- Dude, she's gangster. Oh my god.
- It's not like, "Oh, I'm a shy Asian girl."
It's like, "Yo, I have a lot of [bleep] to say."
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
♪ (hip-pop music) ♪
- Okay.
- ♪ BLACKPINK ♪ - It's BLACKPINK! (laughs)
I love BLACKPINK.
- Oh, shoot! BLACKPINK rocking my world out here.
- Oh my... oh my actual goodness.
- A K-pop girl gang. I like it.
- I mean, these beats are pretty nice.
- Honestly, any time a Korean girl group comes on,
I'm like, hoo!
- ♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪
- This [bleep] is fire.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- K-pop groups, whenever they have new music or anything new,
they trend like crazy. Their fan bases are SO large.
- ♪ BLACKPINK! ♪ - The quality.
Just the fact that they have such a huge production like this
is amazing to me. - Look at all the colors!
Look at how much fun they're having.
She's driving a sparkle-- like, a bedazzled tank!
- ♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪ - Oh, [bleep].
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- (snorts) Me.
- ♪ Hit you with that ddu-du ddu-du ♪
- Dude, she's gangster. Oh my god.
- Wow, I'm completely captivated by every single shot.
- Like, look at that! You get the best of both worlds.
You get the sweet, and you get the spicy.
- These seem like the type of people that you would wanna
go to a party with, because they just look
like they have so much fun all the time.
- Look how badass they are. That's sick.
- Honestly, I'm so into this.
- Really beautiful.
- Their choreography is so clean, too,
and I appreciate that.
- I'ma learn some of these dances, not gonna lie.
- And they have that ability to make you feel like a bad bitch.
- All the K-pop groups that I follow that are girl-based
have so many. There's like 10 or up.
This is the first one I've seen where it's actually a select few,
and I kind of like that feel.
- Stereotypically, the Asian culture has been seen as more shyer, softer.
This music video in particular really shows a whole different,
like, badass side to them that I've been hoping to see
in the world.
- (FBE) That was the comeback single from South Korean
K-pop group, BLACKPINK. - And it's frickin' boss.
- This music video earned an estimated 33.7 million views
within its first 24 hours. - Ho-ly crap!
Even the fact that it's a girl group even doing that is just amazing to me,
'cause that's awesome.
- (FBE) Making it the highest 24-hour debut
for a K-pop girl group on YouTube. - Hell yeah.
- (FBE) So, we're gonna talk about them more in a moment.
But first, we wanted to show you a medley
of other songs from this group.
- I'm excited. Even just this first video,
I was so into it. I'm ready for more now.
♪ (soft folk-pop music) ♪ - ♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪
- Ooh, we got a little bit of a slower song.
- Oh my gosh. This is a way different vibe
than the other one.
- What the [bleep] is this?
We went from, like, Juicy J to Jason Mraz.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- You didn't expect them for being such a fun group
to do something like this.
- This has more of an R&B type vibe.
- The fact they can go from making you wanna dance
and feel like a bad bitch to, like, "Let's cry together."
- ♪ BLACKPINK in your area ♪
♪ Been a bad girl, I know I am ♪ - It has such strong influences.
This feels almost like Iggy Azalea kind of energy.
- ♪ I need a fan ♪ ♪ I don't want a boy ♪
- Ooh. - ♪ I need a man ♪
- I'm a man. I'm a man.
- ♪ Click clack, bada bing, bada boom ♪
♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪
- Ah! Girl power to the max right here.
- They've literally done the style of every song on the top 100.
They're not just doing one genre. ♪ (bright house music) ♪
♪ (moves into hip-house music) ♪ - Ooh! That beat swap was...
Ooh, that [bleep] fire, boy!
- If this came on at a party, everybody would flip out.
- ♪ Boombayah ♪ - Oh!
It's just, like, every time the beat drops
with one of these songs, it's, like, "Oh, it's on."
- ♪ Boombayah ♪
♪ Ya, ya, ya, boombayah ♪ - Boombayah up in this [bleep].
Oh my god.
♪ (bright pop music) ♪ - Ooh. I like this one.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- This is cute as hell.
- Watching the choreography, it's just, like, they're so talented.
- I wish American pop could be this happy
and make you feel this good.
- ♪ I'ma fall in love, baby♪ ♪ You gon' finna catch me ♪
♪ Give you all of this, baby ♪
- Hey, that's English right there. What?
- I just can't believe a group could be this talented.
That's really what's blowing me away right now.
♪ (sparse hip-hop beat) ♪ - ♪ Make 'em whistle like a missile,
bomb, bomb ♪
- I bet people are learning how to speak Korean
from their love of K-pop.
- I love it. I love it,
'cause it's not like, "Oh, I'm a shy Asian girl."
It's like, "Yo, I have a lot of [bleep] to say."
- I'm like-- like, I just-- I just--
they're just-- there aren't enough words
to explain how good they are.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪ ♪ (melodic whistling) ♪
- Ooh.
- Mm. Oh my god.
Can I sell my soul to be a part of this?
- Being able to use both languages
and make it into a song, that's really talented right there.
- They can have softer sounds, they can have softer lyrics,
but then also still bring in all these harder elements
that just makes 'em so versatile.
- (FBE) So, as discussed earlier, the first song was the new single
since BLACKPINK's one-year hiatus. So, fans of the band
were a little upset that the band was gone for too long,
and that their management, YG Entertainment,
kept pushing for their comeback single.
- They've been gone a year! Cut 'em some slack.
- (FBE) After watching the video, do you think
that it was worth the wait? - It was definitely worth the wait.
I mean, I felt like they could've put this out a little bit sooner.
I was one of those disgruntled fans.
- The hiatus is really odd to me,
but if it works in the Korean market, then totally.
- The longer people have to wait for it,
the more they get excited for it.
- It's great to take breaks and reflect what your vision is
and what kind of content you wanna put out there.
- That was totally worth the wait.
One Direction hasn't come back yet.
Hosier is just now coming back after, like, a 4-5 year hiatus.
- (FBE) So along with the first video we showed you,
BLACKPINK has released their first ever EP or mini album,
called "Square Up," containing four new songs.
Some of the fandom, who call themselves Blink...
- Oh, like-- okay. Combine-- I get it.
- (FBE) ...were hoping that they'd get more
since they've waited a whole year for new music.
- Yeah, for a whole 365 days, and then I get four songs. Like, what?
- (FBE) With the release of the new single and EP,
BLACKPINK's members also opened up their personal Instagram accounts
to better connect with fans.
- They didn't have Instagram accounts, and they were that big?
- (FBE) In just four days, the girls have all surpassed
the two million follower mark with Jennie posting the most pictures
at just five pictures. - Yeah. It's crazy.
Even if they haven't put out that many photos yet,
just the prospect that they will be putting stuff out
is enough to entice people to be like, "Yes, I have to follow them!"
- (FBE) Do you think that in this day and age, it's necessary for artists
to participate on social media?
- I don't think it's necessary. Look at Ed Sheeran.
He's not on social media, and he's huge.
- I don't understand how fame culture works
before social media, because how did they
ever get connected to anybody?
- Audience engagement is very key. Having a personality now
with your content is super important.
- It's so important to engage with your audience.
When the Korean pop music industry is so controlled as it is
and manufactured as it is, it can be difficult to see
what actions are truly from the artist
and what actions are from the management groups.
- (FBE) So, K-pop groups often have several different roles
for members, and it varies from group to group.
Some roles include the lead vocals, the lead dancer, lead rapper,
or lead visuals, which is given to someone who gets attention
for the entire with their personality and someone with good looks.
- See, that's me. The pretty, but untalented one.
- (people) Aww. - (child) Cute.
- (FBE) So, BLACKPINK has roles for the girls that we'll put
in a fact for this episode. What are your thoughts
on how each member may focus on one area,
but they all come together to make a cohesive
and successful group like BLACKPINK?
- Well, they always say... my dad always told me
that a jack of all trades is a master of none.
So, if you have four masters, then you have a super group.
- This gives everyone more of an identity.
I think it gives-- it makes people remember them.
- Each member is in charge of doing one thing.
So, it doesn't ever feel like it's one lead musician
and four backup.
- Kind of creates these inauthentic personalities
for them that they feel like maybe they have to uphold.
But I don't feel that too much with BLACKPINK, honestly.
I feel like they're a pretty authentic group
that I don't think those labels really apply to them.
- (FBE) Finally, after watching some more of their videos
and learning about them today, do you think that you're more curious
to check out BLACKPINK's new EP "Square Up" and hope
that they make more music quicker this time?
- Yeah, definitely. Their stuff is literally better
than a lot of things on American radio.
- I would love to see more music from them.
I don't-- like, the quickness, they can take it
at their own pace, honestly.
- Because the EP is only four songs long,
I can definitely squeeze it in to my drive home,
and I probably will, 'cause it's pretty tight.
- I really, really hope and pray that they make music a lot faster
than a year. I'm definitely gonna check out the EP.
- I'm sure your fans are eagerly awaiting you
to put out new music, but I would say it's about
whatever's best for the artist, like, be it a mental health thing,
taking time off, or wanting to put the time
into making something you know you're really proud of.
I think for the most part, music is worth the wait.
- Thanks for watching College Kids React
and shoutout to the Blink fandom.
- Subscribe and hit the bell for new episodes almost every day.
- Let us know in the comments what we should react to next.
And shoutout to Royal Covers. - Bye.
- Hey, guys. Vartuhi here, producer at FBE.
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