How You Like That

"How You Like That" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on June 26, 2020, through YG and Interscope, as the lead single from the group's first Korean-language studio album, The Album, which was released on October 2, 2020. The track was co-written by Danny Chung, R. Tee, 24 and Teddy Park, with Park credited as the producer.[4] Musically, "How You Like That" is a pop, hip hop and trap track.

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Seo Hyun-seung and uploaded onto Blackpink's YouTube channel simultaneously with the single's release. Upon release, the music video broke several YouTube records, including for the most-watched premiere, the most views within 24 hours for a music video—accumulating 86.3 million views in that time—and for the fastest to surpass 100 million, 200 million and 500 million views. It also became one of the most-liked videos on YouTube with over 20 million likes.

"How You Like That" won numerous accolades, including Song of Summer at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Dance Award for a female group at both the 2020 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards in Seoul. Commercially, the single charted in 26 countries. It was a success in South Korea, peaking at number one on both Gaon and K-pop Hot 100, and further topped the national charts in Singapore, Hungary, and Malaysia.[5] The song has been certified gold in Canada and silver in Japan, while the album version was certified platinum in South Korea.

## Background and release

On May 4, 2020, it was reported that the group had finished recording their new album and were working on a schedule to shoot a music video later that month. On May 18, YG Entertainment shared an update on the project, projected for a June 2020 release, and revealed that more than ten songs were expected for their first full-length album. On June 10, YG Entertainment released the teaser poster to the single on social media and confirmed the comeback date to be June 26. Three days later, YG Entertainment released a prologue of the group's newest reality show, *24/365 with Blackpink*, ahead of its launch on July 4, via YouTube. The show documents their comeback alongside sharing their lives through vlogs. According to member Jisoo in the prologue of *24/365 with Blackpink*, the song represented a move from previous "powerful" music, describing it as more "swag".

On June 15, YG Entertainment released individual posters of the members. The teaser video was released on June 21. The official group teaser poster was revealed on June 22. The music video teaser was released on June 24, and the song officially premiered on June 26, 2020, after an hour-long live countdown. A physical version of the single was released on July 17, 2020, featuring the song and its instrumental.

## Composition

"How You Like That" was written by Teddy Park, Danny Chung, R. Tee, 24 and produced by Teddy. It runs for three minutes and one second. Musically, "How You Like That" is a pop, trap, hip-hop infused. The song is about "not being daunted by dark situations and to not lose the confidence and strength to stand up again".[2][1] A "thrillingly bombastic lead single", Billboard wrote, the track "fuses pop, trap and hip-hop with regal horn blasts and a braggadocious hook."[17]

## Critical reception

Following the release of "How You Like That", it was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Consequence of Sound named the song the 27th best track of the year, writing that the members "deliver a positive message of perseverance over a slamming, hip-hop-oriented track with plenty of explosive drops."[18] The Chicago Tribune included the song in their list of 50 best songs of 2020, stating that the "squelchy, gum-smacking and titanically fun comeback should cement them as pop stars, full-stop, in the U.S. for years to come."[19] Billboard magazine ranked the song at number 23 in their list of 100 Best Songs of 2020, complimenting it's composition and the group's energy, further asserting the "fireworks show of a coda" was "the most thrilling 30 seconds of pop all year."[20] Crystal Bell of Paper magazine opened the review by commenting it "was lambasted for its formulaic structure", however she rebutted that by highlighting its addictive nature and referred to the song as "gloriously big", having "significantly more cultural impact than their other singles this year."[21]

## Commercial performance

In South Korea, the song debuted at number 12 on the Gaon Digital Chart issue dated June 21–27 with less than two days of tracking. The following week (June 28–July 4) it rose to number one, making it Blackpink's third single to do so, after "Whistle" (2016) and "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" (2018). It remained atop the chart for three weeks and became the first song by the group since "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" to top the Gaon Monthly chart. The physical version of the single debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart, and peaked at number one the following week. It has sold 302,752 copies in the country as of August 2020 and certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association. The song entered the *Billboard* K-pop Hot 100 chart issue dated June 27 at number 50, and reached number one the following week on the issue dated July 4. In Japan, the single debuted at number 24 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart with 8,219 downloads sold and 1,804,749 streams in its first three days. It debuted at number 17 on the *Billboard Japan* Hot 100 with 3,952 estimated units, and peaked at number eight the following week with 6,321 estimated units. The song peaked at number one in Malaysia and Singapore for eight weeks each, and was the highest-selling song of 2020 in Malaysia.

In the United States, the song debuted at number 33 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, tying with "Sour Candy" as the highest-charting song by a female Korean act at that time. It sold 16,400 copies in its release week and charted for two weeks. It also reached the top twenty in Australia, Canada, Estonia, Hungary, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Scotland.

## Music video

The music video for "How You Like That" is directed by Seo Hyun-seung,[44] who previously directed "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and "Kill This Love". It was the most streamed music video premiere on YouTube at the time with 1.66 million concurrent viewers,[1] as well as the platform's most viewed video in its first 24 hours with 86.3 million views,[45] and the fastest to hit 100 million views, doing so 32 hours after release.[46] It was later surpassed in August by BTS' "Dynamite" with 101.1 million views in its first 24 hours.[47] On March 13, 2021, the video hit 800 million views. The video was named the 20th best music video of 2020 by Billboard.[22] A dance performance video was additionally released on July 6, 2020.[48] The video features the four members doing the full choreography in matching black athleisure in front of a hot pink background.[48] Near the end of the song, the girls are joined by a bevy of female back-up dancers.[48]

A scene in the music video where Blackpink is surrounded by dancers and statues of horses in a grand domed hall.

### **Synopsis**

In the beginning scene of the music video, all four sit like queens atop steps. The members are depicted dancing in several locations, including a jungle, a trapezoidal hall, and the Arctic, all while rocking a parade of high-fashion looks. At the end, they're united in a dance break in a grand domed hall where the quartet are surrounded by back-up dancers.[49] The colorful music video shows Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo delivering both a message of resilience and a blistering kiss-off to an unseen foe.

### **Controversy**

Controversy sparked on social media after the music video's release due to the inclusion of a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha in a solo scene with band member Lisa. The statue was used as a prop and placed on the floor next to a bejewelled Aladdin lamp, causing an outcry from fans who labelled the placement as "inappropriate" and "disrespectful", and the statue's usage as "cultural appropriation".[50] The statue was subsequently edited out of the video.[50]

## Usage in media

The song was featured in the first trailer of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania in an interview with directors Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska.[51]