BLACKPINK have made their comeback with their bold new single “Pink Venom,” the first taste of their upcoming second album, BORN PINK.
Opening with the sound of the Korean instrument gayageum, the four-piece girl group weaves together traditional sounds with modern hip-hop, rock, and pop. “It’s tonight, I’m a flower with venom,” Jisoo sings at one point. “After taking your soul, look what you made us do.”
“The fire that’ll slowly put you to sleep, so beautiful it’s brutal,” Rosé adds. “I bring the pain like.”
“Pink Venom” is accompanied by a vibrant music video that shows the members in various scenes, from rappers Jennie and Lisa in a hip-hop street-style setting to Jisoo being watched by hooded figures with VR masks covering their eyes. Fans are also being invited to take part in the #PinkVenomChallenge on YouTube Shorts.
To celebrate BLACKPINK’s return, renowned landmarks across the globe lit up pink as fans counted down the hours until “Pink Venom”’s release. Monuments that are featured in the worldwide moment include New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, London’s Marble Arch, the Tokyo Tower, and Seoul’s N. Seoul Tower. On Friday night (August 19), they will once again light up pink and have digital projections displayed on them.
Interscope Records has also teamed up with a platform called LANDMRK to create a mobile experience that BLINKs – the name for BLACKPINK’s fanbase – can take part in from around the world. The platform contains a custom branded map containing 500 hotspots that superfan BLINKs can physically access to unlock exclusive digital content from the band. The experience is available in both English and Korean and can be accessed here.
Next weekend (August 28), BLACKPINK will make its debut appearance at the MTV VMAs, where they are set to perform. Rapper Lisa is also nominated at the ceremony, in the running for the Best K-pop category with her single “LALISA.”
BLACKPINK’s second album – and the follow-up to 2020’s THE ALBUM – BORN PINK will arrive on September 16. It will be followed a month later by the start of the group’s world tour, kicking off in Seoul on October 15 and 16. The dates are being billed as the “largest world tour by a K-pop girl group” and will run until mid-2023.
