Misplaced Pages

"Pretty Savage" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink from their debut Korean studio album The Album. It was released on October 2, 2020, through YG and Interscope. The track was composed by Teddy, R.Tee, 24, Bekuh Boom, with lyrics written by Teddy, Løren, Vince, and Danny Chung. Lyrically, the song deals with the group not caring about the opinion of others. The song was performed with "Lovesick Girls" on several music programs in South Korea including Show! Music Core and Inkigayo and also at The Late Late Show With James Corden as a preview performance for their headlining livestream concert, The Show.

"Pretty Savage" peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Global 200 and was a top-ten hit in Malaysia and Singapore. It also debuted in the national charts of several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea. In the United States, the song debuted at number two on the World Digital Song Sales chart and number 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

Background and promotion

"Pretty Savage" was confirmed with the album's tracklist on September 28, 2020. "Pretty Savage" was performed with "Lovesick Girls" on music and variety shows with in October following the release of the album. On October 10, the group made the debut performance of the song at MBC's Show! Music Core. The next day Blackpink performed the song on Inkigayo.

Blackpink also did an interview with James Corden on The Late Late Show With James Corden as part of the group's US promotion for their virtual concert "The Show" and then performed the track as a preview for the said concert. The Japanese version of the track was released as part of The Album -JP Ver.- which was made available on August 3, 2021.

Composition

"Pretty Savage" was written by Teddy, Danny Chung, Løren and Vince, with production being handled by Teddy alongside 24, R. Tee and Bekuh Boom. The song runs for a duration of three minutes and nineteen seconds. "Pretty Savage" is a trap song with "haunted vocals and a skittish, staccato-style beat", those lyrics are a "collective middle finger to the haters". The song is about how the group's success comes by being different from everyone else.

Critical reception

The song was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz ranked "Pretty Savage" as the best song on the album, calling it "hypnotic during its ferocious high points" and one of the best Blackpink songs. Callie Ahlgrim from Insider called "Pretty Savage" a "straight shot of adrenaline" and noted that the lyrics "Yeah, we some bitches you can't manage" are an "ace-in-the-hole". Writing for Rolling Stone, Tim Chan labelled it as the "sassiest kiss-off track since" Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next". In a more negative review, Mikael Wood for the Los Angeles Times described the song, alongside "How You Like That", as "two vaguely phrased declarations of fierce self-determination".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Album and The Album – JP Ver.

Recording

• Recorded at The Black Label Studio (Seoul)
• Mixed at The Lab (Los Angeles) and MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel

• Blackpink – vocals
• Teddy – lyricist, composer, arranger
• Løren – lyricist
• Vince – lyricist
• Danny Chung – lyricist
• FanFan – lyricist (Japanese version)
• R.Tee – composer, arranger
• 24 – composer, arranger
• Yong In Choi – recording engineer
• Jason Robert – mixing engineer
• Serban Ghenea – mixing engineer
• Randy Merrill – mastering

Usage in media

"Pretty Savage" was featured in the 2021 Netflix film To All the Boys: Always and Forever. South Korean boy band iKon performed a remake of the song entitled "Classy Savage" with a guest appearance by Lisa in the 2021 Mnet competition show Kingdom: Legendary War. "Pretty Savage" is featured in the soundtrack of the 2021 Brazilian telenovela Quanto Mais Vida, Melhor!, which was broadcast beginning in November 2021.

Charts

Certifications

See also

• List of best-selling girl group singles
• List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts

References

1. "[쇼! 음악중심] 블랙핑크 -Pretty Savage (BLACKPINK -Pretty Savage) 20201010". MBC TV. October 10, 2020 – via YouTube.
2. "BLACKPINK – 'Pretty Savage' 1011 SBS Inkigayo". YG Entertainment, SBS. October 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
3. @BLACKPINK (September 28, 2020). "'THE ALBUM' TRACKLIST POSTER #BLACKPINK #블랙핑크 #1stFULLALBUM #THEALBUM #Tracklist #TITLE #LovesickGirls #HowYouLikeThat #IceCream #PrettySavage #BetYouWanna #CrazyOverYou #LoveToHateMe #YouNeverKnow #20201002_12amEST #20201002_1pmKST #Release #YG" (Tweet). Retrieved November 2, 2020 – via Twitter.
4. ^ "Watch Blackpink Nail 'Lovesick Girls' Choreography, Debut 'Pretty Savage' Live on Korean TV". Billboard. October 12, 2020.
5. "BLACKPINK – 'Pretty Savage' 1011 SBS Inkigayo". YG Entertainment, SBS. October 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
6. Sanchez, Gabrielle (January 28, 2021). "Blackpink Switches Up 'Pretty Savage' on Corden Ahead of Virtual Concert". Vulture. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
7. "Japan 1st Full Album「The Album -JP Ver.-」". YGEX (in Japanese). Retrieved August 29, 2021.
8. ^ Blackpink (2020). The Album (liner notes). YG Entertainment. YGP0042.
9. ^ Blackpink (2021). The Album – JP Ver (liner notes). Universal Music Japan. UPCH-2228.
10. ^ Chan, Tim (October 2, 2020). "Blackpink's 'The Album' Is an Adrenaline Shot That Wears Off a Little Too Quick". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
11. Z. Yeung, Neil. "Blackpink – The Album: AllMusic Review by Neil Z. Yeung". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
12. Jaleru, Christina (October 2, 2020). "Review: BLACKPINK in your area, and they're here to stay". The Independent. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
13. Lipshutz, Jason (October 2, 2020). "Every Song Ranked on Blackpink's 'The Album': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
14. Ahlgrim, Callie; Haasch, Palmer; Choi, Inyoung (October 2, 2020). "Blackpink's 'The Album' is a glossy 8-track party playlist you'll want to play in every area". Insider. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
15. Wood, Mikael (October 2, 2020). "Review: Blackpink's debut album gleams and preens. So why isn't it very much fun?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
16. "Music from To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021)". Tunefind. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
17. Henrique Carlos (November 19, 2021). "Quanto Mais Vida, Melhor! tem trilha sonora de impressionar" [Quanto Mais Vida, Melhor! has impressive soundtrack]. Observatório da TV (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved November 22, 2021.
18. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 October 2020". The ARIA Report. No. 1597. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 12, 2020. p. 4.
19. "Blackpink Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
20. "Blackpink Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
21. "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
22. "NZ Top 40 Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
23. "Blackpink – Pretty Savage". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
24. "RIAS Top Charts Week 41 (2 – 8 Oct 2020)". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
25. "Digital Chart – Week 43 of 2020". gaonchart.co.kr (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. October 24, 2020.
26. "Korea Kpop Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
27. "Blackpink Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
28. "Blackpink Chart History: World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
29. 2020년 10월 Digital Chart [October 2020 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021.
30. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
31. "Brazilian single certifications – Blackpink – Pretty Savage" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 6, 2024.

• Blackpink songs
• 2020 songs
• Songs written by Teddy Park
• Song recordings produced by Teddy Park