DEADLINE REVIEW

For disclaimer, I am not a critic nor do I have experience in music or anything related. I am aware that not everyone will agree with my takes on Blackpink’s latest album.

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As a Blink who has been here since 2019, I have always admired their hard work and bond as a group. I have seen and witnessed their development in terms of music and how they expressed their feelings throughout these years, whether in their solo or group comebacks. Right now, I try to be unbiased every time I listen to music, even though I may be their fan.

This album, while it wasn’t my most favorite, or should I say not my cup of tea as a Blink, I think I may have judged it too quickly. At a glance, it seems like YG didn’t even try. Didn’t put in as much effort as they should have. Alas, whether this is true or not, the production feels lacking in some aspects.

Base on my last opinion that got lashed by the fandom (my own fandom), I have learned not to say “ugly” because everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it, so calling it bad or ugly may be a little too harsh. Instead, I would call it inconsistent and unclear.

DEADLINE may not be the best album they have released, and my overall opinion, not yet about the songs themselves, is that it has no depth, no character, and no clear purpose. 

Please don’t hate me yet. The reason why the concept of this comeback feels like it has no character or purpose to me lies in the choices YG made in preparing this album. As I stated above, it feels like there was no real effort from them. Knowing Blackpink is indeed one of the biggest groups, they should have focused on that. It is such an unfortunate and disappointing feeling that I have toward them.

Now let’s talk about each song on DEADLINE. Again, I’m not a critic, but I am entitled to my opinion.

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1. GO

Let’s all appreciate each member of Blackpink for writing this song altogether.

The first thing I noticed when I listened to “GO” was that the music felt distorted and their vocals were overshadowed by the loud instrumental. Whether it was purposely made that way or due to imperfect production quality, it seems that I needed more than one listen to actually enjoy it.

I like that they experimented with this song by using EDM as the main genre. Therefore, this song is a 3/5 for me because I expected a stronger lead track from them.

2. Champion

A round of applause for EJAE for composing this song. For me, it has a strong core. The lyrics are empowering as they show their confidence. 

I love that Champion is kind of influenced by 80s synth-pop, as it blends well with the other instruments. Therefore, this song is a 4/5 for me.

3. Me and My

Now, I know what we all mostly felt when we read the song credits. It is indeed a downer. I wish things had gone differently and that they hadn’t produced this with that person. Aside from that, I would have enjoyed this song a lot since it’s a hip hop track and I’m a sucker for rap and hip hop genre. 

However, it’s a 2/5 for me, I could rate them lower, but it feels too harsh. Why? Simply because it has no strong hook, it feels like just another hip hop song, and the lyrics are weak. It’s funny that this could have been a JENLISA subunit song, but, it wasn’t. This is my least favorite among them all.

4. Fxxxboy

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. It has strong vocals from each of them. It shows character, and not to mention, it’s slow-paced. 

Undoubtedly, this song is a 5/5 for me.

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You can agree or disagree, at the end of the day, it's only based on my opinion because I enjoy Blackpink's music for so long, I feel like, I deserve to have my own opinion since I care about them more than I should and simply because I am a BLINK too :)