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The Girls (Blackpink song)

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"The Girls"
Promotional single by Blackpink
ReleasedAugust 25, 2023
RecordedJuly 2021
StudioThe Black Label (Seoul)
Genre
Label
  • YG
  • TakeOne
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ryan Tedder
  • Lindgren
Music video
"The Girls" on YouTube

"The Girls" is a promotional single by South Korean girl group Blackpink for the original soundtrack of the mobile game Blackpink: The Game. It was first made available in the game on August 23, 2023, before it was officially released two days later, through YG Entertainment and TakeOne Company. Written by various contributors, including the track producers Ryan Tedder and Lindgren along with group members Jennie and Rosé, it is a trap and EDM song driven by hip-hop leaning beats over Turkish flute sounds, with lyrics that discuss the importance of being independent and courageous in life. A physical version was also released on the same day, which peaked at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 160,460 sales in the first week. The song also reached the top 10 in Vietnam.

Background

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On April 4, 2023, YG Entertainment revealed that the mobile game Blackpink: The Game would be launching in the second quarter of 2023, as well as an original soundtrack and music video accompanying it.[1] Developed by TakeOne Company, the game officially launched on May 18 on mobile app platforms. The same day, a music video teaser was released, confirming the soundtrack's title to be "The Girls" and revealing a snippet of the song as animated avatars of the Blackpink members danced to it.[2] Record producer Ryan Tedder, who worked with Blackpink on "Bet You Wanna" (2020), posted a teaser of "The Girls" on his social media handles, confirming his involvement on the song.[3] In 2022, Tedder had confirmed in an interview with Good Morning America that he had written songs with members Jennie and Rosé for their upcoming album, describing the process as very much Blackpink's work with him supporting and contributing, though none of his songs ultimately ended up on Born Pink (2022).[4]

Release

[edit]

Initially planned to be released simultaneously with the game release, the song and its music video were indefinitely delayed due to work on presenting the "highest-quality content" for the video taking "longer than expected." On July 4, the game team released a statement apologizing for the delay and announcing that the music video would be released in the game within a month.[5] On August 3, they announced the official release date of "The Girls" in the game to be August 23.[6] TakeOne Company also announced that a physical package, available in "Stella" and "Reve" versions and containing a QR code to download the song and lyrics, would be released two days later.[7] On social media, the song's producer Ryan Tedder confirmed that "The Girls" would be introduced to streaming platforms as well as radio upon release.[8] The song and its music video premiered in Blackpink: The Game on August 23, accompanied by a viewing party hosted on Blackpink's YouTube channel in which the group play several games and react to the video. Following the premiere, YG Entertainment announced with a teaser poster that "The Girls" would be officially released as a digital single on August 25.[9] The song was sent for radio airplay in Italy on September 8.[10]

Music and lyrics

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"The Girls" features songwriting contributions from Ryan Tedder.

"The Girls" serves as the soundtrack for the group's mobile game Blackpink: The Game,[11] written and composed by Ryan Tedder alongside group members Jennie and Rosé with their frequent collaborator Danny Chung, in addition to Melanie Fontana, Michel 'Lindgren' Schulz, and Madison Love.[12][13] It is an EDM and trap-based track[14] that features hip-hop-leaning beats[15] and a Turkish flute sound throughout the song.[13] Its lyrics revolve around "the importance of being independent and courageous."[16]

Music video

[edit]

On May 18, 2023, a 22-second music video teaser for "The Girls" was released, featuring a snippet of the song with the refrain "Don't mess with the girls."[17] The music video was released on August 23 in Blackpink: The Game and on August 25 in Blackpink's YouTube channel. In the video, animated avatars of the Blackpink members are depicted singing and performing choreography to the song.[9]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The physical version of "The Girls" debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart dated August 20–26, 2023 with 160,460 copies sold in the first week, becoming Blackpink's fifth number-one album on the chart.[18] It debuted at number 13 on the monthly chart with 178,360 copies sold.[19] It has sold a total of 190,480 since its release.[20]

Accolades

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Award and nominations for "The Girls"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2023 Asian Pop Music Awards Best Arranger (Overseas)[a] Won [21]
Top 20 Songs of the Year (Overseas) Won
Song of the Year (Overseas) Nominated [22]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[33] Gold 20,000‡
South Korea
Physical album 		— 190,480[20]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "The Girls"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various August 25, 2023
[8]
Cassette [7]
Italy September 8, 2023 Radio airplay Universal [10]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Arrangers: Ryan Tedder and Lindgren

References

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  1. ^ Nayyar, Kriti (July 19, 2022). "BLACKPINK is launching their own mobile game along with a new soundtrack". Lifestyle Asia. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  2. ^ Ziwei, Puah (May 19, 2023). "Hear a preview of BLACKPINK's new song 'The Girls'". NME. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ @RyanTedder (May 18, 2023). "🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️👀" (Tweet). Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "[SBS Star] JENNIE & ROSE's Unit Song? Producer Spills Details on Blackpink's New Album". SBS Star Korea. July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Ziwei, Puah (July 5, 2023). "Here's when BLACKPINK's 'The Girls' will be released". NME. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Khan, Inaas Fatima (August 5, 2023). "BLACKPINK THE GAME announces release date of THE GIRLS OST in special message to fans; Find out". Pinkvilla. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "BLACKPINK THE GAME OST Package Pre-sale". TakeOne Company. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  8. ^ a b McIntyre, Hugh (August 15, 2023). "Blackpink Is Already Set Up For Success With Their Upcoming Single". Forbes. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah (August 23, 2023). "BLACKPINK Releases New Song 'The Girls' & Music Video in 'The Game'". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Vitali, Giacomo (September 4, 2023). "BLACKPINK - THE GIRLS (Radio Date: 08-09-2023)". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Lee, Tae-soo (August 23, 2023). "블랙핑크, 모바일 게임 OST '더 걸스' 뮤비 공개" [BLACKPINK releases mobile game OST 'The Girls' music video]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  12. ^ Yoon, Sang-geun] (August 23, 2023). "3D 아바타 재탄생..블랙핑크 'THE GIRLS' 뮤비 오늘(23일) 공개" [3D Avatar Reborn... Blackpink's 'THE GIRLS' MV released today (23rd)]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "THE GIRLS (BLACKPINK THE GAME OST) - BLACKPINK". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Zoe, Guy (August 25, 2023). "Blackpink: The Game: the Song Is Streaming Now". Vulture. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Houghton, Cillea (August 25, 2023). "Don't Mess with "The Girls": Blackpink Drops New Song". American Songwriter. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "BLACKPINK to drop song for band's video game". The Korea Times. August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  17. ^ Dailey, Hannah (May 19, 2023). "BLACKPINK Tease New Song 'The Girls' For Mobile Game: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Album Chart – Week 34 of 2023". Circle Chart. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "August 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  20. ^ a b The Girls Album Sales: 187,540 + 1,440 + 1,500 (2023)
  21. ^ "【APMA 2023】亚洲流行音乐大奖2023年度获奖名单（完整版）" (in Chinese). December 27, 2023. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "【APMA 2023】亚洲流行音乐大奖2023年度入围名单" (in Chinese). November 29, 2023. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  23. ^ "Blackpink Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  24. ^ "Blackpink Chart History (Malaysia Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  26. ^ "RIAS Top Charts Week 35 (25 - 31 Aug 2023)". RIAS. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  27. ^ "BGM Chart – Week 34 of 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  28. ^ "Download Chart – Week 34 of 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  29. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  31. ^ "Blackpink Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  32. ^ "Blackpink Chart History (Billboard Vietnam Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  33. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Blackpink – THE GIRLS" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
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