For the Blinks, it was worth the wait. For the rest of us discovering it now, it’s the ultimate feel-good song to get us in the “I can” headspace. “The Girls” marks BLACKPINK’s first song since last year’s Born Pink and was released as part of the k-pop group’s mobile game, aptly named “The Game.”
“Don’t mess with the girls,” the group warns at the start of the song, before Lisa goes on to rap, “Mess with us, you messed up.” Lisa’s rap was another element of the song that thrilled fans.
“See the numbers and it’s already charted,” they sing of their achievements, which has led them to become one of the dominating faces in the K-pop world. “Really believe you can beat me? / Believe me, we be like kiki.” The song’s exalting lyrics fit in with BLACKPINK’s achievements through the years, but it’s also more of the promise that they will be keeping with the same energy in the coming years, “stop sign, we’re burning it down.”
The group really knows what they’ve achieved for K-pop on a global level and they’re not being modest about it either, as Lisa proudly raps, “Paved the way and busted left / If we left, there’s nothing left / But the rest, what a mess.”
Originally recorded at the Born Pink sessions, “The Girls,” which Jennie and Rosé worked on with Ryan Tedder in Los Angeles in 2021, ultimately did not make it into the album. After a few tweaks to the song, it was unveiled on May 17 with a 16-second snippet that was shared with fans on the login page of the game. Of course, due to the song’s catchy tune and positive vibes, it captivated fans and immediately set them in waiting mode. It would take another 98 days for the complete song and its music video to become available to fans. Before being released globally on August 25, it first became available to players who have progressed past Chapter 1, Stage 7 on BLACKPINK World on August 23.
According to a press release, “This new song celebrates the quartet’s unstoppable rise to the top and perfectly encapsulates their defiant, fun-loving attitude.”
It was accompanied by an animated music video that really surprised fans, and the girls of Blackpink too, as their animated characters really captured the group’s moves and kept up with the not-so-simple dance steps. The video has already gone viral on YouTube and TikTok, with dozens of reaction videos helping to drive the narrative around the release.
