**Intro**\_
I am a 38 y.o. man, who has been a rock- and metalhead all of his life. Grew up with classic & heavy rock (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) and later added more extreme genres (from nu-metal over symphonic and thrash to black and a lot of death metal). But I’ve also always had an ear open for other types of music, as long as they catch my attention with strong energy, high professionalism and generally something interesting to offer. That’s why next to Six Feet Under and Lamb of God, you’ll find bands like Prodigy, Gorillaz and even the Sugababes in my playlist…
**BlackPink**\_
Despite being open to different genres, I never really cared for K-pop, though. I knew it existed, but didn’t think it would really fit my taste, so I ignorantly never gave it a chance.
This was until the end of November, when my 8 y.o. daughter showed me her new favorite song. It was Jisoo’s Flower (the dance performance MV). The song cought my attention and – as the interpret was new to me – I did some research on who she was. Obviously, I found out that she is a part of BlackPink – and this time the name rang a bell (spending a lot of time on social media, I knew that bands like BP and BTS have been massively popular in the recent years – not only in Asia, but worldwide).
So we started listening to the big hits – How you like that, Kill this love, Boombayah, Ddu-du Ddu-du and we all (this time the whole family) found out that we actually really, really dig them. We listened non-stop and constantly added new tunes to our favorites list – Pink Venom, Shut down (my personal fav), Typa Girl, Savage, The happiest Girl… And then also the Solos of the 4 girls.
**Becoming a BLINK**\_
I don’t know if I can call myself that. It is actually not that important. Fact is however, that BlackPink has brought a lot of light and joy into my life. I have spent countless evenings, watching YouTube compilations or shows, featuring Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa & Rosé and totally adore them. Not because of their beauty, but for who and how they are: the way they treat and support eachother, the non-intrusive and well-mannered way they behave, their down-to-earth attitude, their professionalism etc. I prefer over 99%+ of Western celebs, really root for them and wish them all the success they deserve.
**Blackpink vs. YG**\_
With all the lines above being said, I am not quite sure how to feel about the current state of the band. On the one hand I am truly happy the all the girls get to have their solo freedom and can shape their futures exactly the way they see fit.
On the other hand however – I am not quite sure if they will manage to produce amazing songs like before, without YG behind their backs.
Before you tear me apart, let me explain:
YG gets a lot of (seemingly reasonable) hate for their poor management (especially with cases like 2NE1 and GD), for not keeping up with modern times, not supporting and promoting their idols etc. and I truly understand the anger of the fans in this regard. But I also spent a lot of time listening and watching MVs of other K-pop bands during the last weeks and and must admit, that with a few exceptions (Stray Kids, for example), they don’t manage to (musically) stick out the way BlackPink does. And – correct me if I’m wrong – the musical part is mostly something we gotta thank YG (Teddy etc.) for. It kinda seems like that “quality instead of quantity” recipe worked fine – at least, when it comes to BlackPink.
Again, I am not trying to be Devil’s advocate and defend the company. If the BP girls were truly happy there, they would probably also sign their solo contracts under the YG label, right.. So the issues everybody’s mentioning are obviously (at least partially) there and the 4 girls only stick with YG, in order to keep the(ir) beloved band going.
Admittedly, it’s from a purely egosticial POV of a music enthusiast, that even though I am very happy for their newly acquired freedom, I lowkey don’t want them to lose that certain something, that made their sound feel special and unique. That’s it.
Gladly share with me your thoughts on all this.
by Wild-Persimmon9348
13 Comments
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>On the other hand however – I am not quite sure if they will manage to produce amazing songs like before, without YG behind their backs.
The group leaving as individuals won’t change much. There are a lot of things YGE is bad at but the company don’t really cut ties. BI, the former leader of iKON left the company after a drug scandal and had to start solo under his own label (because drug is a serious deal and he was blacklisted). Despite that, BI continued to work with YG producers, he even went one his european tour with one of the YG producer as his DJ.
Second, and most important. YGE as a company was barely involved in the music production. It’s all Teddy’s work. He has his own label but continued to work with Blackpink. Even if his label is still partially owned by YGE, they are independent.
To conclude, the only thing that change is that BP’s girls now have the choice. They can continue to work with their usual crew of dancers from YGX, they can shoot their MVs with the same team they shoot under YGE except they will have to pay for the work instead of having YGE taking it as a cost. But they can also decide to work with someone else, entirely or partially.
I’m a quazi new 38 y/o male fan too and I agree with a lot of your assessments. I’m looking at this through a North American lens but I feel like K-pop companies, YG, etc, seem to be in complete OVER control over their talent, more so than other studios. An example is Jennie recorded You and Me like 5 years ago, and YG just released it.
But in this case we know each member of Blackpink is incredibly talented, and to only have released a handful of song in the last 6 years, almost feels like a disservice to them. With their solo contracts and Blackpink contracts, I feel like they will have a lot more time to take risks and explore different genres or focus on non-music endeavors; they deserve it.
*On the other hand however – I am not quite sure if they will manage to produce amazing songs like before, without YG behind their backs.*
The world is their oyster now – they can work with whoever they want. Rumors of Lisa working in the states (with Sony, I think?) is huge. Not every song will be a hit song but I’m just glad they will be able to produce more content individually.
I can understand that concern, but there is nothing stopping the girls from still working with Teddy (TBL) or other music producers and staff associated with YGE even for their solo music and even when not as solo artists under the label. In fact I would say it’s unlikely they can hire all the music production staff for their own agencies anytime soon (if they establish their own) and work with people from outside.
The main difference to me would be that the girls will get to decide the specifics like sound, genre, type of album etc and the people theybwork with on that and maybe even participate in writing or composing from now on instead of possibly having to choose from options offered by the label.
I would say let’s trust them, at the end of the day it’s important for artists to release what they want and believe in and not what is popular! We can then have a listen and decide if it is to our liking or not.
I agree with you. There has been a lot of fan backlash based on YG’s past performance which is understanding. I’m not a fan of the former CEO or any of the creeps who have been part of YG in the past, but we can’t deny that Blackpink is who and what they are without YG’s management. Blackpink would not exist at all without YG. They are the one who handpicked the 4 girls, trained, and spent all that time and money to get them where they are. If YG had done what the fans wanted over the 7 years, we really don’t know if their current fame and success would exist today.
As for BP’s future as a group, not sure if it matters. Blackpink has already succeeded as a group. They’ve won. Now it will be up to themselves to carve what they want to be going forth.
They’ve been with YG/Teddy for +7 plus years so whether the music quality goes up or down at least this is a chance for something new. Work with different people, try out different ideas, not release songs from 2018.
I imagine if they stayed Jennie would of gotten a two song mini with a trap drop empty chorus title track instead of now “potentially” a full album.
All else aside, I think it’s really precious that you’ve taken such an interest in your daughter’s music style and that you can now be fans together.
I think they are in the best case scenario. As a group, they renewed their contract with YG. Meaning they still with the musical genius Teddy.
For individual projects, they now have the freedom to pursue what they want. YG was notorious for holding back their artists when it comes to solo projects. From collaborations, solo releases and TV appearances. I think that’s what tore 2ne1 apart.
There really isn’t much of a difference besides the fact that they have more leverage in terms of their solo careers. And it has nothing to do with producers, features, dancers, visual creators etc. They could very well continue to work with a lot of YGE/theblacklabel artists as they did before, just that now it’s gonna be on their own terms.
What does that mean? That means they can now release a 12 tracks album every 6 months if they want. That means they can now shoot music videos for 4 songs. It means they can go to whichever show or event they please, as individuals. YGE will have a final say only in group activities. Meaning group albums, group world tours, group appearances and other group engagements.
That’s it really. Anyone that believes anything different than this is simply playing a guessing game and making assumptions. Contractually they simply have the final say when it comes to themselves, as individuals.
However, if I had to guess, I believe that while there is a level of freedom they still can’t do certain stuff that YGE really doesn’t want, that they feel will damage the Blackpink brand. But I assume these things are very extreme and inserted in their contract as protective measures, just in case.
I think there is some merit with some of your concerns. Playing devils advocate on the other side how much more amazing music could we have possibly gotten if YG wasn’t so restrictive? The girls departing for solo careers I think was always an eventuality because of how restrictive YG has been not only in music releases but other opportunities the girls may have wanted to take, especially earlier on. To see that you can look at Jennie’s recent interview where she specifically says one of the reasons she started her own company is because she wanted to be free to do what she wanted.
I think to a degree that YG did produce a “formula”. However that alone discounts the bigger reason the girls are successful. It’s them, it’s their personalities, it’s the relationship they share. They’ve been on shows with former K-pop idols that said they wished the people they were in a group with supported them as much as the girls support each other. YG could have picked four different girls and wouldn’t have had the same success because the magic has always been these four girls together.
Here are my thoughts on this:
Solo careers:
I don’t think there’s much to say about this except that I don’t think YG could or wanted to put in the necessary effort to fully support and even develop all four solo careers. I would even say that the girls have simply grown too big for them to support these solo careers alongside Blackpink. Maybe this decision was even made by mutual agreement, but that’s just speculation on my part.
Blackpink:
This is where it gets exciting because we know how immensely important Blackpink is as YG’s top group. By far the biggest money maker for YG and that won’t change anytime soon, regardless of their solo careers. So in my opinion it should be of mutual interest to continue Blackpink as a group as before or to develop it even further and make them even bigger. There’s also nothing to be said against a further collaboration with Teddy and other people they have worked with before. I even assume that Blackpink will remain true to itself as a group because it simply works. Also YG can now concentrate on the group activities as the girls will be responsible for their own solo activities. This could be another advantage for them as a group.
So for no, to me it looks like we are getting the best of both worlds but of course as always this is just speculation and we will see what the future holds.
many blinks even here haven’t been happy with bp music and they will gladly see bp changing and possibly losing their unique sound and style that you seem to enjoy, i don’t think there is anything to discuss about that.
also you associate their style and sound with yge and it is correct and to be even more specific, which you are aware of, it is teddy, he was often called by the girls themselves the 5th member of the group, her was not just a producer of most of their music he was their producer in broader meaning, like a creative director i guess.
and this is where things get complicated because not only teddy is not part of yge but both teddy and yge have been drifting away for quite some time and at this point i am not sure if they want to have anything to do with each other…
it is hard to tell if his involvement was part of negotiations… i guess we will know with their next comeback.
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imo it is pretty valid to feel the way you do but also there is really not much to discuss, we just have to wait and see…
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it is kind of funny how you were prepared to be teared apart lol
yge hate is indeed pretty legendary.
and since i don’t really care about being teared apart.. i just find it stupid and treat it almost as a brain damage.
not saying that they are perfect by any means but the hate they are always getting while everything good is attributed just to idols is ridiculous… on top of that it hurts not only many talented people working there but also idols themselves as in one way or another some of that hate will always bleed into their lives
as an example i have seen a few days ago thumbnail to a video about netizens blaming yge for the way jennie was confused and awkward when fans were asking her tod o aegyo lol
because they kept her in the dungeon for too long 🙂
at this point ten years from now jennie could stumble and some people will find a way to spin it into yge fault.
it is a shame because not only is it boring but in the end no matter how you look at it kpop without yge will be so much more boring but the way things are going some could eventually get their wish.
but then teddy is supposed to debut a new girl group under his own label this year so i am sure you will find some of bp’s style and music there…
I’m assuming all 4 will start companies or hire their management team in some way or the other. Given their success as a group and as individuals, I think starting out on their own is a lot work and a risk.. which I believe they know themselves. But the good thing is they get to learn/explore about a lot of things, they get absolute freedom in their solo gigs and most importantly, they’re taking this risk during a great time in their careers, while they are on top & have more leeway to “make mistakes” as solo artists and as companies. Also, we can assume they’d be happier individually if they explore the other stuff they want to right? That makes a happier group too.
We’ll see to what extent they use YG/TBL stuff for their solo gigs but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some. So far, we’ve seen Jennie with YGX, maybe some of them will use YG Plus etc.