Girl group BLACKPINK recently returned after a year’s absence with their new EP Square Up and promptly made history when their album and the single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” became the highest-charting ever by a female K-pop act to appear on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts, landing at Nos. 40 and 55, respectively. The foursome recently spoke to Billboard about their new release and what fans can hope to see from them in the future.
Regarding their newest EP, Rosé says that BLACKPINK is, “Going for a much more stronger look. And I think that’s portrayed mostly in the music video. We tried to pull off some looks that we, that we wouldn’t have even imagined coming out with previously.”
The music video for “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” was one of the most extravagant ones the quartet has put out to date and explored a variety of themes as the foursome sang about their prowess, and was heavily focused on dancing, including a fierce finger-shooting move. “As far as the choreography goes, we had a little dance break at the end, which we’ve never done before,” explains Jennie. “So we put a lot of effort into it, and we’re so happy everybody’s enjoying it.”
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Each member was featured in her own distinct sets, and Ji Soo explains that there was a deeper meaning to her scenes, where she represents celebrity culture in this day and age. “I’m wearing a pink wig, standing in front of a huge photo of me on the wall,” she says. “The message is about how people can go crazy about the celebrity figures and how they will aim at the celebrities if they make mistakes. We wanted to portray a scene which is interesting and meaningful to us.”
The foursome also tell Billboard which song on the four-track EP correlates to which member: Rosé likes “See U Later” and its sassiness, Jennie prefers “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” because “It’s good to be back rapping.” Meanwhile, Lisa relates to “Forever Young” because it reflects the group being 20-somethings, while Ji Soo choses “Really” because she likes the “Cute vibe.”
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The women also discussed which outfits they’d want to take from the set, a bit more regarding the album, and what they hope to achieve in the future. “We would love to have any opportunities as we can to perform in front of you guys, not just in Korea but maybe one day in front of everyone around the world,” says Jennie. “I feel like we’ll just keep going on with what we’re doing right now.”
Watch the whole interview above.