Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
When 2NE1 split at the end of last year, they left a gap for a cool, fun and innovative K-pop girlband. As the new female four-piece from the same label, YG Entertainment, Black Pink are the prime contenders. In 2016, Black Pink instantly established themselves in Korea, surpassing fellow newcomers Twice and challenging long-running Girls Generation. These girls are so cool and cute, YG have really perfected the formula and moved yet another step ahead of Western pop. Black Pink’s 2016 singles included dance anthem Boombayah, subtly sassy Whistle, and poptastic Playing With Fire. This was followed last month with As If It’s Your Last, and they’re scheduled to release their first EP in August. K-pop hits have always been big on YouTube thanks to their incredible videos, but now their impact is transferring to Spotify. As If It’s Your Last trended worldwide, and Black Pink’s biggest track Boombayah has over 30 million plays. Meanwhile on YouTube, As If It’s Your Last was the fastest K-pop video to reach 10 million views (in just 17 hours).