Flower (Jisoo song)
"Flower" (Korean: 꽃; RR: Kkot) is the debut solo single by South Korean singer and Blackpink member Jisoo. It was released on March 31, 2023, through YG and Interscope as the lead single from her debut single album, Me. Described as a mid-tempo dance, pop and trap song that incorporates traditional Korean melodies and Caribbean elements, with lyrics about overcoming a toxic relationship, it was written by Vince, Teddy, Kush, and VVN and composed by the latter two alongside 24, who handled the production.
"Flower"
"Flower" was commercially successful and peaked at number two on the Billboard Global 200, becoming Jisoo's first top-ten hit on the chart. In South Korea, the song topped Billboard's South Korea Songs chart and peaked at number two on the Circle Digital Chart. It topped the charts in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and reached the top ten in Hungary, Indonesia, MENA, and the Philippines. The track also became the highest-charting song by a female K-pop soloist on the Canadian Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
An accompanying music video was directed by Han Sa-min and uploaded onto Blackpink's YouTube channel simultaneously with the single's release. "Flower" received favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its sophisticated production and lyrics as well as Jisoo's vocals. To promote the song, the singer appeared and performed at the South Korean music program Inkigayo. On April 5, Jisoo received her first music show win only five days after the single’s release on Show Champion. She went on to receive nine total music show wins on Show Champion, M Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo.
Background and release[edit]
Following the release of bandmates Jennie's solo single "Solo" (2018), Rosé's solo single album R (2021), and Lisa's solo single album Lalisa (2021), attention turned towards Jisoo as the final member of Blackpink to debut as a soloist. On January 2, 2023, YG Entertainment confirmed that Jisoo was in the process of recording music for her single album and had completed filming the album's jacket photo shoots.[4][5] On February 21, her label revealed that filming for her music video was underway in a top-secret location overseas, with the highest production budget they have ever invested into a Blackpink music video.[6] On March 5, teasers were uploaded to Blackpink's social media accounts, confirming that her project would be released on March 31, 2023.[7] On March 19, the album's lead single was confirmed to be "Flower" with a teaser poster including the title written in hangul in the shape of a flower.[8] On March 28, the music video teaser for "Flower" was released.[9] "Flower" was released for digital download and streaming as the lead single from Me on March 31, 2023, by YG Entertainment.[2]
Lyrics and production[edit]
"Flower" was written by Vince, Teddy, Kush, and VVN and composed by the latter two alongside 24, who also handled the production.[10] It is a mid-tempo dance, pop and trap song that incorporates traditional Korean melodies and Caribbean elements.[1][2][3] It is characterized by a "distinctive" bass sound, minimal arrangement, poetic lyrics, and "Jisoo's unique vocals."[11] Its lyrics talk about overcoming a toxic relationship,[1] "leaving behind nothing but the whiff of flora."[3] The word "Flower" was used as a metaphor to describe the singer's heartbreak, in line with the lyrics, "Nothing is left but the scent of flower." Eventually the "flowers come to their own and bloom" as the protagonists leave the toxic relationship and come to her own self, with the lyrics “Spring comes and we say bye bye bye."[12] In terms of musical notation, the song was written in the key of A minor and has a tempo of 124 beats per minute.[13]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Flower" debuted at number two on the Billboard Global 200 with 108.7 million streams and 21,000 downloads sold worldwide, marking Jisoo's first solo entry and top-ten song on the chart. It earned the third-biggest streaming start for an artist’s debut track behind bandmate Lisa's "Lalisa" and Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License". The song also debuted at number two on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. with 103.3 million streams and 16,000 downloads sold outside the U.S., marking Jisoo's first top-ten song on the latter chart as well.[19] Jisoo became only the third K-pop female soloist to score a top-ten entry on the global charts, following her bandmates Rosé and Lisa.[20] "Flower" surpassed 100 million streams on music streaming platform Spotify in just 32 days after its release, breaking the record held by Lisa for the fastest song by a female K-pop soloist to do so.[21]
In South Korea, "Flower" debuted at number 33 on the thirteenth issued week (March 26–April 1) of the Circle Digital Chart, with less than two days of tracking.[22] The following week, it rose to a peak at number two for the period dated April 2–8, marking her first top-ten solo entry.[23] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first top-40 hit by a K-pop female soloist and breaking the record held by Rosé's "On the Ground" (2021) as the highest-charting song by a K-pop female soloist in history.[24][25] The song debuted at number 40 on the NZ Singles Chart and number 33 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, making Jisoo the third Blackpink member to enter the top-50 on the latter.[26][27] In the United States, "Flower" did not debut on the Billboard Hot 100, but entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number four. It peaked at number ten on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart and number two on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart with 6,000 downloads sold.[28] With this, Jisoo became one of five K-pop female solo artists to earn a top-ten hit on the Digital Song Sales chart, after her bandmates Rosé and Lisa as well as Youjeen and So-yoon.[29] In Canada, "Flower" debuted at number 30 on the Canadian Hot 100 and surpassed "On the Ground" as the highest-charting song by a K-pop solo female artist in the country.[30]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Han Sa-min and uploaded to Blackpink's official YouTube channel in conjunction with the release of the single album. The video was preceded by a 22-second long music video teaser released two days earlier on March 28.[9] Upon release, the music video topped the worldwide trending list on YouTube and garnered 40 million views in 24 hours, becoming the most viewed video in 24 hours by a K-pop act in 2023.[31] It went on to surpass 100 million views in less than 8 days.[25] On April 5, a dance practice video for "Flower" was released. In it, Jisoo, dressed in a white gown with flowers on her palm, is accompanied by a series of backup dancers wearing all black.[32]