BLACKPINK Gets Pretty Savage In The Album

BLACKPINK is definitely in your area as they have finally made their highly anticipated return with their long overdue first full length album The Album! In the four years that the monster girl group has been active in the K-Pop scene, the long-awaited and much deserved full album is finally here. BLACKPINK serves a total of eight songs for fans to enjoy from beginning to end. Prior to the release of the full album, BLACKPINK pre-released the gritty girl power anthem “How You Like That” and summer-filled collaboration track “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez, further building the hype for The Album.

Tracklist: 

  1. How You Like That 

  2. Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez) 

  3. Pretty Savage* 

  4. Bet You Wanna (feat. Cardi B)*

  5. Title: Lovesick Girls 

  6. Crazy Over You

  7. Love To Hate Me

  8. You Never Know 

*Author’s Favorite Pick 

”Lovesick Girls”

Taking the mantle as the title track, “Lovesick Girls” is an electro-pop-acoustic-rock track filled with angst, pain, and drama. The ladies label themselves as lovesick as they go through the pain of being in love, losing love, and repeating the cycle all over again. Even though love may be a temporary feeling, perhaps the inevitable of having to break things off and call it quits has to happen. BLACKPINK openly acknowledges that without feeling the pain that love brings, they are nothing and there really is no meaning to continue on. The lyrics, “But we were born to be alone. But why we’re still looking for love,” symbolizes that although there are moments of being lonely and in pain, one can’t help but want to feel loved and cherished. For those who are big fans of their previous song “Playing With Fire,” “Lovesick Girls” falls into the category of darker and emotional songs that BLACKPINK dives into. 

The music video for “Lovesick Girls” is right up there with their signature style of highlighting the choreography, having great fashion pieces that the fashion-lovers would be envious over, and each of the girls having their moment to show off their acting skills. Each member represents the four stages of lovesickness with Lisa representing the emotion of wanting to hold on and stay in the moment with their lover, Jennie and Rosé representing the fallout of fighting, breaking up, and coping with the pain, and Jisoo representing the nothingness and loneliness that follows. Together these ladies bring an emotional and powerful music video that is on par with the other videos that they have previously released. 

The Album

All in all BLACKPINK offers a solid album. The Album is an album that will take some time to grow on you and take multiple listens to fully feel it. As a heavy-weight powerhouse in the K-Pop scene and a four year veteran in the industry, it is understandable if some fans feel rather underwhelmed with the group’s first full length album. There could have definitely been more that many would have liked to see and hear off the album but regardless BLACKPINK came to show up and show out. BLACKPINK makes a statement that they are still very much in our area and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

The B-Side gem off the album is most definitely their girl-crush power anthem “Pretty Savage.” Filled with confidence, sass, and overall swag, this is a song that will get everyone up and feeling themselves. It’s definitely the club banger off the album and one song that many fans will get behind. It should also be noted that Cardi B makes a feature on “Bet You Wanna”, making the female rapper the fourth international female artist that BLACKPINK have collaborated with. The album has a mix of hard hitters like “How You Like That” and “Pretty Savage,” catchy and addictive songs like “Crazy Over You” and “Ice Cream,” down to the more mellow and grungy tracks of “Love To Hate Me” and “You Never Know.” Altogether, BLACKPINK delivers an album that many will enjoy and will grow on those who weren’t feeling the album from the get-go. 

“Lovesick Girls” Title Track Score: 8/10

“Lovesick Girls” MV Score: 8/10

Album Score: 8.5/10

Overall Score: 8.1/10