Blackpink’s Rebel Yell: ‘Pink Venom’ Collaborators on Making the K-Pop Stars’ Liberating and Defiant New Album
Mike Wass As the reigning queens of K-pop, there’s a lot riding on Blackpink’s sophomore album. The girl group would be forgiven for playing it safe, but they defy expectations on “Pink Venom” (out now) by touching on timely topics, adding a certain F-word to their vocabulary, and sprinkling in slow jams. Assisting Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa with the pivot is an eclectic batch of collaborators, who are now lifting the veil on the creative process. Bekuh Boom — aka singer-songwriter Rebecca Rose Johnson — has been with Blackpink since the beginning. Literally. “I met them when they were still trainees,” she remembers. “We had the same Korean teacher.”