Global K-pop sensation BLACKPINK may not have a huge discography to their name, but as of now they’ve released just enough title tracks to qualify for a Bias List top ten countdown!
This is a weird one, because it’s a list split between songs I absolutely love and songs that I… don’t. But in the spirit of positivity, I’m going to try to look for the strengths of every song — even those in the bottom three.
10. Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez) (2020)
A playful taunt of a pop song, BLACKPINK team with Selena Gomez for an English-language romp that’s more attitude than innovation. But, its seesawing refrain has its moments. (full review)
9. How You Like That (2020)
Another case of beguiling verses being undercut by a bare-bones, vacuous chorus, How You Like That exemplifies the frustrating duality of BLACKPINK’s music. (full review)
8. Kill This Love (2019)
Fueled by trumpeting theatricality, Kill This Love merges spitfire rap with thundering salvos. It could do with more of a chorus, but gets by on its bombast. (full review)
7. Ddu-Du Ddu-Du (2018)
The beginning of a certain BLACKPINK formula, Ddu-Du Ddu-Du remains the most successful of these chant-heavy hype tracks. Its clanging, skeletal beat gives way to a surprisingly robust pre-chorus and catchy hook. (full review)
6. Stay (2016)
Bringing the energy down for a folksy, guitar-strumming singalong, Stay shines welcome focus on the girls’ vocals while building toward an irresistible, clap-along chorus. Bonus points for the harmonica! (full review)
5. Whistle (2016)
Though paired with another track, Whistle feels like BLACKPINK’s de facto debut. Its spare verses deliver an airy ambience, leading into a more propulsive pre-chorus and instantly-memorable, whistling hook. (full review)
4. Boombayah (2016)
Overlapping with the sound of YG Entertainment’s 2NE1, Boombayah casts BLACKPINK as heiresses to the throne. Its carnival-like atmosphere makes for a hearty, exciting dance track. The pre-choruses are especially immense. (full review)
3. Lovesick Girls (2020)
A good old-fashioned, YG dance-rock anthem, Lovesick Girls finally broke BLACKPINK out of the “catchphrase chorus” structure they’d been lodged in for years. The song has a satisfying drive, anchored by a singalong chorus and breakneck rap verse. (full review)
2. As If It’s Your Last (2017)
The perfect encapsulation of the group’s “pink” side, As If It’s Your Last gets everything right. From the brash, exciting verses to the thrilling, roller-rink-ready chorus, the track feels like a fully-realized whole, with each element building on the last to create feel-good pop bliss. (full review)
1. Playing With Fire (2016)
A real torch song of a K-pop dance track, Playing With Fire harnesses the popular tropical house sound in a compelling way. It remains the best example of BLACKPINK as pop vocalists, with their arresting tones driving much of the song. And though the chorus may feel simple, it has a dynamic energy that really makes the track soar. (full review)
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The title should be changed to:
“Top 7 best songs by Blackpink and a showcase of Three Memes”
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SO TRUE!!!
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I have always had an emotional connection with Playing With Fire, I don’t know why, it’s one of the few 2016 songs which gives way for nostalgia, and that energetic urgency gives way for a show stopping chorus. It’s the best use of The Girls Charisma and vocalists….. and I wish we got more songs like it.
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Me too! I don’t see many people bring something like this up in reviewing (it’s pretty subjective I suppose).The other songs are fun, but Playing With Fire resonates with me in some way and I can’t pinpoint why, either.
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My Top 10 singles:
1. Stay: The quintessential mid-tempo, and one of my favorite girl group tracks from the second half of the 2010s.
2. Playing with Fire: Another example of Blackpink’s great vocals. I wish Blackpink would follow this and Stay’s path.
3. As if it’s your Last: The verses are too cotton-candy for me, but no one can deny the chorus.
4. Lovesick Girls: The bridge might be the best Blackpink moment in years.
5. Kill This Love: Some great moments, but overall a let-down.
6. Whistle: The chorus is catchy, but that is about it.
7. Boombayah: It gets hummed by me a lot, but objectively is middling.
8. Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du: The title has more words than the song has goodness.
9. How You Like That: Do you REALLY wanna know?
10. Ice Cream: The first song I reviewed, I gave it a 4, but find it even worse now. The fact this was a single is embarrassing.
If I counted b-sides, Don’t Know What to Do, Forever Young, Really, and You Never Know would come in with good spots.
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Our list of b-sides is practically the same, I’d also perhaps add Hope Not into the mix but otherwise I agree entirely with all of this
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woah I thought you’d rank As If It’s Your Last first! Playing With Fire is an amazing song so it’s understandable. also, there’s a typo in #7, you typed Ddu-Du Dhu-Du
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I was clearly Ddu dhu doo duuu dueueueud out
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If you want a much better Ddu Dhu Doo Duuuu… Its much, much better Doo Doo tune.
“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rjCfCHWe8c”
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This is my favourite Doo Do Dooo tune:
(seriously, listen to it it’s great)
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Who is the Yung Bae and where has s/he been all my life?
I googled the song, and google helpfully provided the lyrics. They go:
Do do Doo do
Do do dooooo do
Do do Doo do
Do do dooooo do
and so on for another few dozen lines.
Thanks google!
My personal favorite doo doo doo song is the Police, from 1980. I had no idea they made a video – this was not in heavy rotation on MTv, maybe because the song pre-dates MTv. So I will just link an album version. My sister had this album on vinyl, and wore it out. She also had a cool poster of the album cover in all neon and with added fuzzy flocking on the black parts. Alas, that poster befell the fate of bluetack stuck all over the edges. It could have been worth something someday.
Oh, Blackpink, the list is fine. I don’t really like most BP so I have no thoughts to add.
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Yung Bae makes such great stuff. I think the Doo doo doo he uses is a sample (it’s also found in the soundtrack for Persona 5) but I haven’t been able to find where it’s from.
This one is also fun! I love how a Blackpink top 10 became a ‘best Doo doo doo songs’ thread – I hope the other blog readers don’t mind ^^
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I always like a good doodle doo…
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My rank would look like
1. How You Like That
Great moody segments, the strong instrumental riff and the best stadium-ready drop of their D4 trio
2. Lovesick Girl
Just really good 2NE1-esque writing all around
3. Playing With Fire
Straddled trendy with timeless pretty well, great instrumental but not-so-great chorus
4. Ddu-Du Ddu-Du
Just extremely catchy, great riff with a slightly undercooked production
5. As If It’s Your Last
Great chorus while everything else is not as excellent
6. Kill This Love
Interesting idea but only the last 20 seconds make good on it
7. Boombayah
Just a generic YG EDM number
8. Whistle
Titular hook and sample just sounds frankly terrible
9. Stay
The biggest dud in their singles run and the streaming numbers speak for themselves in that aspect
10. Ice Cream
It’s pretty obvious what’s wrong with this song from just listening to it
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this has to be a joke…
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Or I have different tastes than you 🤷♂️
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Ha..how you like that? 😁🤣
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As If It’s Your Last is my fav, but PWF and Stay are just as good.
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I would have said to wait for a couple more years to make this list but with YG’s trend to replicate the Ddu- Du Ddu song, I’m not sure if the list would benefit from more time.
Sad that despite at least 4 years in the industry, they don’t have much to show for the hype. And they do have the talent but YG needs more producers unless the management is counting on their rabid fan base to bring in the dollars regardless of the musical output.
Funnily enough, I saw this circulating on social media- In some interview, the members were asked about their lack of comebacks and their response was that they cared more about the quality of the output rather than the quantity.
I’m hoping that was a subtle direction to their management and not their genuine belief because right now both are suffering!
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What can I say, I pretty much agree. I could shift some of these around (I think I dislike Ddu-du more than Kill This Love), but it would not be much different. I actually expected you put AIIYL at number 1, but was pleasantly surprised. I prefer Playing With Fire, too!
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I almost feel embarrassed seeing ice-cream in a top 10 list, it’s just not my thing at all. Regardless, PWF and AIIYL are both standout tracks in this list and I’m glad Blackpink has at least some good material.
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“Playing With Fire” is also my favorite BlackPink song to date.
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I think As If It’s Your Last tops Playing With Fire and Lovesick Girl’s tops Playing With Fire but that is probably just me. I have tried to get into Playing With Fire but I lean towards Lovesick Girls and As If It’s Your Last More. But it is still in my time 3.
Thanks for making this list. I mostly agree (although How You Like That is now better than D4 for me lol)
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Yeah gotta say this list sounds about right. However, I am very fond of Lovesick girls, so I have to put it at number 2 for me. It’s catchy chorus just vibes with me ngl 😆.
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ah yes, congrats to half of blackpink’s discography being in their top 10 best songs!
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Well… my Top 5 BLACKPINK songs of all-time are as simple as this:
1. Playing with Fire
2. As If It’s Your Last
3. DDU-DU DDU-DU
4. Lovesick Girls
5. Stay
I just didn’t want to add the mediocre and horrible distress I experienced with the other songs. But BLACKPINK is an amazing group with wasted potential. I just hope Lovesick Girls continue the right direction for them.
A little self-promo, check out my blog deforestedmusic.wordpress.com!
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I doubt that I will ever love a BP title as much as ‘Playing with fire’ and I’m forever hoping they get back to that version of themselves in the future.
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Yes finally! I’ve been waiting for this. May I insert my own rankings..
Blackpink is my first kpop group and so far they’ve had hits and misses, I do appreciate that they at least have a signature sound (even though it seems a lot of ppl here don’t seem to like it..?)
10.KTL
I usually like all the brass and horns, sadly this song just lazily uses it as the hook. Its marching band elements are so interesting yet they didn’t utilize that well..
9.Ice Cream
Nope. Not my favourite ice cream flavour.
8.Whistle
Idk…it’s a little too “blank” for my taste? I quite enjoy the pre-chorus though but not the other parts.
7-4 often interchange with each other depending on mood, yes, I actually do enjoy HYLT now.
3.Lovesick Girls
2.Playing With Fire
1.AIIYL
No explanation needed. Perfect songs.
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As If It’s Your Last is a wall for me, I don’t think they’ll ever get me to like a song of theirs more. Pretty much agree with the rest of the list.
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This is…. the exact same order I would rank the songs as well. I think D4 probably would have held up a bit better if it wasn’t pretty much repeated less effectively 2 more times, but I’d still rank it in the same spot. Lovesick Girls, which is a solid song but doesn’t quite make it to the mark of a great song for me, is the only thing that has saved their title tracks from an abysmally downward trajectory. I’d love to see BP fully embrace the “pink” side with another song like AAIYL, but given that their brand is very reliant on hype and fashion, I just can’t see that happening. I think Lovesick Girls will be the closest we ever get to another BP release like that.
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I’m surprised that AAIYL didn’t get no.1 (though Playing with Fire is really good too). Also, I’m glad to see Stay ranked at 6 (If a blink made this list, I’d bet it be at 7 or 8, maybe even 9). I pretty much agree with this list. Also, ngl, I expected b-sides to be included here given how little music BP has out.
Also, this is kind of OT but You Never Know, Forever Young, Hope Not, Really, and Don’t know what to do are great b-sides.
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Not sure if I should be surprised or not that my list would basically be identical to yours. Of course if we included B-sides the 3 ‘memes’ of 8, 9, 10 would be easily kicked off.
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Might as well be called ‘Ranking Blackpink’s title tracks’. Such unused potential.
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Actually, that is what it is supposed to be. Nick has separate rankings for b-sides and singles. He generally does the title track list when the group has just enough tracks, and the b-side list once an act has reached a level of senior status.
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I am well aware of that. But I guess this is the first time I’ve found a list to be like this, out of all the other top 10 lists by Nick.
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So lopsided
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They are just so gorgeous!!!!!!!!!
Guys, its a humble request to follow me for more BLACKPINK updates and more about BLACKPINK and YG so please follow me……
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