'Born Pink' takeaways: Blackpink display their versatility in new album

It is their first record in two years — and faces the arduous task of following hit debut 'The Album'

Blackpink consists of four members, from left, Lisa, Rose, Jisoo and Jennie. Getty Images

The girl group are currently on their 'Born Pink' world tour. Reuters

The group hit Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East. Photo: Netflix

Blackpink members also perform solo songs. AFP

Jisoo, a member of the K-pop group, seen here at an event marking Dior's autumn 2022 collection in Seoul, South Korea. AP

Lisa of Blackpink at a Michael Kors fashion show in New York City. AFP

Blackpink at a fan meeting in Seoul in May 2017. Reuters

Blackpink performing on stage during the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in January 2019. Getty Images

Blackpink performing at Coachella in Indio, California, in April 2019. Getty Images

Blackpink have returned with their highly anticipated second album, Born Pink.

The tracklist is made up of eight songs spanning various genres including pop, hip-hop, disco, rock and ballad.

The band, made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose, and Lisa, are one of the world’s biggest K-pop girl groups.

Blackpink at the 2022 MTV VMAs in New Jersey in August. Getty Images

Born Pink follows Blackpink's 2020 hit debut The Album, which peaked at No 2 on the Billboard 200. It is the highest-selling album by a Korean girl group and the first to sell more than one million copies.

Needless to say, there’s pressure for similar follow-up success.

“If The Album focused solely on music, we tried to express Blackpink’s true nature through this album Born Pink, like its title. While protecting Blackpink’s original identity, we continued to try new things,” said member Rose in an interview with Xports News, translated by Korean pop culture website Soompi.

“The album overall has a base hip-hop sound, is combined with various genres, and undergoes constant variations, and we focused on expressing Blackpink’s definite colour."

So far, Blackpink fans, known as Blinks, have unsurprisingly come out in full force to support the band. One user wrote that the group "deserved all the major awards at the Korean awards show this year", while another person said that Born Pink was "definitely a no-skip album" and that the girl group "did it again" with the tweet getting more than 20,000 likes.

Here are some important takeaways from their new album.

There's some nostalgic early K-pop sounds

The group have always been known for their catchy music, but the fourth song in the album, Yeah Yeah Yeah shows yet another side of the versatile band. Many fans have commented on social media that the track makes them nostalgic for an earlier time with its light but upbeat vibes, different from the more athematic tunes we’re used to hearing.

There's a solo song by Rose

While this album doesn't have any collaborations — unlike The Album, which had the group get together with Selena Gomez for Ice Cream and team up with Cardi B for Bet You Wanna — this one is all about the four members.

However, there is a bit of a surprise with a solo track from Rose called Hard to Love that has made it onto the album. The song shows off her powerful vocals that prove why she was able to also have a successful solo career while the group took a hiatus between albums.

They ‘shut down’ those who doubt them

In addition to the album, the band also simultaneously released a music video for Shut Down, their second single. The song samples the classical composition La campanella by Niccolo Paganini while mixing it with hip-hop riffs for a new sound. In the video, Blackpink make references to other music videos while singing: “When we pull up you know it’s a shutdown.”

There’s plenty of English on it

While the group has never needed to sing fully in English to win over fans or climb up the music charts, there’s plenty of English and Korean on the new album. The Happiest Girl, the sixth song, is an emotional ballad that’s in English and features a soulful chord structure with light piano backing — something much different from the Blackpink fans are used to hearing.

Abu Dhabi and Riyadh Blinks will have plenty to love

The group surprised Blinks in the region when they announced Abu Dhabi and Riyadh would be stops on their Born Pink world tour, which is set to start in October. Although the shows are not until January, the new album has given fans plenty of new material to get excited over until then.