Pink Venom and other new sounds in the hit list

There was no way that it was not going to happen. I mean that Pink Venom, the latest by the South Korean girl group Blackpink, will make No. 1 in the hit charts of several countries including the coveted Hot 100 of the U.S. of A. and also out here in our K-Pop obsessed country, the Philippines.

Can you imagine over 90 million views worldwide in a single day after the video was launched? That is how much the song made on its first day out. With this performance, it becomes a fact that Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisco do make up the biggest girl group in the world today.

Just like the contrasting words of the title, Pink, which is supposed to mean sweet and girlish, combined with venom or poison which conjures up the dark tragic image of Cleopatra being bitten by an asp, I honestly find Pink Venom confusing.

The song is made up of bits and pieces of everything pop that the producers could throw into the mix. Dance, hip-hop, EDM, etc. and that includes even the use of native Korean musical instruments. A nice touch but I do not think the results work musically. However, I have a feeling that I am the only one complaining.

Besides that, Pink Venom, which comes from the album Born Pink, has everything going for it to become a success these days. This is the time of K-Pop. In fact, as was one of the first K-Pop acts to break internationally, Blackpink was among those responsible for bringing K-Pop to the world. The girls have been consistent hitmakers ever since. Think Ice Cream with Selena, Ddu-Du, Dhu-Du, How You Like That, Boombayah and others. Also, the release of Pink Venom comes on the heels of the massive global success of BTS.

Then, the marketing campaign got off to an excellent start with that launch at the recent MTV Video Music Awards night. Blackpink won the Best Metaverse Performance Moonman. And I have to admit that the girls, formerly just cute are maturing nicely. They looked great in their chic outfits at the VMAs. Very sweet but also dangerously sexy.

The other new titles added to the tally this week are Hype Boys, a dreamy tune by another South Korean girl group named New Jeans; the fun and catchy Sunroof by American artists Nicky Youre and Dazy, which took a year to make the hit lists; and then, there is Die for You, an oldie but a true goodie from the album Star Boy by the prolific Canadian R&B hitmaker The Weeknd.

Our local acts like Adie, Zach, Ace, Arthur, Nobita and others are nicely holding on to their chart rungs. But I do think that it is about time that they come out with some new sounds that will hit big.

And here is the proof. The latest hit list from the Billboard Global Philippines chart: Pink Venom by Blackpink; Left and Right by Charlie Puth and Jung Kook; Mahika by Adie and Janine Berdin; Angel Baby by Troye Sivan; Muli by Ace Banzuelo; The Shade by Rex Orange Country; Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez; A Glimpse of Us by Joji; Kagome by Lo Ki; Isa Lang by Arthur Nery.

Kumpas (The theme from 2 Good 2 be True) by Moira dela Torre; Paraluman by Adie; Ikaw Lang by Nobita; Pagsamo by Arthur Nery; As It Was by Harry Styles; Moon by Nik Makino and Flow G; Bad Decisions by Benny Blanco, BTS and Snoop Dogg; Hype Boys by New Jeans; POP! by NAYEON; Tahanan by Adie; Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish; NVMD by Denis Julia; Sunroof by Nicky Youre and Dazy; Pano by Zach Banzuelo; and Die for You by The Weeknd.