With many fans all around the world waking up early or staying up till midnight for one of the most anticipated collaborations of the year, Friday the 28th of August 2020 is one to remember for Blinks and Selenators.
The announcement
It was announced on August 18th that Selena Gomez would be collaborating with BLACKPINK for their upcoming single titled ‘Ice Cream’. Fans were ecstatic about the release of the new single two months after their first comeback of the year with the song ‘How You Like That’, as well as how the newest single seemed to display more of their ‘pink’ side. BLACKPINK is known for switching up sounds for their music with their ‘black’ side showcasing a more edgy and serious sound, and their ‘pink’ side being more playful and cute. The last three comeback songs – ‘ Kill This Love’, ‘DDU-DU-DDU-DU’ and ‘How You Like That’ showed their ‘black’ side so fans were eager to hear a ‘pink’ song for the first time in three years since their last ‘pink’ song, ‘As If It’s Your Last’.
The reactions
Reactions to the reveal that Selena Gomez would be the one to sing alongside BLACKPINK were varied. Some fans seemed to be disappointed with the decision as many were hoping Ariana Grande would be the artist. Others thought Gomez was perfect for BLACKPINK because of her sound and felt that her voice would blend well. Teaser photos were dropped throughout the two weeks with Gomez posting pictures as well. When the music video dropped, Blinks and Selenators were invited into a pastel candy wonderland with vocals from Gomez and BLACKPINK singing a sweet summer song. The music video was colourful and fun, showing a different side of BLACKPINK from the last three years and, despite Gomez not being able to film with the girls because of the pandemic, her own solo shots still fit in perfectly with the music video. Twitter blew up with criticism and the fandom seemed to be torn. Many were calling out how BLACKPINK’s Jisoo only had one line in the entire song and that Gomez ‘stole’ Jisoo’s lines. Fans immediately rushed to defend Jisoo and Gomez by stating that when BLACKPINK sings the song live, Jisoo would sing some of Gomez’s parts to make the line distribution even. Others were upset that BLACKPINK’s Jennie didn’t rap at all whereas BLACKPINK’s Lisa rapped the entire song. Fans fought back on this as well and stated that in the ‘Sour Candy’ collaboration BLACKPINK had earlier this year with Lady Gaga, Lisa only had one line that she repeated throughout the song yet no one was complaining about that. Fans also mentioned that Lisa is a trained rapper as well and not just a dancer and deserves the same treatment as Jennie. Many were shocked at the maturity of the song with some of the lyrics containing innuendos and others felt that the song didn’t have a proper chorus. The innuendos were cleared up by songwriter, Bekah Boom, when she posted the meaning of the lyrics for the song on Genius. It was a mix of reviews with some people loving the song, and others hating it. Despite the mixed reviews, the song hit 52 #1’s on iTunes and the song peaking at #10 on iTunes in South Africa as well as hitting #2 on YouTube in South Africa. Shortly after the release of the song, BLACKPINK’s official Instagram account released the details of the first full album to be released in October.
Final thoughts
At first, I wasn’t really happy with the song. I found it catchy because of the vocals and the beat but I did feel that it was lackluster because the chorus wasn’t distinctly obvious. After a few listens, I started to enjoy it more and I realized that it is a summer song that doesn’t have to have a deep meaning. I’m not saying this because I’m biased towards BLACKPINK or Selena Gomez and that I have to like every single song they release. I preferred Ice Cream over their previous comeback ‘How You Like That’ because while I do like their hard-hitting songs, I’ve always had a soft spot for their ‘pink’ concepts. With regards to Jisoo and her lack of lines, I was upset because her voice is so versatile and the fact that she only sung one line felt like a disservice but they also have a whole album coming out where I’m sure Jisoo will get to display more of her talent. I’m happy Gomez got so many lines because with the popularity in K-pop skyrocketing over the last few years, many Western artists were quick to jump on the bandwagon with collaborations. Some Western artists just collaborate to get money and sing one line or the chorus but with Gomez, she seemed excited and played a decent part in the song itself. It felt like a proper BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez collaboration and served the song well. With their new album dropping next month, rumors have also surfaced that they are collaborating with Cardi B’s fans managed to see some of the song titles from the teaser pictures that were uploaded on their official Instagram.
I’m excited to see what BLACKPINK has in store for their fans and I can’t wait to hear what their new album will sound like. Their collaboration with Selena Gomez has opened doors for them in the Western industry and we can only imagine what they will do next!