Blackpink’s atypical path to Kpop stardom
Pulled at an early age from different parts of the Pacific — Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and South Korea — the members of Kpop girl group Blackpink ruminate on their origin and sisterhood in a new Netflix documentary, “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky.”
Caroline Suh, the American director of the 2018 food docuseries “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” focuses on the synergy among Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa, who make up Blackpink. “Light Up the Sky” follows the standard music documentary format, from early footage of each member as a child to their time as trainees to their touted 2016 debut.
There’s rehearsal and tour footage, sitdown testimonials, rare home movies and photos, a few tears, and their watershed appearance at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, where Blackpink received secondline status on the megafest’s lineup poster and absolutely slayed during its performance at the Sahara tent.
The documentary does well to humanize the ladies and show how the disparate Blackpink forces fit together. The chemistry between freespirited Lisa and singersongwriter Rosé stands out, like sweet goofballs in a pod. Jennie’s fierce bars and swagger as the group’s main rapper run opposite to her supershy offstage demeanor (“I can’t even order something on the phone,” she confesses). Big sister ( or, in Korean, unnie) Jisoo is the group’s steady presence, her role touchingly playing out during a 2019 tour finale scene in Bangkok.
Suh, a Korean American who grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in New York, is given temporary innercircle status, gamely capturing unscripted, unguarded moments, which feels refreshing given management’s reputation of protecting every aspect of a Kpop group’s image.
The lack of controversy in “Light Up the Sky” can make the movie feel tightly manicured. But what you miss in internetfueled scuttlebutt, you gain in human insight.
The documentary also shows how Blackpink’s success is at least partially due to the less conventional route the group has taken. In addition to the members’ panPacific roots, their musical style eschews buttery ballads for an uptempo riot of hiphop, pop and electronic ( at one point, Jennie wistfully wonders if they will ever sing a “more girly” song). And any of the billionplus viewers of their 2019 single “DDUDU DDUDU” on YouTube can attest that their chaotic visuals are Kpop at its most flamboyant.
Another difference between Blackpink and their Kpop cohorts is a paucity of releases. The group hasn’t been held to a traditional release schedule. New music, or comebacks, are typically expected every six to eight months from top groups; the quartet barely released a dozen songs in the three years leading up to its Coachella performance. It’s as if Blackpink took a measured approach to longevity that runs counter to Kpop’s rushrelease playbook.
This patience ( or fickleness) hints at a larger ambition: global mainstream acceptance. Group members are multilingual — Jennie, Rosé and Lisa can speak English fluently, making them darlings of American latenight talk shows. Blackpink’s justreleased second fulllength “The Album” features collaborations with pop stars like Selena Gomez, Ryan Tedder, Cardi B, David Guetta and Ariana Grande.
And “The Album,” released Oct. 2, arrives on the heels of “Sour Candy,” a oneoff with Lady Gaga.
Now the curtain rises on “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky.” Was this the game plan all along? The documentary doesn’t come out and say it, but during a scene in the recording studio, Blackpink’s principal producer and songwriter Teddy Park points to his console, insinuating a tantalizing trove of unreleased Blackpink songs are locked inside.
“We’re very particular about what we put out,” he demurs.
Jennie, however, is succinct: “We have more to show you guys. It’s just the beginning.”