Dori Baron, Week 7- "The Album" Review

Hi everyone! I will be reviewing a new album that came out on October 2nd this past year. It is called “The Album” and is by the internationally famous K-pop girl group named Blackpink. I never thought I’d be someone interested in K-pop, but over quarantine, I guess you can say I surprised myself. It’s not just the music itself that I enjoy, but also the impressive production, outfits, choreography, and bilingual aspects (Korean and English) that drew me in. 

This album in particular was highly anticipated, especially by the Blackpink fandom (consisting of fans who call themselves “Blinks”), as the last time a song was released was during the spring of 2019. In fact, the first music video single released on YouTube, “How You Like That,” broke several world records, including the most YouTube views in 24 hours (you can find out more from this link below!) https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2020/6/blackpinks-return-sets-new-youtube-records-with-how-you-like-that-622453.

There are eight songs on the album, including two featuring Selena Gomez and Cardi B. The first two songs released before the full album debuted were “How You Like That” and “Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez).” At first, I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of either of these songs. I also saw a lot of negative feedback on these songs. Now, I’d say these songs grew on me more, especially “How You Like That,” although I still wouldn’t consider them within my top favorites. 

Next, “Pretty Savage,” a very hard-hitting, empowering song, was one that I, along with so many others, loved. People even thought this song should have been an early release song instead of the other two. Featuring Cardi B, “Bet You Wanna,” was also a great song. It’s not one of my favorites within the album, but it’s catchy. Many people were nervous about the collaboration with Cardi B since she has a strikingly different style than Blackpink, but the mix worked out well. Then, “Lovesick Girls” was released along with a music video, and this is probably my favorite song on the album. It brings lots of good vibes and has great verses along with a catchy chorus. 

“Crazy Over You” and “Love to Hate Me” are also really enjoyable songs on the album that I love. The final song is “You Never Know,” a more vulnerable ballad kind of song. I think it was the perfect way to end the album. It makes the listener aware that you never know what other people are struggling with and can control, so spread kindness. Since it has come out, this album has been played on repeat, and I highly recommend you listen to it! It’s hard to sing along to all the words since some of them are in Korean, but either way, I’ve been enjoying the songs. Let me know in the comments below if you would consider listening or what albums/songs you have been listening to lately!