On August 8, 2016, the gods of Hallyu gave birth to what is demonstrably the biggest girl group ever to walk the face of the planet.<\/p>\n
I am talking, of course, about the South Korean girl group Blackpink.<\/p>\n
Composed of members Jisoo, Jennie, Ros\u00e9, and Lisa, Blackpink\u2014often stylized in all caps or as BL\u0245\u03fdKPI\u0418K\u2014is best known for their unique blend of catchy melodies, bold beats, and stunning visuals, all of which have captivated audiences around the globe and solidified their place as one of the biggest names in pop culture today.<\/p>\n
Much like the rest of the world, I first heard the group by way of their first two official single albums, Square One<\/em> and Square Two<\/em>, which were released in August and November of 2016 respectively.<\/p>\n The single albums each had two songs in it\u2014\u201cWhistle\u201d and \u201cBoombayah\u201d called Square One<\/em> home, while Square Two<\/em> had \u201cPlaying with Fire\u201d and \u201cStay\u201d\u2014 all of which have hallmarks of what would become known as the Blackpink sound: bombastic hip-hop rhythms, slick beats, and a whole lot of swag.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until the release of \u201cAs If It\u2019s Your Last\u201d in 2017, however, that I became a fan.<\/p>\n \n