Born Pink

***Born Pink*** is the second studio album by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on September 16, 2022, via YG Entertainment and Interscope Records.

## Contents

* 1Background
* 2Recording and development
* 3Composition
* 4Promotion
* 5Artwork and packaging
* 6Critical reception
* 7Commercial performance
* 8Track listing
* 9Charts
* 10Release history
* 11See also
* 12References

## Background

On March 7, 2022, Jennie appeared on the variety show *The Game Caterers* in an episode featuring YG Entertainment artists, revealing that Blackpink had been working on a new comeback: "Blackpink is also making a comeback soon, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but since I'm the only Blackpink member here, I'll just say it please look forward to it".

In collaboration with battle royale video game *PUBG Mobile*, "Ready for Love" was released as a promotional single of the album, exclusively with an animated music video on YouTube on July 29, 2022. On July 31, 2022, YG Entertainment officially released the album trailer video through the group's official social media accounts, announcing that the world tour would start in October, following a pre-release single in August and the album itself in September. The label later confirmed that two music videos were filmed to support the album, reportedly with the highest production budgets they have ever invested into a music video. The album's pre-release single, "Pink Venom", was released on August 19. On September 16, the lead single “Shut Down” was released.

## Recording and development

In a *Rolling Stone* interview published on May 23, 2022, Blackpink stated that "they were working hard on the preparation of the album and that they were ready to comeback into the swing of things." Record producer Ryan Tedder, who last worked with Blackpink on their debut studio album, confirmed in an interview with *Good Morning America* that he wrote songs with members Jennie and Rosé for the upcoming album. Describing the process, Tedder said it was very much Blackpink's work with him supporting and contributing. Despite working on several songs, none of them made the final album tracklisting.

Regarding the creative process and style for the songs, YG Entertainment stated that "A lot of music that is Blackpink-esque has been completed with much effort over a long period of time" and that the new album is expected to include numerous tracks that "feature the band's signature music style that the members have worked on for a very long time". The label further explained that the album's title *Born Pink* "portrays Blackpink's confidence and self-esteem for being born different" and that the album lives up to the group's reputation and "unrivaled presence."

## Composition

*Born Pink* is an eight-track album, that features various genres, Such as hip-hop, pop, disco, ballad and pop-rock. The record opens with its pre-release track, "Pink Venom", a hip-hop based track that blending elements of traditional Korean instruments with, EDM and pop-rap. Lyrically, it expresses Blackpink's confidence and dual identity as both sweet and deadly and the group's growing status as international icons. "Shut Down" samples the classical composition "La campanella", originally by Niccolò Paganini, mixed with hip hop hooks. Long-time group collaborator Bekuh Boom serves as the writer and producer for the third track "Typa Girl", a hip-hop/pop track with a strong retro 80's sound, lyrically it's speak "confidently" about being the "type" of person everyone wants you to be. The song highlights "the potential of a different kind of music". members Jisoo and Rosé participated in the writing process for the fourth track "Yeah Yeah Yeah". A pop song that uses a retro synthesize in its arrangement , while its composition penchant for 1980s music. Lyrically, it's about the feeling confusing but fast-paced when you fall in love with someone completely unexpected. "The song rides on a jagged guitar riff, " with lavish flourishes of over-the-top synth-disco. Park Jun-hee of The Star said that "The disco-style tune that gives off '80s vibes enters the 50-second mark and sketches out a euphoric moment of young love and youthful energy. It reminds us of spending summer nights with a lover under the bright light of the moon".

Singer-songwriter Freddy Wexler contributed in the composition of the fifth track "Hard to Love" as co-writer and co-producer, where it performed by member Rosé as her solo song, it described as disco-pop song with a " vintage intro that contrasts with the powerful rhythm of the drop beat". The guitar sound connects the disco rhythm of the verse with the bridge. The track is led by a soft piano that eventually turns into a funk -inspired guitar-assisted disco track, utilizing Rosé's vocals. The lyrics talk about the honest but complex feeling of wanting to be loved by someone who is hard to love and trust. Teddy Sinclair contributed to the sixth track "The Happiest Girl" with her husband Willy Sinclair. Teddy Sinclair has previously written for acts such as Madonna and Rihanna. It described as ballad track, that characterized with grand piano. The lyrics talk about the strong will to gain happiness even in a situation of missing someone, the song using a "melancholic" melody to describe the desire to be happy. The seventh track "Tally" is a pop song with elements of both hip-hop and rock, and a crunchy guitar tone in its introduction. The lyrics talks about a positive message by discussing the importance and beauty of consistently achieving life's goals. "The song embodies a free, yet elegant mood". Thus, the group presents their free spirit while speaking openly about the importance of being oneself through the use of a rock-infused ballad. ​The Star noted in her review that "All four members have moments to shine, infusing a fresh sound into Blackpink's musical vessel".

## Promotion

On September 16, 2022 the group held a live stream broadcast on the group's official YouTube channel, it was held an hour before the release of the album . The broadcast was held on a large stage using the concept of the title track "Shut Down", where the members revealed a variety of behind-the-scenes stories of the music video filming, future activities, and they the introduce the new songs, as well as sneak peeks on the Born Pink World Tour. On the same day, the group was interviewed on US radio stations Sirius XM and 102.7 KIIS FM as part of the promotions for both "shut down" and the new album. On September 19, 2022 they performed the song live for the first time on the Jimmy Kimmel Live!, on ABC to promote the single and the album. From September 16 to 18, 2022, Spotify held an event called "Born Pink: The Pop-Up Experience" in Los Angeles to celebrate the new album. where attendees had the opportunity to enjoy photographic moments selected by the members, buy exclusive Blackpink products directly in the store and receive an exclusive gift from Spotify x BLACKPINK.

## Artwork and packaging

*Born Pink* was released in three different physical formats—a box set version, a kit album, and a vinyl record—as well as digital download. The box set version has pink, black, and gray variations, each with a packing box, 80-page page photobook, accordion lyrics sheet, photocards, postcards, two instant films and a sticker. The kit album, which allows buyers to listen to the album on their smartphones, contains a set of twelve photo cards, lyric and credit sheet, and a random polaroid card. The pink vinyl is special-edition is set to released on December 30, 2022. A fourth physical format, called "digipacks", were announced on August 21, 2022; they come in four versions, one for each member, and was released on September 16.

The album was reported to be made with Forest Stewardship Council-certified low-carbon eco-friendly paper, soybean oil ink, and eco-friendly coating. In addition, the disc in its kit format uses biodegradable plastic (PLA), and the plastic of the packaging and bag are made of ecological resin extracted from corn starch.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings
 AnyDecentMusic?
 Metacritic
 Source
 AllMusic
 Sputnikmusic

*Born Pink* was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 76 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Rob Sheffield of *Rolling Stone* proclaimed it "the landmark pop album Blackpink were born to make" and praised the songs as "high-impact bangers and ferocious rock & roll anthems." Park Jun-hee of *The Korea Herald* described listening to the album as "biting into a trick candy: You don’t know what they’ll bring out this time, but it'll always be a sweet surprise." Vince Ferreras from CNN Philippines called the album as the group's most mature release to date and the one that shows the quartet's notable artistic growth the most.

## Commercial performance

On August 18, 2022, YG Entertainment confirmed that *Born Pink* surpassed 1.5 million pre-orders in six days, followed by an announcement notifying that the album had sold over two million copies in pre-orders on August 25, making it the first album by a K-pop female act to achieve the milestone. Following its release, *Born Pink* became the first album by a K-pop girl group to sell over one million copies on its first day on Hanteo, doing it in less than 12 hours. *Born Pink* debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 2,141,281 copies sold in less than two days of tracking and became the first album by a K-pop girl group to sell over two million copies. The kit version of the album debuted at number four with 59,718 copies sold.

## Charts

Weekly chart performance for *Born Pink*
 Japanese Hot Albums (*Billboard Japan*)
 South Korean Albums (Circle)

Weekly chart performance for *Born Pink* (Kit)

## Release history

Release dates and formats for *Born Pink*
* digital download
* streaming
* Interscope
* Interscope