BLACKPINK are hands-down my favorite Korean pop band since 2NE1. They’re as infectiously vibrant as CL’s posse, with songs that tap into the sounds of current Western Top 40 (a tooting horn here, a dubstep drop there), but find new ways to stitch them together. The four-piece’s work with Korean production mastermind Teddy has been some of the most imaginative pop to come out in the past 12 months, brought to life in videos that are even more eccentric. Their label YG must routinely drop six figures on these visuals — how else would they be flying through space, in their Grimes-approved “Whistle”?
The group always racks up YouTube views in the hundred-millions, and that won’t change with their kaleidoscopic new one for the ‘80s-vibing single “As If It’s Your Last.” There’s so much pure GIF-able joy here, from dance-offs in a fuchsia subway station, to Lisa’s rapped verse in a CGI tunnel of flame effects, and Jennie hanging up on someone talking nonsense. And for every aegyo moment with cotton candy and ice cream, there’s a scene where they confidently wind their waists and drop their butts to the ground.
But this is a song that stands on its own too. Hard-edged verses have the trademark marching drums and EDM ramp-ups of BLACKPINK’s debut “Boombayah,” before the song switches gears into an intoxicatingly fun chorus that Debbie Gibson would have given her last hair scrunchie for. It’s also a neat fit with pop’s current embrace of ‘80s exuberance, with a similarly breezy feel to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut To The Feeling,” or K-pop star Tiffany’s “I Just Wanna Dance.”
International music fans seem to be agreeing, too. At time of writing, “As If It’s Your Last” is at number one in Korea, but also sits at number 31 on U.S. iTunes — the highest ever ranking for an all-woman K-pop act on the chart. Watch it above, and if you missed them the first time around, follow it up with the rest of their videos here.
