Pink Venom
"Pink Venom" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released through YG Entertainment and Interscope Records on August 19, 2022, as the pre-release single from the group's second studio album, Born Pink (2022). It is a hip-hop, pop rap, dance and EDM song that incorporates Korean traditional instruments, 90s hip-hop and electropop musical styles. The track was composed by Teddy, 24, R. Tee, and Ido, with its lyrics penned by Teddy and Danny Chung.
"Pink Venom" received mixed reviews from critics, who complimented its catchy production but criticized its composition and the lack of musical growth. The song was commercially successful worldwide and spent two weeks atop the Billboard Global 200, marking the first time a girl group reached number one on the chart. In South Korea, the song peaked at number two on the Circle Digital Chart, while it peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as the UK Singles Chart. It became the first song by a K-pop group to reach number one in Australia, and topped the charts in eight other territories. It was certified platinum in Canada and gold in Australia and Japan.
The music video for "Pink Venom" was directed by Seo Hyun-seung and received 90.4 million views within 24 hours on YouTube—the biggest 24-hour debut for a music video in 2022, and the third-largest of all time on the platform. To promote the single, Blackpink performed on the South Korean music program Inkigayo as well as the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, where they became the first Korean girl group to perform at the award ceremony. Its accolades include Best Choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards and Best Music Video at the MAMA Awards.
Background and release[edit]
On July 6, 2022, YG Entertainment announced that Blackpink was in the process of finishing recording for their new album and preparing to shoot a music video in mid-July for release in August. The label also confirmed that the group would embark on the largest world tour by a K-pop girl group in history.[1] On July 31, YG Entertainment officially released trailer video for Born Pink through the group's official social media accounts, announcing that the world tour would start in October, following a pre-release single in August and the album itself in September.[2] The label later confirmed that two music videos were filmed to support the album, reportedly with the highest production budgets they have ever invested into a music video.[3] On August 7, it was announced that the album's pre-release single would be titled "Pink Venom" and released on August 19, 2022.[4]
On August 10, two sets of individual member teaser posters for "Pink Venom" were posted to Blackpink's official social media accounts.[5][6] Within the next couple of days, two sets of concept teaser videos were released for each individual member.[7][8] On August 13, the credits of the song were reported through a teaser poster with all four members together.[9] A new concept video was presented a day later, showing all four members being trapped in a glass box.[10] The teaser for the music video was soon unveiled,[11] with the music video premiering on YouTube on August 19.[12] Internationally, the song was released to the airplay markets in Italy on August 26,[13] and in the United States on August 30, 2022.[14]
Commercial performance[edit]
Upon release, "Pink Venom" broke the record for Spotify's most-streamed song by a female artist in a single day in 2022.[65] It became the first song by a female K-pop artist to top Spotify's Global Top Songs chart and the first K-pop song in history to top the chart for multiple days.[66][67] Additionally, it exceeded 100 million streams on the platform in 17 days, becoming the fastest song to do so by a female K-pop artist.[68] "Pink Venom" debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 with 212.1 million streams and 36,000 downloads sold, earning Blackpink's first number-one on the chart and the second-biggest worldwide weekly streaming total in the chart's history. The song also debuted at number one on the Global Excl. U.S. with 198.1 million streams and 27,000 downloads sold, earning Blackpink their second number-one on the chart after "Lovesick Girls". With this, Blackpink became the third act to achieve multiple number-ones on the chart, after BTS and Justin Bieber.[69] "Pink Venom" topped both charts for a second week with 108.4 million streams and 7,000 downloads worldwide, and 99.5 million streams and 5,000 downloads outside the U.S., becoming the first Korean-language song to top either chart for multiple weeks.[70][71] The song remained on the Global 200 for 30 weeks and the Global Excl. US for 46 weeks.[72][73]
In South Korea, "Pink Venom" debuted at number 22 on the Circle Digital Chart during the week of August 20, with less than two days of tracking,[74] and rose to a peak at number two the following week.[75] In Japan, the song opened with 3,236 downloads and 3,068,603 streams during the week of August 21, debuting at number 16 on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart.[76][77] It debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and peaked at number 10 the following week.[78] It has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for reaching 50,000,000 streams in the country. In other Asian territories, "Pink Venom" topped the charts in Hong Kong,[79] Taiwan,[80] Indonesia,[81] Malaysia,[82] Singapore,[83] the Philippines,[84] Vietnam,[85] and India.[86] In North America, "Pink Venom" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 22, becoming the highest-charting solo song by a K-pop girl group, ranking behind only the group's collaboration with Selena Gomez on "Ice Cream" (2020). It marked Blackpink's eighth career entry and their fourth top-40 hit on the chart.[87] It opened with sales of 11,000 downloads and a radio airplay audience of 359,000 people, according to Billboard.[88] It remained on the Hot 100 for a total of six weeks and became the longest-charting song by a K-pop group in 2022.[89] In Canada, the song debuted at number four on the Canadian Hot 100 and became their first top-10 entry in the country. It remained on the chart for a total of nine weeks,[90] and received a platinum certification by Music Canada for surpassing 80,000 units sold.[91]
In Australia, "Pink Venom" debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart dated August 29, making Blackpink the first K-pop group in history to top the chart.[92] They also broke the record for the highest-debuting song by a K-pop group, beating the number two debut of BTS's "Dynamite" (2020).[93] Blackpink joined Psy as the only two Korean artists in history to top the ARIA Singles Chart; Psy did so with "Gangnam Style" a decade earlier in 2012.[94] The song has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for surpassing 35,000 units sold in the country. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number nine on the NZ Singles Chart, becoming Blackpink's first top-ten hit in the country.[95] In Europe, "Pink Venom" peaked at number 22 in the United Kingdom, becoming the group's seventh top-forty hit.[96] It reached a peak of number 23 in Ireland,[97] number 32 in Germany,[98] number 44 in France,[99] and number 94 in Italy.[100]
Promotion and live performances[edit]
Two days prior to the release of "Pink Venom", YG Entertainment unveiled a schedule for the band's "Light Up the Pink" initiative; this campaign involved lighting up numerous landmarks around the world in pink to promote the song, starting from August 18.[116] On the same day, Blackpink teamed up with YouTube Shorts and launched a "#PinkVenomChallenge" to promote the release of the song and its choreography.[117] On August 28, 2022, Blackpink presented a pre-recorded performance of "Pink Venom" on SBS's Inkigayo for the first time.[118] On the same day, Blackpink appeared and performed at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, marking their American awards show debut and making them the first female K-pop group in history to perform at the ceremony.[119] Billboard and Time named it one of the best performances of the night.[120][121] However, Variety named it among the worst performances at the ceremony and included it under a subheading labeled "Lip-Sync Snafus"; this led to a backlash from fans who pointed out that the group was, in fact, performing live.[122]
Beginning in October, "Pink Venom" was included in the setlist of Blackpink's Born Pink World Tour (2022–2023).[123] On January 28, 2023, the group performed the song with French cellist Gautier Capuçon at the Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes charity event organized by the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, in Paris.[124] In April and June 2023, Blackpink performed "Pink Venom" as the opening song of their sets as the headlining act of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California and BST Hyde Park in London, England.[125][126]