Blackpink - beauty overshadows voice

Blackpink has fans all over the world, but has also been embroiled in controversy over the quality of their music and the image they pursue.

Blackpink’s performance at My Dinh Stadium ( Hanoi ) on July 29 and 30 caught the attention of domestic K-pop fans. The two concerts were part of the Born Pink tour - which started late last year - and earned about 163.8 million USD, with more than 900,000 tickets sold. This figure helped the series of events become the highest-grossing girl group tour of all time.

Debuting in 2016, the group created their own path with strong, hip hop music, while other K-pop girl groups were pursuing a youthful, vibrant style.

The Album (2016) - which Consequen of Sound described as "showcasing their signature style of blending genres to create classic pop songs". Billboard and Uproxx called The Album one of the best CDs released in 2020, praising singles such as How You Like That, Ice Cream and Lovesick Girls.

Most of Blackpink's songs are written by Teddy Park, with simple lyrics and impressive and catchy English phrases. For example, "Let's kill this love!" from Kill This Love or "How you like that?" once became a trend on social media. Meaningless phrases like "Ddu, ddu, ddu, ddu-ddu-ddu", "Rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum" are addictive.

From left to right: Jisoo, Rose, Jennie, Lisa. Photo: YG

However, after seven years of debut, the group's music has been criticized for being formulaic. Sputnik Music said that their latest album - Born Pink (released in September 2022) - is "a mishmash of songs stuffed in to please fans". The product combines the advantages of Western pop music with the romantic, cheerful melodies of K-pop.

In September 2022, TIME magazine published an article titled " Born Pink has all the characteristics of Blackpink, just lacking the evolution". Author Elizabeth de Luna commented that Blackpink is no longer just a group, they are now a brand. This limits the members' musical development. "The album fails to open up new aspects for the development of the four girls", the site wrote.

The highlight song - Shut Down - was commented by many sites as not suitable for Rosé and Jisoo , forcing them to try to hit high notes in some parts. Before Born Pink , the group had only released one studio album, the rest were EPs (extended play).

Blackpink's live performances have also been disappointing at times.   In 2019, they became the first K-pop girl group to perform at the world's largest music festival, Coachella (USA), bringing them to international fame. In 2023, Blackpink returned to the event as the main performer (headliner), singing 18 songs.

While thousands of fans praised the performance as "legendary", former editor-in-chief of E-Zine magazine Kim Do Heon said the four YG girls did not complete their mission of spreading K-pop at the music festival, but only completed their schedule. On his personal Twitter, he commented that the group's singing and dancing skills were limited, lively at first but tired and lacking energy later.

He said Bad Bunny - the Latin American representative at the event - did a better job of conveying the cultural spirit to the world . According to him, the performance only showed Blackpink as "beautiful and famous", but was "a step back in every way compared to 2019", "wasting the glory that every artist dreams of".

Previously, Blackpink's performance at the 2022 VMAs was ranked by Variety as one of the worst performances. According to sources, the group focused too much on choreography, so they "blatantly" lip-synced at the awards ceremony.

The group's live singing ability is often discussed. During the opening shows of the Born Pink tour in Seoul (Korea) at the end of last year, the group played the track too loudly, revealing many vocal gaps and out-of-tune vocals of members like Jisoo and Jennie. Rose is considered the best singer in the group but not outstanding compared to other Kpop idols. Jennie often makes mistakes in her choreography and is criticized by the audience for being lazy in dancing.

The "sold out" tour and having to perform continuously also made the four girls often show signs of fatigue. During the show in Melbourne (Australia), Jennie had to leave the stage due to health reasons. Their biggest plus point every time they appear is their beauty and beautiful costumes.

Time said that the group's rapid popularity and influence in the fashion industry made their music career somewhat obscure.   For comparison, Time cites that since their debut in 2016, Blackpink has released more than 30 songs. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift has released more than 60 songs since 2017, Doja Cat has released at least 47 songs since 2018, and Justin Bieber has released more than 40 songs since 2020.

According to Kbizoom, Blackpink is present at every big and small fashion event at home and abroad but rarely appears on the K-pop "stage". They are often called models instead of singers. Before Born Pink debuted, the audience joked that Blackpink was the only girl group that had to "enlist" because they had not released a product for two years.

Vogue magazine commented that the fashion world "worships" Blackpink, making them go against their duty to devote themselves to music. The group wore custom-designed outfits when promoting the single Pink Venom . In the rap of the song, member Lisa wears the outfit and mentions the brand she is an ambassador for. In the song Shut Down , Jennie raps: "Do you see these dresses? We didn't buy it, we asked for it," as an affirmation of the fashion houses' favor for the band, according to Vogue .

There are signs that Born Pink is not only an artistic product, but also a commercial project. Typically, the song Ready for Love was released as a collaboration with the PUBG video game, before appearing on the album. The mobile game BlackPink The Game was released in April, allowing players to experience the life of an idol. T-shirts, hats and many accessories were also sold with the CD, and were popular thanks to the group's tour.

Vnexpress.net