The ladies of BLACKPINK have finally made their comeback!
The group has officially unveiled their first mini-album, entitled Square Up, which hit digital music sites on June 15th at 6 p.m. KST.
The title of the album evokes a strong ‘Let’s fight!’ message, with each track not only boasting the girls’ ultra-feminine vibe, but also the hip-hop aggression that has also become something of their trademark. The album consists of four new tracks, including title songs “DDU-DU DDU-DU” and “Forever Young,” which are all produced by YG hitmaker Teddy, who has worked on all of the girls’ releases since their debut.
“DDU-DU DDU-DU” is a sophisticated yet intense hip-hop track, whose catchy ‘ddu-du ddu-du’ hook makes it all the more fun to listen to. Adding to the chic and bold femininity of the song are the songwriting credits of Bekah Boom, an American R&B composer who also helped pen other popular YG tracks like Taeyang‘s “Eyes, Nose, Lips” and Hi Suhyun‘s “I’m Different.”
BLACKPINK celebrated the release of the new mini-album via a special V Live broadcast an hour prior to its release, where they counted down and gave fans behind-the-scenes rundowns of the album-making process.
The girls will be performing stages for the two singles for the very first time on the June 16th episode of MBC’s “Show! Champion” and the June 17th episode of SBS’s “Inkigayo.”
Check out the full video for “DDU-DU DDU-DU” below!
Dani (danidee) is a writer for WTK from Southern California, who currently lives in Seoul’s Hongdae district. She is a huge fan of graphic novels, Asian films, and Korean hip-hop. Most of the week, she can be found practicing her Korean, marathoning “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” or trying to sample tiramisu from as many cute cafes as possible.
Media: YG Entertainment