On Wednesday, October 14th the Korean girl group, Blackpink released their Netflix documentary Light Up the Sky. To say I was excited is an understatement. I have been a fan of Blackpink since their debut, in 2016, and compared to other K-pop groups, we do not get as much content. So, to get a documentary in which we would see sides of the members we don’t usually get to see felt amazing.
The documentary focused on the girls, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa, from the beginning of their career to the world tour they had last year. As much as it focuses on the journey of the group, it also gives us an outlook on the individuality of the members, who they were before being members of one of the world’s biggest girl groups.
The documentary gave a more human image to the group. Most of the time we forget that the artists we listen to or the actors whose movies we watch are humans just like us and feel the same emotions that we do. So, for me, as a long-time fan of Blackpink, or a “Blink” as they call us, it was nice to see some of my favourite singers in another light.
The members talk about their experience as trainees and all the hardship they had to go through to get to where they are right now. K-pop is known for being a very competitive industry even before the artists make their musical debut. They have to train for long periods of time, in Blackpink’s case 3 to 5 years, and training does not guarantee debuting. Jennie said that during her training period she saw a lot of girls come and go. They also shared what made them want to become singers and performers, in Lisa’s case it was the love of dance from a young age, and for Rosé it was the fact that she played piano and sang for nights on end.
We saw what their lives are like when they are not being world stars. The documentary also answered some questions fans and non-fans had, like the lack of music release for example. In my point of view, it was a good insight into what the fans don’t see and don’t know. Because some of us always feel entitled to judge things, we know nothing about.
As a “Blink” this documentary made me very happy, especially because it came out 2 weeks after the release of their first full album (a must-listen). I shed some tears, which I rarely do, I had a good laugh, and it made me feel closer to artists whose music I really enjoy. I one hundred percent suggest watching this documentary whether you are a kpop or a Blackpink fan or not. It was very entertaining and who knows maybe you’ll start liking those 4 talented girls’ music.