Critics split as BLACKPINK's 'DEADLINE' sees record sales

K-pop girl band BLACKPINK / Courtesy of YG Entertainment

BLACKPINK's third EP "DEADLINE" has shattered records for K-pop girl groups by selling roughly 1.77 million copies in its first week, achieving massive commercial success despite sharply divided reviews from music critics.

The album, released Feb. 27, sold 1,774,577 copies by Thursday, according to Hanteo Chart, an increase of about 230,000 copies from the quartet's previous 2022 studio album "BORN PINK," setting a new high-water mark for female K-pop acts.

The release surpassed aespa's "My World," which held the previous record with 1.69 million copies sold in its first week in May 2023. NewJeans' "Get Up" sits in third place with 1.65 million copies, followed by IVE's "I've Mine" and BLACKPINK's "BORN PINK."

"DEADLINE" dominated immediately, selling over 1.46 million copies on its first day and topping iTunes "Top Albums" charts in 38 regions globally.

YG Entertainment said, "As global demand greatly exceeds expectations and additional production is underway, the final sales volume will increase even more."

The commercial triumph, however, contrasts with sharply divided reviews from the media. Rolling Stone praised the release, declaring in a review titled "Blackpink Are Back in Peak Form on 'Deadline'" that the group "mix up the tough and the coquettish in their own unmistakable style." AllMusic awarded the EP four out of five stars, noting, "Short and sweet, it highlights all the different styles and moods the quartet is capable of."

However, Pitchfork delivered a harsh critique, scoring the project 5.7 out of 10 and criticizing the album as "bare-bones, regurgitating styles that feel way past date." Slant Magazine echoed this sentiment, rating the EP 2.5 out of five stars and describing the tracks as "built around compulsive chains of interlocking parts ... predictably executed with factory-floor precision."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

Source: Korea Times News