"The Girls" is a promotional single by South Korean girl group Blackpink for the original soundtrack of the mobile game Blackpink: The Game. It was first made available in the game on August 23, 2023, before it was officially released two days later, through YG Entertainment and TakeOne Company. Written by various contributors, including the track producers Ryan Tedder and Lindgren along with group members Jennie and Rosé, it is a trap and EDM song driven by hip-hop rhythmic elements over Turkishflute sounds, with lyrics that discuss the importance of being independent and courageous in life. A physical version was also released on the same day, which peaked at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 160,460 sales in the first week. The song also reached the top 10 in Vietnam.
On April 4, 2023, YG Entertainment revealed that the mobile game Blackpink: The Game would be launching in the second quarter of 2023, as well as an original soundtrack and music video accompanying it.[1] Developed by TakeOne Company, the game officially launched on May 18 on mobile app platforms. The same day, a music video teaser was released, confirming the soundtrack's title to be "The Girls" and revealing a snippet of the song as animated avatars of the Blackpink members danced to it.[2] Record producer Ryan Tedder, who worked with Blackpink on "Bet You Wanna" (2020), posted a teaser of "The Girls" on his social media handles, confirming his involvement on the song.[3] In 2022, Tedder had confirmed in an interview with Good Morning America that he had written songs with members Jennie and Rosé for their upcoming album, describing the process as very much Blackpink's work with him supporting and contributing, though none of his songs ultimately ended up on Born Pink (2022).[4]
Release
Initially planned to be released simultaneously with the game release, the song and its music video were indefinitely delayed due to work on presenting the "highest-quality content" for the video taking "longer than expected." On July 4, the game team released a statement apologizing for the delay and announcing that the music video would be released in the game within a month.[5] On August 3, they announced the official release date of "The Girls" in the game to be August 23.[6] TakeOne Company also announced that a physical package, available in "Stella" and "Reve" versions and containing a QR code to download the song and lyrics, would be released two days later.[7] On social media, the song's producer Ryan Tedder confirmed that "The Girls" would be introduced to streaming platforms as well as radio upon release.[8] The song and its music video premiered in Blackpink: The Game on August 23, accompanied by a viewing party hosted on Blackpink's YouTube channel in which the group play several games and react to the video. Following the premiere, YG Entertainment announced with a teaser poster that "The Girls" would be officially released as a digital single on August 25.[9] The song was sent for radio airplay in Italy on September 8.[10]
Music and lyrics
"The Girls" features songwriting contributions from Ryan Tedder.
On May 18, 2023, a 22-second music video teaser for "The Girls" was released, featuring a snippet of the song with the refrain "Don't mess with the girls."[17] The music video was released on August 23 in Blackpink: The Game and on August 25 in Blackpink's YouTube channel. In the video, animated avatars of the Blackpink members are depicted singing and performing choreography to the song.[9]
Commercial performance
The physical version of "The Girls" debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart dated August 20–26, 2023 with 160,460 copies sold in the first week, becoming Blackpink's fifth number-one album on the chart.[18] It debuted at number 13 on the monthly chart with 178,360 copies sold.[19] It has sold a total of 190,480 since its release.[20]
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