Since BLACKPINK's last comeback in 2020 with their worldwide hit “How you like that”,
Kpop fans have been waiting in vain for the group’s next outstanding move in their music
career.
Luckily, the princesses of YG did not let their fans down with the newest hype track
“Shut down.”
Besides the compliments on the addictive melodies and mesmerizing visuals of the girls , there
were also mixed reactions surrounding the issue of Jennie being favored by the agency.
Specifically, netizens pointed out that the company selected Jennie to appear on the thumbnail
rather than the whole group as usual.
It is noticeable that in the photo, Jennie stood at the center and very near to the camera
while Rosé and Lisa all had a part of their face covered, and Jisoo did not even show
up at all.
Additionally, Jennie was given an outstanding red fur hat which captures the attention of
viewers right away.
She was also dressed in a hot tone, which differs from the remaining girls with cool-toned
outfits in green and blue.
This matter made fans of Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo extremely concerned and irritated.
Also, many netizens could not help asking what was the reason for this.
As it has been a long time since the group’s last comeback, they could not understand why
the company made such a questionable decision to stir up controversies in the fandom of
BLACKPINK.
Prior to this incident, YG has already been accused of biasing Jennie several times, leading
to an overwhelming number of hate comments poured on the female idol.
It was claimed that instead of using tricks to pull attention to the comeback so obviously,
YG should have treated all members equally so that the public can fully pay attention
to the quality of the songs and the innovative concept of this album.
It also appeared to many that “Shut down” was a duet of the 2 rappers Jennie and Lisa
instead of a BLACKPINK’s comeback song, since Jisoo and Rosé did not receive much
line and screentime.
Taking a look at the line distribution of the song, it was noted that the two vocalists
both received less than 18% line of the whole song while for Jennie and Lisa, it was 36%
and 31% respectively, overdoubling that of the remainder.
Throughout the MV, Jennie and Lisa also seem to have received the majority of iconic scenes
whereas Jisoo and Rosé appeared rather fuzzy.
In addition to that, it was also speculated that the art director for BLACKPINK really
ran out of ideas and ended up using old MVs as the inspiration for “Shut down”, considering
that many scenes of the MV were tributes to the group’s past ones.
In response to the accusations of reusing ideas from the past, fans quickly came to
defend the group and their staff, claiming that “Shut down” is not a work of poor
ideas.
Through the tribute scenes in the MV, BLACKPINK bids farewell to their old days and boldly
states that it is time for a new and different BLACKPINK.
The name of this album expresses that point the best: “BORN PINK”, a reference to
the birth of something new.
Moreover, in one particular shoot, Rosé was seen pressing the “up” button, which fans
inferred to be a next step in BlackPink’s career to a higher rank.
They also explained how every scene in “Shut Down” has its own special meaning to reflect
on BLACKPINK's journey and prove their success to haters.
Another issue that has constantly hit the headlines these days is the dating rumor between
Jennie and V, which was said to have stolen all the spotlight of the group’s comeback
and other members.
Scrolling through many Kpop forums, it is not hard to realize rumor about Jennie is
taking over the internet as it is being heatedly discussed whereas the other members do not
get as much attention.
Besides those claiming that this love story was ridiculous and definitely made up, some
speculated that YG deliberately spread this rumor to garner the public attention for this
comeback of BLACKPINK, especially for Jennie, since the company still remained silent and
didn’t take any protective action for her although the speculations had already gone
wild on the Internet.
However, many pointed out the flaws of this argument, saying that BLACKPINK is famous
enough to become viral with their own talent and quality products so they needn’t resort
to media play to have a booming comeback.
Looking at their past tracks, we can see that without any speculations and rumors, these
songs all topped Korean and international music charts, proving the true reputation
of the most successful Gen3 girlgroup.
Now Kpop fans are looking forward to further success of “Shut down” as well as the
album “Born Pink.”
Let’s wait and see how far BLACKPINK would grow in their career and become one of the
next legendary Kpop girlgroups.
Have you listened to their latest tracks?
So, do you think Jennie is really getting biased by YG in this comeback?
And was her dating evidence made up by antifans, set up by YG or 100% real?