpink Went From Strangers to Sisters to Pop Supernovas

2. Behind-the-Scenes video of BLACKPINK Cover Shoot for Rolling Stone Magazine

3. Pre-order announcement for the Collector’s Edition Box Set

I’m not including the follow up tweets on their Twitter account and the TikTok video because both are just taken from the article and the Youtube video, so technically, they’re not new content (more like mirrored content). Seeing this, I think the next day’s new content is probably going to be the same thing, but for individual members. Unless they really prepared more new things, which I highly doubt at this point.

Although I’m still reserving my judgement at least until I see what day two is going to look like, I already felt that this project is probably going to be another one of those overpromised underdelivered project. Or maybe I just had too much expectation from one of the biggest brand in music. I mean it’s the Rolling Stone. The brand still means something big right? Or has it changed recently? (Somebody please let me know if it has changed).

Read Part 1: Blackpink x Rolling Stone Announcement here.

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Blackpink x Rolling Stone Announcement

Around the end of May, Rolling Stone magazine made an announcement that they have recently completed a project with Blackpink that soon will be published. The project itself garnered a lot of attention from Blinks that have been looking forward to see Blackpink appears together as a group since their last official appearance in January 2021 during their online concert, The Show.

Since then, there were only a number of instances where they appeared together including on the cover of Vogue Korea in June 2021 (cmiiw but I think this was the last magazine cover Blackpink appeared together on), during Blackpink 5th Anniversary VLive in August 2021, when they were hanging out wearing Lisa’s solo merch in September 2021, Lisa’s Instastory update in November 2021, and during Blackpink WeVerse Global Official Fanclub video call event which followed by their impromptu VLive Ch+ in January 2022. Most of their recent appearances are almost all solo activities so it’s rare to see them appear together as a group.

(Note: Please allow time for images to load. Sometimes it takes a while depending on your connection. Click on the previous and next arrows if images don’t show up.)

I ended up following how the Blackpink ✕ Rolling Stone week-long project unfold through Twitter and it was fun to see the events leading up to it as well as the reactions from the fans during the week and after the project is finally revealed in its entirety. Since there were a couple of interesting of things that happened, thought it’d be fun to share my thoughts on this project.

Before I start, let me say a couple of disclaimers so you know where I’m coming from. For those of you who are a long-time follower of my Instagram or this blog, you probably already know by now that I am a Blink, so I’m looking at this project simply from a fan perspective. Do I know everything about Blackpink? Of course not. I think there are lots of veteran Blinks out there who know way more about Blackpink than I do (even to this day, I still learn a lot of new things about the group from other Blinks on Twitter). But I do think I’m quite well-read in things related to Blackpink since I’ve been following them for a good couple of years now.

This series is just meant to document the project and to share my personal observations and opinions on things that I find interesting. I tried my best to include/link all the sources of the things I found online. Most of the original posts came from Rolling Stone magazine and Twitter and the layout graphics used on this blog post are designed by yours truly. With that said let’s begin the first part of this series: The Blackpink ✕ Rolling Stone Announcement. And here’s the table of content (of some sort) for this post:

The Announcement

21 May 2022 — Rolling Stone magazine posted a teaser of their upcoming project with Blackpink on their Twitter. The tweet that consists of the hashtag #BLACKPINKxRollingStone and the words ‘Coming Soon’ was quickly noticed by Blinks minutes after it was posted.

Honestly for me, when I first saw this, I was like, oh okay. Probably just another magazine article. It didn’t feel like it’s anything big or special just looking at the image they uploaded. But the mood was quite different on Twittersphere when I checked on what others were thinking hours later. First thing that I noticed was there were a lot of Blinks that were active on Twitter that day, which I guess spread the news even faster.

@jisoogaIIery | @Iinibeh | @sooyaapinks

I literally chuckled when I saw these kind of tweets. It almost felt like the notifications on every single Blinks’ phones went off. Everybody be like, “This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Everybody get up and see this Rolling Stone tweet!” Lol. I mean, it’s kind of fitting since the tweet was posted at 8 am (GMT+7) on a Saturday. So everybody in Asia was probably still in bed considering it’s the weekend.

Twitter Theories & Comments

After Blinks on Twitter were awaken, that’s when things started to get interesting. Like every other teaser release, there will always be theories and guesses from Blinks on what the main event is as well as reactions and comments about them. Here are some of the theories and comments I found during the next 24-hours after the teaser was released.

Cover Feature Theory

One major theory that quickly rose on the top tweet category was that Blackpink is going to be on the cover of the next issue of Rolling Stone magazine. And if it’s true, they would be the first girl group to do so since Spice Girls in 2007 and Destiny’s Child in 2001, which I gotta admit is pretty epic.

But then there were some Blinks in the reply section (see slide two above) who were skeptical to this theory since there’s no single updates from Blackpink/YG side about the project. Plus, we’ve been clowned so much this year with comeback rumors every month so I think the skepticism is warranted for (I feel some Blinks now have major trust issue with unconfirmed news).

Cover Feature Outfit Theory

Following the cover feature theory, naturally Blinks started to speculate what the girls are going to wear. Some hopeful Blinks already have a vision in mind that the four will slay with their outfits while realistic Blinks, who I’m pretty sure have been keeping a close eye on every single photoshoot Blackpink has ever done, quickly commented that the girls probably just going to wear simple outfit with a plain background.

This prediction is not too far off than what I expect to be honest. Looking at the shoots the group has done in the past (including their individual shoots), their set usually mostly consist of plain backgrounds with minimal props and neutral (black/white/grey) outfits. The girls look beautiful of course, but sometimes I do wish that they’d do something more with the set other than plain backgrounds. Something like the Billboard March 2019 cover shoot or the Vogue Korea March 2020 cover shoot.

Blackpink for Billboard March 2019 Issue | Photography by Alexandra Gavillet

Blackpink for Vogue Korea March 2020 Issue | Photography by Petra Collins

I also found this one outfit related tweet that made me raise my eyebrows. I don’t know wether this person was being serious or not (I sure hope that this was a joke) but reading the replies made me laughed. People was quick to shut down this idea and pointed out that the outfits on the photos are definitely outdated and not the style the girls would ever go for.

New Album Announcement Theory

If we’re basing this theory off of Blackpink’s last two big releases, it kind of make sense. ‘Kill This Love’ was released in April 2019, following Billboard’s feature article in March 2019 while ‘The Album’ was released in October 2020 following Elle US’s cover feature for October 2020 issue that was released mid September 2020. And with the rumors circulating these past couple of months about Blackpink releasing new music in Q3/Q4, this theory is very plausible.

@Trillasaurus | @gIobalpinks

Comeback Theory

Related to the new album announcement theory, fans also speculated that Blackpink might announce their comeback in this Rolling Stone project. Whether they are coming back with a single, an EP or a full album, or simply coming back to the public’s radar by doing this appearance, we don’t know. But at the very least, I do have the same hope as @Borleh2’s tweet (see slide 2 below). Really hoping that the interview questions will be more substantial than surface level questions like ‘What’s your favorite color?’. Also, some Blinks took the opportunity to tease other Blink who were late to the party and asked if Blackpink is coming back on the reply section (see slide 3 below) which is pretty funny.

@villainpinks | @drowned_dive | @cherriecrumbs

This Whole Excitement

With Blackpink having no music activity since their last comeback in October 2020, many Blinks’ and fanbases twitter accounts sometimes went into hibernation or became inactive. This announcement surely has an effect on the whole fandom seeing the high number of active Blinks on Twitter who were talking about this project in the matter of hours after the announcement was released.

@fatedtomeetbla1 | @venuslikejennie

Baby Blinks’ Excitement

Having been following Blackpink since their debut, I forgot how many new fans they’ve gained these past few years (especially after K-pop and K-drama sort of blew up outside Asia) who never even experienced a Blackpink comeback since their hiatus period is pretty long this time around. It’s nice to see that they can feel and experience the excitement even when the comeback rumor has yet to be confirmed.

@thisisridz | @kylericedesign | @PhotoEditorJoe

For me, after I saw the Rolling Stone’s team retweeted the original announcement tweet, that’s when I started to think that maybe this project could be big. The Rolling Stone team trying to hype this up could be a sign of something different that they’re making. Even so, I still have my reservation about this whole project because sometimes (most of the time, really) the hype for Blackpink’s past projects didn’t always match the actual main event that was delivered. But let’s see how things go.

22 May 2022 - 35 hours later, another teaser dropped on Rolling Stone’s Twitter and Instagram account, followed by a quote tweet by Rolling Stone’s director of social media, Waiss Aramesh.

After seeing the words ‘Whole week of content taking over the timeline’, not gonna lie, I was starting to get excited. Well, cautiously excited that is because I know how all these magazines usually overhype things up. But the sentence clearly caught Blinks’ attention because a lot of people were expressing excitement and expectations after being starved of OT4 content this past year.

45 minutes later, the hashtag #BLACKPINKxRollingStone started to trend on Twitter and the image was quickly reposted and retweeted by Blinks, which then lead to the reactions that I found below.

@13chnwar | @KimJihe54028555 | @Roseyfanse

@venuslikejennie | @InYourAreaHYLT | @urslalisa | @GuneriVolkan

Some Blinks thought it was a tour announcement because of the different city names and time, which if you look at it at a glance, it kind of does look like one. Some questioned why Blackpink & YG sides were so silent about this whole project since they didn’t post anything related to it. But then again, silence from their part is not necessarily new since they’re usually late with posts and updates. Some wondered what Blackpink’s next comeback is going to look like when only a magazine cover announcement could send Twitter into this frenzy.

23 May 2022 - On the D-day, 9 hours before the project was suppose to drop, a series of low-res screenshots and screen recordings of what seems to be the behind-the-scenes video of Blackpink’s photoshoot with Rolling Stone from their website started to circulate on Twitter.

After the hype over the weekend and knowing that Blackpink members can and have pulled some stunning looks in the past, seeing what they are wearing on these screenshots, I was honestly disappointed. I was expecting more than the looks that they have on which seem a little, dare I say, basic? And for a magazine as big as Rolling Stone, I was expecting a little bit more I guess. Majority of Blinks also seemed to agree with me seeing that many quickly voiced their disappointment of the styling of the group after seeing the low-res photos and videos.

Shortly after, the hashtag #YGteamStylistUneed2Rest started trending on Twitter alongside #BLACKPINKxRollingStone as a result of Blinks’ disappointment towards the outfit the girls are wearing. Here are some reactions I found on Twitter:

@joohwangie | @DguSum | @themoonelixir | @mykyu777

@rshourly | @fevbiejun

@0327Qlisa | @soo_hiyyih

@JennieRedJane | @Katherine0_4 | @Annaeeeel

@smallllpotatoo | @crazyaeyngel

The disappointment and frustration were apparent on Twitter, especially if you read the tweets under the trending hashtag. But then again, this has happened multiple times in the past too. Every time Blinks were extremely unhappy with the outfits that Blackpink wore to an event, the complaints usually went immediately to the stylist. I don’t exactly know who get to decide what the girls would wear to an event or who has the finally say to approve the outfits. Whether it’s decided solely by the stylists, by the girls themselves, the brands they’re working with or a collaborative effort between the all of them (if anybody knows how this usually work, let me know. Would really like to learn about the process of a magazine shoot), I have no idea. So I don’t think I can make that judgement. But I do understand why the group’s stylist(s) is always under fire since the stylist’s main job is to style the group.

At this point, I was still holding to a small hope that there will be other looks than the two sets of looks that we’ve seen. User @Annaeeeel on twitter (see slide 4 above) also brought up a good theory on her tweet saying that these might not be the looks for the cover. I mean with the hype that they’ve been creating, there is a possibility that Rolling Stone probably going to do a big reveal for the cover, hopefully with outfits better than this one. But this definitely is not a good start to the project. I was starting to think that this is probably going to be another one of those overhyped Blackpink’s project (not that it’s a surprise or anything. I was kind of expecting that in the beginning). But I’ll hold my judgement for now to see what they meant by ‘Whole week of content taking over the timeline.’

To be continued in part 2 of this series (will be published soon).

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