A-side "Whistle"
"Boombayah" Length 7:33 | Format Digital Download | |
Released August 8, 2016 (2016-08-08) Genre Hip hop
EDM
drum and bass
bubblegum pop Label YG Entertainment
KT Music | ||
Square One is the debut single album by South Korean girl group Black Pink. It was released as a digital single on August 8, 2016 by YG Entertainment and distributed by KT Music. The single has a double A-side, "Whistle" and "Boombayah". The lyrics were written by Teddy, Bekuh Boom and B.I from iKON and the music was composed by Teddy, Future Bounce and Bekuh Boom. To promote the single, BLACKPINK performed both songs on the South Korean music program, SBS's Inkigayo on August 14, 2016.
Contents
The songs were a commercial success. "Whistle" topped the Gaon Digital Chart and "Boombayah" topped the US World Digital Songs, both in the first week of sales.
Background and release
Square One was released on August 8, 2016 at 8 p.m. KST through various digital portals in South Korea and on iTunes for the global market.
Music video
The music videos for "Whistle" and "Boombayah" were directed by Seo Hyun-seung (director of "I Am the Best" by 2NE1 and "Fantastic Baby" by Big Bang). They were released on BLACKPINK official YouTube channel on August 8, 2016. The videos went viral soon after they were uploaded, with both surpassing ten million views in five days.
As of November 24, 2016, "Boombayah" has accrued 68 million views, while "Whistle" has 55 million. All of BLACKPINK live performances have over one million views, the highest being their debut stage for "Boombayah" on Inkigayo with over ten million views. "Boombayah" also become the fastest K-pop debut music videos to achieved 50 million views on YouTube within nine weeks since release.
On August 18, the dance practice for "Whistle" was released, with "Boombayah" following two days after on the 20th. The dance for "Boombayah" was choreographed by famous Los Angeles-based dancer Kyle Hanagami, who has previously choreographed dances for Girls' Generation, f(x), Red Velvet and Taeyeon.
On January 31, 2017, the music video for "Boombayah" hit 100 million views on YouTube, which makes Black Pink became the fifth K-pop girl group to reach 100 million views, as well as the fastest debut music video for any K-pop group to reach this milestone.
Promotion
In order to promote Square One, BLACKPINK held their debut stage performing "Whistle" and "Boombayah" on SBS's Inkigayo on August 14, 2016. A week later on August 21, the group win their first music program trophy for "Whistle" on Inkigayo, becoming the fastest girl group to achieve this feat.
Critical reception
Billboard K-Town's Jeff Benjamin said they "embrace the hip-hop sensibilities and club-ready sounds with which their seniors gained an international following", referring to their labelmates Psy, Big Bang and 2NE1. He said, "Boombayah" has "booming, exotic beats" while "Whistle" "brings together impassioned crooning and their youthful hip-hop delivery with minimal drum 'n' bass and an undeniable whistle hook".
Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos in "10 New Artists You Need to Know: September 2016" said they sound like a "perfect marriage" of K-pop and A-town (Atlanta) trap. She said they would appeal to fans of CL, 2NE1, Ariana Grande and Fifth Harmony, qualifying the last group's harder sounds. She said, "All low-end boom and high-end tweets, the infectious "Whistle" feels like perfect pop update of the similarly chirpy Ying Yang Twins classic "Whistle While You Twurk."
Entertainment Weekly's Joey Nolfi in "8 hot under-the-radar singles from emerging artists you need to hear now" said the song (Whistle) "quickly turns up the heat, layering irresistible finger snaps, a saccharine bridge, electric guitar riffs, mammoth bass, and, of course, cow bell-accompanied whistles ... it wouldn’t sound entirely out of place occupying a lofty position on American charts."
Commercial performance
In South Korea, "Whistle" topped the Gaon Digital Chart on the chart issue dated August 7–13, 2016 with 150,747 downloads sold – topping the componing Download Chart – and 4,302,547 streams. Meanwhile, "Boombayah" entered at number 7 with 88,215 downloads sold and 1,866,737 streams.
In the US, "Boombayah" topped Billboard's World Digital Songs for the week August 27, 2016. Meanwhile, "Whistle" entered at number 2 on the chart. Both songs sold about 6,000 downloads each with "Boombayah" selling slightly more. In its second week within the chart, "Whistle" placed at number 3 for the week September 3, 2016.