K-Drama Review: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Greysuitcase - K-Drama Review: Extraordinary Attorney Woo | Photo Courtesy: ENA/Netflix

‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is a very lighthearted courtroom drama with a positive outlook on life filled with hope. The series has very little intense moments, cutthroat competitions and evil villains that are usually present in other courtroom drama series.

My Take

Comparing it to the other Korean courtroom TV shows I’ve watched in the past like‘The Devil Judge’ or ‘Juvenile Justice’, or the American shows like ‘Suits’ and ‘The Good Wife’, ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ definitely feels very lightweight.

But since the main character is a woman on the autism spectrum, I can see why the show is different from all those other shows. There’s a certain type of innocence and simplicity in the way Attorney Woo thinks, which I think is reflected on how the scenes are set and shot. And in that sense, I feel the lightheartedness of this drama is part of the way for us to understand her perspective without making the subjects too heavy.

The pace is a little slow for me and it took me quite sometimes to get invested in the characters. But overall, albeit finding myself fast-forwarding scenes on a couple of different occasion, the drama is quite enjoyable for me and it required little brain power and energy to watch this show.

If you’re looking for a feel-good courtroom TV show with a very positive outlook in life, ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is definitely it.

Here are some of my comments about the show.

// Warning!May contain spoilers from the show. //

Woo Young-Woo

Woo Young-Woo’s character is definitely unique and different. Apart from the fact that she is a laser-focused genius with a photographic memory, I think the thing I like the most about her is how self-aware she is. She knows what her strengths and weaknesses are and tries her best to not to rely on others.

Also, despite the fact that she usually unintentionally became the center of attention, instead of focusing only on herself, she also has great empathy for others. With her struggle of identifying people’s emotions and the nuances of facial expression and body languages, she still try her best to understand others by asking questions.

Korean Court Law

One of the things I like about watching courtroom drama is that I get to learn about other country’s laws and court system.

This drama is a little bit hard for me to do that since a lot of the arguments or law recitations that Attorney Woo did are usually in rapid-fire delivery that made them hard to digest. So a lot of the articles she quoted during her arguments in court flew over my head completely (watching it without knowing what the law exactly says doesn’t really affect my understanding about the plot so it’s still fine).

Since we’re on the subject of court and law, I also do think some of the cases in the drama are light with best-case-scenario verdicts. The situations that the characters were in also feels like the most ideal or positive situation they could be in.

Woo Young-Woo’s Coworkers

Other than his supervisor, Jung Myeong-Seok, who feels like somebody who (sometimes) knows more than her, I feel like Young-Woo is the only one who’s carrying her team in terms of work since most of the solution came from her (and I understand that’s probably mainly because she’s the main character).

But I kind of wish to see more on her coworkers’ knowledge of the law and how they interpret it. Other than the fact that Kwon Min-Woo is ambitious and Choi Su-Yeon is passionate about justice, I don’t feel like I really know the lawyer side of them. There’s not a lot of brainstorming or dialogue between the team to reach a solution. It’s mostly Woo Young-Woo who has an epiphany on how to solve the case.

Romance Plot

Although the romance plot is not the main plot of this drama, I wish they could explore more on the subject, especially on how the society views Young-Woo and Jun-Ho relationship, as well as the reality of it if they were to continue with their relationship.

The whole subject felt kind of brushed off with the easy solution of you can’t judge somebody who’s on a spectrum (which I agree with).

Although some reactions were inappropriate, I also do think Jun-Ho’s friends and family’s preconceived notion of Young-Woo was warranted for. I think it’s normal for them to worry (and I do think this apply to every significant other one introduces to their family and friends, especially if they don’t know the person. I think it’s normal to be worried). His expectation of everybody just accepting Young-woo as she is like he does is a little much for me. Especially when he never really talks about Young-Woo to them. I feel like if you want people to understand, you have to at least tell your side even just a little bit or introduce her to them perhaps so they can get to know her more. If not, then how would people understand?

Underdeveloped Plots

After watching the whole season, there are definitely a lot of underdeveloped plots.

But now, knowing that ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is going to have a second season in 2024 (although I don’t know if I’ll still remember the story of the first season if the second one will come out in 2024), I guess the underdeveloped plots and slow pace kind of make sense. There are a lot of loose ends after the last episode ended that have the potential to be explored more.

Will i watch the second season?

Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not like I’m holding my breath for it right now. I guess I’ll just have to see when the second season comes out.

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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

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On My Playlist: Sumthin Bout Love by Belanegara Abe ft. Kaleb J & Rayi Putra

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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.

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On My Playlist: Kids Are Born Stars by Lauv

About the Song

The upbeat track is about a girl Lauv crushed on when he was a middle schooler and how he shared his prophesy that he was “going to be a really big star.” The music video sees the current version of the singer interacting with his younger self and helping him recover from a broken heart.

The song and its music video are also nostalgia bombs, with respective references to defunct messaging services, as well as featuring styles from the early aughts.

“When I started making this album, I was doing a lot of inner child meditation work and this song was me getting back in touch with my 8th grade self and giving him a little dose of confidence because Lord knows he would’ve needed it back then,” Lauv said in a statement. “As an adult I had lost touch with my sense of confidence too and making this song and the whole album helped me get back in touch with the person I really am.” —wrmf.com

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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.

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On My Playlist: High School in Jakarta by Niki

About the song

“High School in Jakarta” revisits Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI’s high school years. After revelling the challenge of maintaining a long-distance relationship and the end of this relationship in the videos of “Before” and “Oceans & Engines,” the video of the third and final single off NIKI’s sophomore album depicts how the young couple fell in love in high school.

As a prequel to the previous music videos, from a nostalgic lens, we see how NIKI and her ex-lover met in the drama club, how they fell in love, and how they came up with their couple handshake, which also appeared in the previous videos. The music video of the song stars NIKI as her teenage self and co-stars Peter Adrian Sudarso, who plays her ex-boyfriend throughout these videos.

Interestingly, NIKI’s 88rising labelmates Warren Hue, Rich Brian, Brian’s girlfriend Vanteyy, Warren Hue’s frequent collaborator Chasu and NIKI’s boyfriend Jacob Ray all make cameo appearances in the video in a yearbook photo shoot scene.

—Genius.com

Reading the lyrics of Niki’s ‘High School in Jakarta’ feels like reading Niki’s journal entry from her high school days. From the mention of some familiar names that we know are her friends in real life, the multiple goodbyes she experienced when her friends moved away, new hellos that led to budding friendships, as well as typical teenage dramas and emotional roller coaster that she (and I bet all of us) experienced in high school, the song feels very personal and once again gave me a nostalgic feeling to my own high school days. I think everybody who went (or goes) to some sort of international school, bilingual school, national plus school (or whatever names they are calling it these days) in Jakarta can probably relate to lyrics of this song (believe me, there are lots of familiar scenes here).

Some of my personal favorites:

—
Now there's drama, found a club for that
Where I met ya, had a heart attack
Yadda, yadda
—

I think these lines are funny and cleverly written. Drama is probably the main ingredient of all high school life all around the world.

—
High school in Jakarta, sorta modern Sparta
Had no chance against the teenage suburban armadas
—

“Here, NIKI is alluding to the strains of high school society on relationships as similar to a present-time Sparta. Relationships that start during high school rarely make it through the brutalities of “war” (drama, gossip, expectations), and those that do are admirable.

“Had no chance against the teenage suburban armadas”, illustrates again, the cruel and relentless fleet of 16-18/19 years old [in Indonesia, high school is 3 years instead of 4) constantly weighing in on the subjects' relationship.” —Genius.com

I mean, high school in Jakarta could be pretty brutal fo sho. When your whole life is centered around school and friends from school (which probably what 99% of Indonesians experienced during their high school days, or at least knowing about where Niki went to school when she was in Jakarta, I believe she probably did experience this) it can definitely equates to going to war and winning daily social battles with fellow teenagers who live mostly in suburbia. I think ‘modern Sparta’ and ‘teenage suburban armadas’ illustrate the experience perfectly.

—
We were a sonata, thanks to tight-lipped fathers.
—

“NIKI describes the subjects' love as a sonata, a musical composition whose form is careful and intricate, allowing a compilation of multiple unique movements in a related key. Meaning, the couple had to be wary of how they carried their relationship, especially around their fathers who were guarded and hard to read.”—Genius.com

A little nod to Asian dads (or maybe dads in general) who are usually more reserved and less open about emotions in front for their kids and usually protective towards their daughters.

—
High school in Jakarta, sorta modern Sparta
High school in Jakarta, an elaborate saga
High school in Jakarta, a comedy drama
High school in Jakarta, American summer
—

Also love how she comes up with these categories on different verses. High school days were definitely a war, a saga, a comedy drama, and after experiencing that all year long, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll end the school year with spending the long summer break in America (it’s a pretty popular common holiday destination for those with that privilege).

Watch the full MV below:

Also, the official lyric video:

The yearbook quotes on this picture were pretty fun to read.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NIKI (@nikizefanya)

Now that the third song has been released, Niki announced that all her three recent releases are part of a short film that will be released soon. Read about the details on the caption of her Instagram post below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NIKI (@nikizefanya)

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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

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