From light and poppy lyrics about young love to hard beats inspired by electronic dance music, the latest releases from K-pop girl groups are lighting up the charts at home and abroad.
Earlier this month, Korean entertainment megahouse YG Entertainment finally lifted the veil on its first girl group in seven years, Black Pink.
The four-member act’s worldwide hit tracks “Whisper” and “Boombayah” from their first single album “Square One” dominated major local music charts, and the the accompanying music videos gained a total of over a million views within a day of its release -- all before the group’s first official broadcast appearance on Aug. 14.
 |
Promotional poster for singer-songwriter CL’s latest single “Lifted” (YG Entertainment) |
Even after more than a week since its debut, Black Pink continues to captivate global fans. Its two tracks have topped the K-pop chart on QQ Music, one of China’s largest music streaming platforms, and currently holds the top two spots on Billboard’s World Digital Songs list, followed by EXO’s “Monster.”
Shortly after introducing Black Pink, YG Entertainment announced the latest release from singer-songwriter, and member of K-pop group 2NE1, CL. “Lifted,” which is the singer’s first US single, was featured in Apple Music’s Best of the Week picks, according to YG on Saturday.
Despite the song’s international recognition, it has received mixed reviews from fans, some of whom expressed discomfort and disappointment in the lyrics that contain references to sex and drugs.
 |
Nine-member K-pop girl group Twice (Official Facebook) |
However, a recent article from the New York-based culture magazine Vice reveals that the global success of K-pop does not rely on the quality of music alone. Calling CL’s hit single “brash and swaggy,” the article describes the song’s music video as “eye-popping.”
Another girl group to have caught the attention of foreign media is Twice, who debuted last year.
Weekly entertainment magazine Variety included the nine-member group in this year’s Youth Impact Report, which features young, emerging icons from the entertainment industry worldwide.
The report, which was released last Tuesday, also recognized 22-year-old critically-acclaimed pianist Cho Seong-jin, 14-year-old actress Kim Hwan-hee best known for her role in “The Wailing” and Park So-dam, 24, from last year’s blockbuster film “Veteran.”
By Kim Yu-young (
ivykim@heraldcorp.com)
