Music Video: BLACKPINK - How You Like That

 This 2020 video promoted the lead single from Blackpink’s first Korean-language studio album, The Album. The video, released on 26th June 2020, was premiered on Blackpink's YouTube channel at the same time as the single was released. 

The video broke many YouTube records, including most-watched premiere (1.66 million concurrent viewers), most views within 24 hours for a music video (86 million views) and fastest video to achieve 100, 200 and 600 million views. It was the 3rd most viewed music video of 2020. As of Autumn 2021, the video has had over 1 BILLION views.

BLACKPINK: How You Like That

K-pop: global phenomenon 

The K-pop genre reflects the global nature of the media and music industries. Over the last 20 years, K-pop has become a cultural sensation as groups like BTS and BLACKPINK enjoyed global success. This has also resulted in Korean culture becoming mainstream in the West.

Audience

BLACKPINK’s audience: Blinks

BLACKPINK fans are known as ‘Blinks’ and are largely teenage girls and young women. Their fans are worldwide but they are particularly big in the Philippines and Indonesia as well as western countries such as the UK and USA.

From Vogue’s feature on How BLACKPINK became the biggest K-pop girlband on the planet:

Avril, a 16-year-old Blink (Blackpink’s fandom name) from Peru discovered them in 2018. “Everything about them made me become a fan,” she tells Vogue over Twitter. “The way they perform, their iconic songs and choreos, their friendship, even the way they dress. Blackpink were on a whole new level.”

Audience pleasures

Applying Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:

• Diversion: music video conventions – performance, effects, fast pace etc.
• Personal relationships: Fan interaction online through social media is a key element of K-pop’s global success. Fans feel like they ‘know’ the band members.
• Personal identity: K-pop fandom often involves copying the look of band members and seeing their own style reflected on screen.
• Surveillance: Western audiences gain knowledge of Korean music and culture.

Marketing and promotion to the audience

The video’s release was preceded by a series of teasers on the band’s social media accounts (including posters, photos focusing on individual band members and videos) and a reality show (24/365 with Blackpink, available on YouTube). 

A “dance performance” video including the choreography for the music video was released in July 2020; by March 2021 this had achieved over 600 million views and was placed in the top 20 videos of the year by Billboard magazine.

Dance performance:

BLACKPINK 24/365 - Behind the scenes of the How You Like It music video shoot:

Industries

BLACKPINK: manufactured by YG Entertainment

Blackpink was formed in 2016 by Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment and by 2020 was one of the most successful K-Pop bands in the world. As of 2021, the band was the most followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act, and Asian act on YouTube.

The changing nature of the music industry

How You Like That demonstrates the changing nature of the music industry and how important YouTube and social media has become for music artists. 

The way people consume music videos has changed – now phones, tablets and YouTube are the primary ways audiences engage with music videos (known as convergence). It also shows music video has become a media form in its own right, not just a way to sell an album. 

BLACKPINK’s billions of YouTube views also bring in money through advertising. 

Music: a global industry

K-pop demonstrates the global nature of the industry with BLACKPINK selling out arenas across the UK and USA as well as in the East. They played Wembley Arena in 2019 as well as huge US music festival Coachella. 

Music videos: regulation

With music videos now largely consumed on YouTube, regulating the content of music videos is very difficult. Some UK-based record companies get their music videos rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

The kinds of issues the BBFC considers in classifying music videos include bad language, dangerous behaviour presented as safe, drug misuse, sexual behaviour and nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence.

You can find out more about this process on the BBFC website here.

BLACKPINK - How You Like That: Blog tasks

Audience

1) What are BLACKPINK fans known as - and what would the demographics / psychographics be for the BLACKPINK audience?

 BLACKPINK fans are known as blinks and are mainly girls and young women who aspire/ idolise the band members and form personal connections with their music and fashion.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by the music video for How You Like That?

Diversion with the music videos conventions such as mise-en-scene and clothing, along with the fast-pace and performance which retain the viewers attention. Personal relationships with the band and their media makes viewers feel as if they 'know' the band members and provides a deeper connection with fans. Personal Identity relates to how viewers personally identify with the band's music, fashion etc and how they may take aspects like clothing and dress themselves that was as they associate the band with that fashion. Surveillance allows western audiences to experience and learn about Korean culture and establishes a connection worldwide.

3) Pick out three particular shots, scenes or moments in the video that would particularly appeal to BLACKPINK fans. Why did you choose those moments? 

The dance choreography and the band members all in one shot demonstrates their outfits and skill being able to sing and dance at the same time.

The band members and background dancers in one elaborate shot which shows off the high production value and the props which all fit the pink aesthetic and display elaborate storytelling.

Close up shot of the group sat together from a low angle, displaying their outfits and the "power" they hold which fans "Blinks" may find inspiring.

4) How was the How You Like That music video marketed and promoted to the audience?

 preceded by a series of teasers on the band’s social media accounts (including posters, photos focusing on individual band members and videos) and a reality show (24/365 with Blackpink.)

5) Why is K-pop a global phenomenon and what has helped it to become so popular?

BLACKPINK has gained its notoriety through online advertisement but also their high budget videos and pre-established popularity in Korean pop, their fast pace performances spark cross-platform interest which spreads through word-of-mouth amongst fans on twitter, Instagram and youtube. 

Industry

1) How were BLACKPINK formed and what records have they broken?

Blackpink was formed in 2016 by Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment. In 2021, the band was the most followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act, and Asian act on YouTube.

2) What other successful artists have YG Entertainment created? You may need to Google this.

 Eun Ji-won, 2NE1, AKMU, Winner, Blackpink, Treasure, and Babymonster.

3) How has technology and the internet (known as technological convergence) changed the way audiences consume music videos?

Technology has made music videos and content far more accessible with the invention of phones, ipads, flatscreen TVs etc, we are more prone and susceptible to advertisement (convergence). Even on the radio, where we are able to listen to new popular releases and that way, be subtly advertised and artist's work.

4) How do BLACKPINK and K-pop show that the media and music industries are now global?

BLACKPINK and K-pop, despite being Korean products, are known and advertised worldwide, garnering millions of fans across the globe with the digital age upon us. The media has revolutionised the music industry worldwide as these genres and artists have become wildly popular in places such as Indonesia, the US, the UK and the Philippines. BLACKPINK has managed to sell out arenas across the UK, USA and the east.

5) How are UK-based music videos regulated and what types of content require warnings? 

UK-based record companies get their music videos rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC),  issues the BBFC considers in classifying music videos include bad language, dangerous behaviour presented as safe, drug misuse, sexual behaviour and nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence.