walking upstream…
BLACKPINK
photo: david skinner · cc by 2.0 ↗BLACKPINK
sourcesWikipedia
BLACKPINK formed in 2016 as YG Entertainment's long-awaited follow-up girl group, built around four members — Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa — drawn from years of trainee preparation across Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. Where the label's earlier act 2NE1 had pioneered a 'girl-crush' template of hip-hop swagger and fashion-forward defiance, BLACKPINK sharpened that formula into a leaner, more explosive hybrid of trap, EDM drops, and pop hooks, breaking through globally with 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' (2018) and 'Kill This Love' (2019). 'The Album' (2020) and 'Born Pink' (2022) turned them into the best-selling girl group in history and the first K-pop act to headline Coachella, while Jennie and Rosé built parallel solo careers alongside the group's ongoing run.
the sound in question
2020
How You Like ThatBLACKPINK
walk the tributaries ↓
2NE12010s · K-pop / Hip hop / Electropop
BLACKPINK trained at YG Entertainment during and just after 2NE1's commercial peak, and members have described the group as a direct model rather than a distant reference. Lisa told Soompi, 'We're in the same company as 2NE1 and we get our songs from the same producers, so the influence is natural,' while Jisoo added, 'We're still trying to be like them, and we will work hard to become more like them.' 2NE1's 'girl-crush' concept — fierce, hip-hop-forward, uninterested in cuteness — is the direct predecessor to BLACKPINK's own house style.
listen: upstream & heresource: Soompi ↗
2011
I Am the Best2NE1
2022
Pink VenomBLACKPINK
listen forLine up 2011's 'I Am the Best,' 2NE1's brash, synth-and-808 anthem of self-declared dominance, against 2022's 'Pink Venom,' which pairs a similarly aggressive, horn-and-trap beat with the same unbothered, chin-up swagger in the vocal delivery.
TLC1990s · R&B / Hip hop / Pop
During a 2023 Carpool Karaoke appearance, Jennie recalled TLC as a trainee-era touchstone: 'We loved TLC's music. They had vocals, they had raps, and it had a bit of hip-hop.' That specific mix — sung hooks and rapped verses traded within the same song, rather than split between a 'vocal' group and a 'rap' group — became a structural template BLACKPINK builds nearly every title track around.
listen: upstream & here
1995
WaterfallsTLC
2018
DDU-DU DDU-DUBLACKPINK
listen forSet 'Waterfalls' beside 'DDU-DU DDU-DU': both alternate a rapped verse (Left Eye; Jennie and Lisa) with a full-voiced sung hook (T-Boz and Chilli; Jisoo and Rosé), so the song's emotional weight keeps shifting between rhythm and melody rather than settling into one lane.
Spice Girls1990s · Pop / Dance-pop / Teen pop
In the same interview, Jennie pointed to the Spice Girls' branding rather than their sound: 'We really like how they have their own individual characters. That was something we were aiming for.' Lisa has separately said she grew up 'vibing' with their songs on the radio. BLACKPINK's four members are marketed with the same clearly drawn, near-cartoonish distinctness — a visual/personality strategy as much as a musical one.
listen: upstream & heresource: Inquirer ↗
1996
WannabeSpice Girls
2020
Pretty SavageBLACKPINK
listen forCompare 'Wannabe,' which gives each of the five Spice Girls a distinct verse and vocal color, to 'Pretty Savage,' where the beat drops out between sections so each BLACKPINK member's bars and ad-libs land as a solo character moment before the group snaps back together.