Born Pink

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Lore & Background

The world of Born Pink is built on the group's confidence and self-esteem for being born different, as stated by YG Entertainment. Rosé described the album as trying to express "the essence of Blackpink" while keeping their original identity and trying new things. The album's title "portrays Blackpink's confidence and self-esteem for being born different" according to their label. Jennie explained that "Pink Venom" was chosen to represent Blackpink's identity because "pink" and "venom" have contradicting images, reminiscent of the group. Lisa shared that when the group first heard the demo of "Shut Down" in the studio, they exchanged looks and knew it had to be the title track, describing it as "distinctly Blackpink". The album's eight-song track list was released on September 7, 2022, and it was revealed that both Jisoo and Rosé helped write "Yeah Yeah Yeah". The album was released on September 16 alongside the music video for "Shut Down".

In Their Own Story

The recording process began with members working on the album as early as March 2022, when Jennie appeared on The Game Caterers and revealed Blackpink was making a comeback. In a Rolling Stone interview published May 23, 2022, the group said they were working hard on preparation and ready to come back into the swing of things. The promotional single "Ready for Love" was released in collaboration with PUBG Mobile on July 29, 2022, with an animated music video. YG Entertainment released the album trailer on July 31, announcing the world tour would start in October, following a pre-release single in August and the album in September. The pre-release single "Pink Venom" was released on August 19, and Blackpink performed it at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, marking their American awards show debut and making them the first female K-pop group in history to do so. On September 6, the teaser poster for "Shut Down" was released, followed by the track list on September 7. From September 10 to 13, promotional posters of each member were released. The album debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 2.2 million copies sold in less than two days, becoming the best-selling album by a female act in South Korea and the first to surpass two million sales. In the United States, it became the first album by a female group to reach number one on the Billboard 200 since Danity Kane in 2008, and the first album by a K-pop girl group to land atop both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, earning Blackpink two Guinness World Records.

Reader's Guide

The Born Pink era begins with the release of "Pink Venom" on August 19, 2022, a hip-hop based track blending traditional Korean instruments with EDM, pop-rap, and Middle Eastern influences. The album itself is twenty-four minutes long and consists of 8 songs, with three tracks labelled explicit. It features genres including hip-hop, pop, disco, ballad, alt-pop, pop-rock, stadium rock, punk, EDM, bubblegum pop, and classical interludes. The first half of the album contains lyrics showing the group's "extremely confident" and "untouchable exteriors", while the second half reveals insecurities in "emotionally charged" ballads. The uptempo, "English heavy" album was described as "faster" and "shinier" than The Album. The second single "Shut Down" peaked at number three on the Circle Digital Chart and at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, Blackpink embarked on the Born Pink World Tour beginning in October, which broke the record for the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group. The album was met with mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its stronger production and more personal lyrics, but criticisms for its lack of innovation and musical development. Commercially, it has been certified double million by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ), and silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). According to the IFPI, the album was the eighth best-selling album worldwide across all formats in 2022, and the seventh best-selling album in pure sales.

Did You Know?

• Born Pink became the first album by a female group to reach number one on the Billboard 200 since Danity Kane in 2008.
• The album sold 2.2 million copies in less than two days, making it the best-selling album by a female act in South Korea and the first to surpass two million sales.
• Blackpink performed 'Pink Venom' at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, marking their American awards show debut and making them the first female K-pop group in history to do so.
• The Born Pink World Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group.
• Record producer Ryan Tedder wrote songs with Jennie and Rosé for the album, but none made the final tracklist; one of those tracks, 'The Girls', was later released as the official soundtrack to Blackpink: The Game on August 23, 2023.