BLACKPINK — How You Like That (Song Review)
No doubt that Blackpink has put out another successful hit song. The hype behind this comeback was immense, having been over a year since Kill This Love was released. With fans demanding that YG Entertainment give Blackpink a comeback, they didn’t disappoint with hundreds of thousands of fans watching their press conference and their countdown live event which led to the premiere of their latest hit song How You Like That.
It’s a bop but…
The song is undoubtedly a bop, however, many fans will notice that the structure of the song follows the same formula as their previous hit songs Ddu-Du Ddu-Du and Kill This Love. Most notably, the chorus is once again a repetition of a few one liners “how you like that” and “look at you now look at me” over an instrumental trap beat sung predominately by Jennie. Lisa has a solo rap segment as usual and just like their previous hit songs, Rose and Jisoo sing the pre-chorus segments.
Despite the similarities, there were moments in the song that made it feel different and exciting. Within the first few seconds of hearing Jennie’s voice sitting above the low plucking bass, we feel as if we have been transported into this ethereal world surrounded by the melodies of Blackpink’s vocals.
Something that I really liked about the intro segment is the emotional connection that you feel with the music, as opposed to the more nonchalant chorus chant. In particular, as the vocal melody was rising and coming down again, it gave us a feeling of anticipation without having to make the rhythm feel more energetic.
Another highlight of the song for me would be from the bridge until the end of the song. Once again, Jisoo and Rose’s beautiful voices provide us with that anticipatory and ethereal feeling that we’ve been longing for again since the beginning of the song.
Although I didn’t quite enjoy the chorus of this song as much as I did their other songs, that iconic “look up in the sky its a bird its a plane” transition and dance break beat had me thoroughly enjoying the moment. I was also surprised to hear Jennie say “bring out the boss b*tch”, but it sounded pretty awesome.
Conclusion
Regardless of how we feel about the repetitive chorus filled with one-liners and onomatopoeia, most of us will still find ourselves consciously or subconsciously humming to the chorus as we go about our daily lives.
There will definitely be some fans disappointed with the seemingly recycled song, perhaps some even questioning Blackpink’s artistic integrity. However, putting artistry and music aside for a second, How You Like That will likely help kpop expand further into international territory. The song features minimal amounts of Korean and to the average non-kpop fan, will sound like any other trap/hip-hop inspired American pop song.
Perhaps it was YG Entertainment’s intention all along, but regardless of whether it was intentional or not, How You Like That will certainly win over many new international fans and further expand their global reach.
