BLACKPINK & Selena Gomez Stick To The Sugary Pop Circle for ‘Ice Cream’

There’s a new dream team on the block: BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez. After much chatter and a nail-biting waiting game leading up to their highly anticipated collaboration, both acts finally dropped their new track, “Ice Cream”. 

“Ice Cream” stands at a little over three minutes and at its core, this tune proves to be a lighthearted pop banger. The track is lined with a groovy, sparkly blend of beats complementing the girls’ vocals. Featuring sugary-sweet melodies and feisty rap verses, “Ice Cream” sees both BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez pass up emotionally heavy numbers for something a little more…carefree. And while the tune proves to be catchy enough, there’s a certain familiarity to it – one that’s often found in commercial pop bangers.

Now, the song dabbles with familiar ideas of love and lust, too. The girls compare themselves to the sugary confection, asking their lovers to indulge. Interestingly enough, this track was actually penned down by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet. And this is possibly why there’s an oddly Western approach to the idea of love – a theme often explored with a little more subtlety in K-Pop. 

A Double-Dip Into The Visuals of ‘Ice Cream’

The visualizer for this track is all gooey colours and frills. The girls are seen frolicking around in a pastel-coloured utopia, sampling sweet treats along the way. In fact, even the video for this track uses simpler yet eye-catching concepts, making it easy to digest. BLACKPINK’s previous work was often defined by grand sets, power-packed dance routines and a burst of adrenaline. Selena on the other hand, has adopted much more mellow visuals, following the release of her third studio album, “Rare”. She’s dabbled with quirky lighting and aesthetics to emphasize the mood and emotion guiding her tracks. Now, also taking into consideration the challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic, it’s safe to say that both acts reached a good middle ground.

“Ice Cream” serves as the second single off “BLACKPINK: The Album” and unlike their previous track, ‘How You Like That‘, this tune has carved out a distinct new path for itself. Whether the girls will continue on this path for the rest of their album, is something we’ll just have to wait and see.

By: Nina Karun

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