October 16, 2020
The topic of this documentary by director Caroline Suh is South Korean girl group Blackpink. If we are going to base a musical act's popularity on Billboard magazine, Blackpink would be the most popular girlband in the world right now. Just last month, their single "Ice Cream" (2020) peaked at #13 on the Hot 100, as their latest album (only their first full-length studio album) simply called "The Album" (2020) peaked at #2.
Career-wise, these four girls are definitely on fire, and on the brink of worldwide domination, if they haven't yet. This documentary brings us back to how they became the wildly successful group that they are these days. It is not only for the benefit of their rabid fans, but also for everyone else whose curiosity has been sparked by their catchy pop hit songs. Now that this revelatory film is streaming on Netflix, now everyone can get to know them better.
Blackpink was launched in 2016 with big hit singles like "Boombayah" and "Whistle." However, for me, I only knew Blackpink for their 2018 singles from "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and their collaboration with British singer Dua Lipa, "Kiss and Make Up." "Kill This Love" was a major hit for them in 2019. This year, 2020 was a big year for them as they finally broke into the Top 40 of the Hot 100 with three consecutive singles "Sour Candy" with Lady Gaga (#33), "How You Like That" (#33) and their highest peaking hit "Ice Cream" with Selena Gomez (#13).
The first major revelation for me in this film was that out of the four girls, three of them did not grow up in Korea, and that one of them was not even Korean! Jisoo was the only homegrown Korean. Korean by blood, Jennie grew up in New Zealand, while Rose grew up in Australia, hence they both spoke impeccable English. Lisa was the biggest surprise for me because she was actually Thai, born and raised. I confess that I never really knew these girls by name before, but this film made sure won't forget their names after watching.
It was very interesting to see how YG Entertainment conducted worldwide auditions as early as 2010 to look for talented girls to form a new group. This was a real life American Idol situation wherein the top girls were all interned in a talent boarding school where they were trained to perform in varying combinations. There would be regular elimination rounds where under-performing girls were sent home. The final four members were all 18 or younger, so they practically did not have a normal teen life by the time Blackpink was launched in 2016..
I liked the parts when the girls were talking about themselves and their experiences during their audition and training days.Their record producer, Teddy Park, was very well-spoken and it was clear that there was a mutual respect between him and the girls. Seeing the girls backstage before their triumphant US breakthrough live concert performance in Coachella was very gratifying. Overall, the four winsome ladies make their introductory documentary a most entertaining 79-minute ride. 7/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment