"Kiss and Make Up" is a song by English singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

and South Korean girl group

Blackpink Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album ''Square ...

from '' Dua Lipa: Complete Edition'' (2018), the super deluxe

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

of the former's eponymous debut studio album. The song was written by Lipa,

Chelcee Grimes Chelcee Maria Grimes (born 8 May 1992) is an English singer, songwriter, television presenter, and footballer. She wrote songs for Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, Blackpink, Kesha, Olly Murs, Jonas Blue, Louisa, the Saturdays, and Tom Walker. Grimes ...

, Yannick Rastogi, Zacharie Raymond, Mathieu Jomphe-Lepine, Marc Vincent, and

Teddy Park Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978), is a Korean–American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. When he was 17 years old, P ...

, while production was handled by

Banx & Ranx Banx & Ranx are a music production duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formed in 2014. Members Soké (real name Zacharie Raymond) and KNY Factory (real name Yannick Rastogi) are producers, songwriters and remixers. They are currently signed to Un ...

. It was released through

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

as the second and fifth and Final Overall

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from the reissue on 19October 2018, alongside the reissue's release. After Released "Want To" (2018) fourth

from the reissue on 19 October 2018, alongside the reissue's release.

( Lead Promotional Singles "Room for 2" (2016) and " Thinking 'Bout You" (2017) Early Singles) and " Homesick (

and

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...

Frontman

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

)" (2017) "Want To" (2018) "Kiss and Make Up (

and

)" (2018) from the Debut Record (2017) and the reissue's release Dua Lipa: Complete Edition(2018). This Mark the

Debut Collaborations with

"Kiss and Make Up" is a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

, and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

track, with

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

elements. Lyrically, the song is about using physical affection instead of words to solve an argument between two lovers. Several

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

praised the compatibility of the two artists' vocals in both Korean and English. The song became commercially successful, charting within the top 40 of 19 countries including topping the charts in Malaysia and Singapore. Additionally, it reached number 36 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 75 on South Korea's

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

. The song has since been

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

platinum in Australia, gold in Italy and Portugal, and silver in the United Kingdom. "Kiss and Make Up" was included on the set list of Blackpink's

In Your Area World Tour The In Your Area World Tour (also known as Blackpink World Tour n Your Area'') was the first worldwide concert tour and the second overall by South Korean girl group Blackpink. The tour began on November 10, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, and ende ...

(2018–2020). A pop-

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

remix of the song appears on Lipa and

The Blessed Madonna Marea Stamper (born 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record label called We Sti ...

's remix album ''

Club Future Nostalgia ''Club Future Nostalgia'' is a remix album by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa and American DJ the Blessed Madonna. A DJ mix edition of it was released on 28 August 2020, with the standard edition following on 11 September of the same year. Th ...

'' (2020), that contains elements of

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

's "

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

" (1979).

Writing and production

"Kiss and Make Up" was written by

, Mathieu Jomphe-Lepine, Marc Vincent,

, Yannick Rastogi and Zacharie Raymond, with production from the latter two as

. It was originally written about a year and a half before it was released, as a solo song for Lipa; the song did not fit her album at the time, and she wanted it be a collaboration so she ultimately left it off the track list for her eponymous debut studio album (2017). After the album's release, Grimes pitched the song to other singers including

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

, but all turned it down thinking the lyrics were too immature. On 6May 2018, Lipa performed a concert in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

as part of her Self-Titled Tour, where

's Jennie and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

were in attendance. Lipa recalled having an "absolute blast" with them. Lipa thought "Kiss and Make Up" would sound great as a collaboration with Blackpink. Lipa then sent Blackpink the song asking to feature on it, which they accepted. Blackpink went into the studio and translated the lyrics into Korean. The song was recorded at Rollover Studio in the United Kingdom and the vocals were recorded at TaP Studio in London. Mixing was handled by Jamie Snell at The Hamilton in

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...

, while mastering was done by

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

at Sterling Sound in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Following the release of her second studio album, ''

Future Nostalgia ''Future Nostalgia'' is the second studio album by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa, released on 27 March 2020 by Warner Records. Lipa enlisted writers and producers such as Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, the Monsters & Strange ...

'' in March 2020, Lipa intended to create a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

with remixes of songs from the record. She enlisted the help of

to create what would eventually become the

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

, ''

'' (2020). Lipa wanted to somehow include some of her past collaborations and The Blessed Madonna wanted to introduce a younger crowd to the music of American trumpeter

, by creating an extended version of one of his songs. She took the vocals of "Kiss and Make Up" and parts of Alpert's "

" (1979) to create a remix. The Blessed Madonna thought that the two songs were "totally in key" and "a perfect fit." Andy Armer and Randy Alpert are credited on the remix due to elements of "Rise" being used.

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Kiss and Make Up" is a

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

and

song, with

and

elements. It is composed in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of time in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 100 beats per minute and a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of Cm–A–E–B/Gm. The song has a length of three minutes and nine seconds, and features a clubby and incandescent production, consisting of bass

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

, a clattering

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, and a bouncing backbeat. The structure includes a

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

ed intro, an early-

2010s File:2010s collage v21.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gadd ...

hook and a rhythmic

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. Lipa begins the song, before Jennie raps in the second verse, while

Rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

handles the

pre-chorus Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...

. Lipa and Blackpink's vocals range from G₃ to C₅, singing flirty and assertive lyrics in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

. Lyrically, the track creates a storyline about using physical affection instead of words to solve issues between two lovers. Musically, the ''Club Future Nostalgia'' remix of "Kiss and Make Up" is a "rubbery" pop-

track that pays homage to the

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

roots of remix culture, that uses elements of "Rise" by Herb Alpert, including its bass. It was compared to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's 1989 song " Express Yourself".

Release and promotion

"Kiss and Make Up" was first teased in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for Lipa's 2016 single "

Blow Your Mind (Mwah) "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa from her eponymous debut studio album (2017). The song was written by Lipa alongside Lauren Christy and its producer Jon Levine. The song was released for digital downloa ...

", where its title appeared on a sign one of Lipa's friends holds in a pride parade. Lipa announced the song's release on 4 September 2018. It was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on 19October 2018 as the second

from the

of Lipa's debut album '' Dua Lipa: Complete Edition''. The same day, it was released as the third track on the second disc of the reissue. The song was included on the setlist of Blackpink's

as the eleventh song performed. In Lipa's absence, Rosé and

Jisoo Kim Ji-soo (; born January 3, 1995), known mononymously as Jisoo, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the best-selling K-pop girl group Blackpink, formed by YG Entertainment, in August 2016. Outside of her mus ...

sang her parts. At the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

show on 1May 2019 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. The remix of the song is included on Lipa and The Blessed Madonna's ''Club Future Nostalgia'' remix album as the fifteenth track, released on 28August 2020. It was accompanied by an animated visualizer that features a livestream of a mushroom man dancing on a chair.

Critical reception

Mike Nied of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' praised Blackpink's "commendable performance" and the song's "fierce lines." For ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', Jeff Benjamin labelled it an "excellently crafted electro-pop throbber," while

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

's Chloe Gilke called it "anthemic pop perfection." In ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' Rhian Daly named it Blackpink's eighth best song, complimenting the mix of "East meets West," that "elevates the song beyond the typical." He concluded by praising Lipa and Blackpink's chemistry, stating the latter's voices "

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman units of measurement, Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The #International avoirdupois ounce, avoirdupois ounce ...

smoothly" off the former's. Writing for ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'', Emlyn Travis complimented how the English and Korean languages "weave together" and declared it "fits seamlessly" within both artist's discographies. She concluded by calling it "undeniably addictive." In ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...

'', Monica Chon praised how the two artist's English and Korean vocals work together "seamlessly," while also opining that it makes a "strong case that language barriers should not be an impediment to enjoying pop music."

Commercial performance

"Kiss and Make Up" debuted and peaked at number 36 on the

issue dated 26October 2018, and spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart. This made Blackpink the first

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

girl group to reach the top 40 on the chart. The track reached 20.4 million streams in the UK as of April 2019, and 38.6 million streams as of September 2022, becoming the group's fourth most-streamed song in the country. In September 2019, the song was awarded a silver

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

in the country by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 200,000 units. It spent two weeks on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, where it peaked at number 33 in its first week. The song currently holds a platinum certification in Australia by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) for selling 70,000 track-equivalent units. In Asia, the song reached number 90 on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

, and entered South Korea's

, peaking at number 75. "Kiss and Make Up" spent one week on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 93, becoming Blackpink's second and Lipa's seventh entry on the chart, with first-week sales of 11,000 downloads and seven million on-demand streams. The song additionally entered the top 40 of charts in Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as Malaysia and Singapore, where it reached the summit. It was also awarded respective gold certifications in Italy and Portugal by the

Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

(FIMI) and

Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa The Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP; English: ''Portuguese Phonographic Association'') is the recording industry association of the major labels in Portugal. Created in 1989, it succeeded GPPFV (Portuguese group of producers of Phonogra ...

(AFP), for respective track-equivalent sales of 25,000 and 5,000 units.

Personnel

vocals *

vocals **

Jennie Kim Jennie Kim (; born January 16, 1996), known mononymously as Jennie, is a South Korean singer and rapper. Born and raised in South Korea, Jennie studied in New Zealand for five years before returning to South Korea in 2010. She debuted as a me ...

vocals ** Jisoo Kim vocals **

Lalisa Manoban Lalisa Manobal (also spelled Manoban;; ; . The surname is officially spelled ''Manobal'' in the Latin alphabet, though ''Manoban'' is a better approximation of the Thai pronunciation. born Pranpriya Manobal; March 27, 1997), known mononymously ...

vocals ** Roseanne Park vocals *

backing vocals *

production ** Yannick Rastogi drums, bass, synths, keys, programming ** Zacharie Raymond drums, bass, synths, keys, programming * Yong In Choi engineering * Jamie Snell mixing *

mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

*
Lyrics of this song
at Musixmatch {{authority control Songs about kissing 2018 songs Blackpink songs Dua Lipa songs Macaronic songs Number-one singles in Malaysia Number-one singles in Singapore Reggaeton songs Songs written by Chelcee Grimes Songs written by Dua Lipa Songs written by Billboard (record producer) Songs written by Teddy Park