“How do we live up to this hype?” Teddy Park, Blackpink’s record producer starts off with a question that indicates Blackpink’s unexpected worldwide success as a new YG Entertainment girl group in 2016. The whole documentary ultimately leads up to the build-up of Blackpink’s popularity, while reminiscing back to the underlying hardships in the past as unguaranteed trainees.
Recently released worldwide on October 14, 2020, Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, Netflix’s first K-pop original content, instantly ranked first in 28 countries, and, as of writing, is currently still in the top 10 all over the world.
As it tries to show a deeper understanding of Blackpink and K-pop as a whole, the first few seconds show the beginning of Blackpink. Among the crowd of reporters, the four girls stand on stage holding their microphones nervously while introducing themselves after a long time of secrecy. Afterwards, the scenes fast forward to three years later, a time where Blackpink has already made a name for themselves, showing the crowd of fans waiting for them.
Sitting down in front of a screen, Blackpink members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé watched their individual auditions and their monthly evaluations as young trainees at YG Entertainment. Each of them discusses their personal life before they became trainees, especially since apart from Jisoo, the other members did not live in Korea.
“A good friend of mine went home every month because they got eliminated from the test,” Jennie reminisced. Explaining further in depth, they were evaluated at every end of the month by their boss and producers for their performances. The long trainee years were explained to be filled with repetition to absorb the skills that they would have for the next 10 years. At one point, they viewed each other as competitors; showing how intimidating the process is filled with 20 to 30 trainees aside from them, as Blackpink was initially supposed to be a big group of nine, before decreasing the final cut into four.
However, behind the flashy stage outfits and a sea of lightsticks during concerts, Blackpink still shares both their difficulties and insecurities as idols, going deeper than the superficial.
“In the middle of the tour, I didn’t feel like I had a personal life. What I’m basically living for is tomorrow’s show,” Rosé opens up about her struggles of being homesick, and not having lived a normal life since she decided to take the path of being an idol.
A deeper view behind the K-pop industry
What is great about the documentary is that each member gets their moment instead of blending into one, letting the viewers know them as individuals apart from their group as they share their own thoughts and background. While watching, sneak peeks of their daily lives are shown, from their dorm to their interactions with friends, giving us a glimpse of who they are regularly apart from their fame.
Aside from showing footage of their concerts and tours all around the world, the documentary is set on showing a more humane side of Blackpink.
Overall, the documentary not only appeals to Blinks, but also to casual viewers curious to know more about the K-pop industry. The documentary gives off an accurate summary of what the process of being an idol in South Korea is—an industry being accepted now by different cultures not limited to fans only.
Stream “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” on Netflix.
