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Square Up is the first Korean extended play (second overall) by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on June 15, 2018 by YG Entertainment. The EP is available in two physical versions and contains four tracks, with "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" released as the lead single. The song 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 at the time. The track "Forever Young" was later promoted on Korean music programs and peaked at number two in South Korea.
Upon its release, Square Up debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart and went on to sell almost 179,000 copies in its first fifteen days of availability 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. It was certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) in March 2019 for selling 250,000 units, and was later certified double platinum in March 2023 for selling 500,000 units.
Background and release
On April 24, 2018, YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk stated that by the end of 2018, Blackpink would release new music. On May 17, he confirmed that the group would make a comeback in June. 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 the 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 channel and the group's official V Live channel. On June 15, the mini album was released, alongside the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du".
Composition
Songs
The opening track "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" is a "fierce" hip-hop and pop rap song with bubblegum pop sound and trap 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-based dance track with "lasering" house beats and reggaeton 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 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 song that mixes pop and hip-hop with a "trap-laden" chorus, "reminiscent" guitar sound and the distortion 808 bass.
Promotion
Blackpink at an autograph event for "Square Up" in Bundang on June 24, 2018
On the afternoon of June 15, Blackpink held a press conference for the release of "Square Up" at M-CUBE, Sinsa-dong, Seoul. On the same day, one hour prior to the mini album's release a countdown special live was broadcast on Naver'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 was made public to the fans, at the same location where Blackpink House was filmed, for 9 days. On June 23, the group appeared as guests on JTBC's Idol Room to promote the EP, making their debut on the show.
Blackpink held their comeback stage on MBC's Show! Music Core on June 16 and on SBS's Inkigayo 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 in Harajuku, Japan will be made public from August 22–26.
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 listed Square Up at number 20 in their list of the best K-pop albums of 2018, describing it as "a testament to their dedication to rambunctious, hip-hop infused dance music" that " confidence, sass and an overpowering sense of chic." Refinery29 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."
In South Korea, the mini album debuted at number one on Gaon Albums Chart, while “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” debuted at number 3 on the Gaon Digital Chart 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 Weekly Digital Albums chart with 3,915 downloads. The lead single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" debuted as the highest-charting Hot 100 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, also entering on the US Streaming Songs tally at number 39, where Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to chart a title. The single also sat atop BillboardWorld Digital Songs, 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 units. The mini album also topped the BillboardWorld Albums chart.
"'음악중심' 블랙핑크, 글로벌 들썩이게 한 컴백..'뚜두뚜두'" ['Music Core' Blackpink, a comeback that shook the world... 'Ddu-Du Ddu-Du']. Osen (in Korean). June 16, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Daum.
週間 アルバムランキング 2018年07月02日付 [Weekly Album Ranking July 2, 2018]. Oricon News (in Japanese). p. 2. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
週間 アルバムランキング 2018年07月09日付 [Weekly Album Ranking July 9, 2018]. Oricon News (in Japanese). p. 4. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
Digital sales for Square Up: 5,559
週間 デジタルアルバムランキング 2018年06月25日付 [Weekly Digital Album Ranking June 25, 2018]. Oricon News (in Japanese). p. 1. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
週間 デジタルアルバムランキング 2018年07月02日付 [Weekly Digital Album Ranking July 2, 2018]. Oricon News (in Japanese). p. 1. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
2018년 Album Chart [2018 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
2019년 Album Chart [2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
2020년 12월 Album Chart [December 2020 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
2021년 12월 Album Chart [December 2021 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
"December 2022 Album Chart". Circle Chart. Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
"December 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart. Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
Digital and Pink version cover.
Alternate "black version" cover
