''Square Up'' is the first Korean

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(second overall) by 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 ...

, released on June 15, 2018 by

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

. It is available in two versions and contains four tracks, with "

Ddu-Du Ddu-Du "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" (; RR: ''ttuduttudu'') is a song recorded in Korean and Japanese by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on June 15, 2018, through YG Entertainment, in conjunction with the release of the group's first Korean-language ...

" released as the lead single. "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" peaked at number one in South Korea for three weeks and became the highest-charting song by a female K-pop act in the United States and United Kingdom. The song " Forever Young" was later promoted in Korean music programs and peaked at number two in South Korea. Upon its release, ''Square Up'' debuted atop the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...

and went on to sell almost 179,000 copies on its first fifteen days of release in South Korea. The EP also debuted at number 40 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming Blackpink's highest selling album in a Western market as well as the highest-charting album by a female K-pop group at the time. In March 2019, it was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

Korea Music Content Association The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

(KMCA) for selling 250,000 units.

Background and release

On April 24, 2018,

founder

Yang Hyun-suk Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...

raised expectations of the group's comeback via SNS stating that by the end of this year Blackpink will return with new music soon. And on May 17, he revealed the month of June for the release while answering fan asked questions on SNS. An official news report revealed that the mini album would be released on June 15. On June 1, the album's moving poster was unveiled, followed by the full track list on June 5 and an individual moving poster of the members, teasing audio of "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and "Forever Young". Subsequently, from June 12 to 14, the album's teaser posters were released. On June 14, a teaser of the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" was released on both Blackpink's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel and the group's official V Live channel. On June 15, the mini album was released, along with the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du".

Composition

Songs

The opening track "

" is a "fierce" hip-hop and

pop rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

song with

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

sound and

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

beat. It combines instrumentations of oriental percussion rhythms and whistling on top of the bassline. Lyrically, the song is an anthem about the group's success and self-confidence, based around the hook of "Hit you with that ddu-du ddu-du du". The second track " Forever Young" is a mid-tempo "beachy",

moombahton Moombahton (, ) is an electronic dance music genre, derived from house music and reggaeton, that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Nada coined the name as a portmanteau of "Moombah" (a track by Sur ...

-based

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 ...

track with "lasering"

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

beats 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 ...

swing. The lyrics talk about how they celebrate making the most of your youth, while saying "Blackpink is the revolution". The third track "Really" is a "chill"

hip-pop Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

and R&B song about pleading with a lover to show him how much they care. The closing track "See U Later" is a "cutting breakup"

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song that mixes pop and hip-hop with a "trap-laden" chorus, "reminiscent" guitar sound and the distortion 808 bass.

Promotion

On the afternoon of June 15, Blackpink held a press conference for the release of "Square Up" at M-CUBE, Sinsa-dong,

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 ...

. On the same day, one hour prior to the mini album's release a countdown special live was broadcast on

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

's ''V LIVE'' broadcasting site featuring Blackpink discussing the new music. It garnered over 850,000 viewers. On June 16, "Blackpink Area", a Square Up concept

pop-up store Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to catch onto a fad or scheduled e ...

was made public to the fans, at the same location where ''

Blackpink House ''Blackpink House'' () was a South Korean variety show by Blackpink broadcast by the South Korean television station JTBC. The show is about the members of Blackpink and what they do during their hiatus and everyday lives. The first episode of the ...

'' was filmed, for 9 days. On June 23, the group appeared as guests on

JTBC JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...

's ''

Idol Room ''Idol Room'' () was a South Korean television program which aired on JTBC every Tuesday at 18:30 (KST) and was hosted by Jeong Hyeong-don and Defconn. The program is inspired by JTBC Newsroom, and it is produced in order to be the idol-specialis ...

'' to promote the EP, making their debut on the show. Blackpink held their comeback stage on MBC's ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

'' on June 16 and on SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

'' on June 17 featuring performances of both the lead single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and the second single "Forever Young", and further continued promoting on various music programs in Korea. On July 14, the group finished promotions for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and started promoting "Forever Young" as the second single from the EP and wrapped up their seven week long promotion on August 5 after performing on ''Inkigayo''. On August 17, it was announced that similar to "Blackpink Area", another pop-up store at BOK Gallery,

Takeshita Street is a pedestrian shopping street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. Stores on Takeshita Street include major chains such as The Body Shop, McDonald's, and 7-Eleven, but most of the businesses are s ...

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...

, Japan will be made public from August 22–26.

Critical reception

''Square Up'' received generally favorable reviews from critics. Chase McMullen, writing for '' The 405'', praised the album's "readymade hooks and airtight, bursting sonics" and its ability to go "from confrontational to blissfully ecstatic at the drop of a hat", proving Blackpink's mettle in the global K-pop boom. ''

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 ...

'' listed ''Square Up'' as the twentieth best K-pop album of 2018, describing it as "a testament to their dedication to rambunctious, hip-hop infused dance music" that " xudedconfidence, sass and an overpowering sense of chic." ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...

'' placed ''Square Up'' at number 8 at their best K-pop albums of 2018, saying that it "shimmers with signature Blackpink cheekiness and effortless swagger, momentarily satiating the fans who are waiting for more."

Awards and nominations

Commercial performance

In South Korea, the mini album debuted at number one on

Gaon Albums Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, previously know ...

, while “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” debuted at number 3 on the

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 ...

and at number one on the Gaon Download Chart on the chart issue dated June 10–16, 2018 with 31,072,049 digital points. In its second week, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" peaked at number one on Digital, Download, Streaming, and Mobile Charts on Gaon with 85,411,467 digital points. The mini album debuted on the top spot of Japan's ''

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Weekly Digital Albums'' chart with 3,915 downloads. The lead single "

" debuted as the highest-charting

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

hit ever by an all-female K-pop act, opening at number 55 with 12.4 million US streams and 7,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending June 21, 2018, according to

Nielsen Music Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, also entering on the US

Streaming Songs The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one of the three component ...

tally at number 39, where Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to chart a title. The single also sat atop ''

World Digital Songs The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific ...

, making it the group's fourth number one song on the chart. ''Square Up'' also brought the group their first entry on the US ''Billboard'' 200, debuting at number 40 with 14,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s. The mini album also topped the ''Billboard''

World Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2018 EPs Blackpink EPs Korean-language EPs YG Entertainment EPs Genie Music EPs