Transcription
Let's set for everyone. Wet, Black Pink, and we just had an interview on The Zach Sang Show. We had a lot of fun, so please check it out.
Beautiful humans, hello! We have Dan here, and we have the beautiful ladies of Black Pink. Please do not let my conversation interrupt you and your white chocolate M&Ms. By the way, there are nuts in there, okay? I just want to make sure. You never know.
By the way, Coachella. What is going on? I mean, it's freaking crazy, right? It's crazy. Absolutely. I mean, do you genuinely mean that when you say it? Because so much life is happening right now around you, and from the outside looking in, it could be seen as crazy. That was just too much energy from everybody. Like, I couldn't handle it. I'm still not over it.
What kind of high is it when you're on stage and you look out and all you see are people? It's, I think it's, but like, you know how people say after you go on a stage where you feel like you've really interacted with the crowd, it lasts for a long time, and it's really addictive. I totally experienced that this time. So after the show, we drove back to LA, and we were at our hotel room, and I remember I just had to keep replaying it over in my head, like, again and again. And it was like, that was like the best feeling I've ever felt in my 22 years of existence. It's, it's really, really surreal. Like, like it's, it's so, like, life-changing. I loved the whole experience. It's like so beautiful, and everybody is just amazing, like everyone in the crowd.
What is it like when you're up on stage? Are you focused on what's coming out of your mouth, or are you focused on dance moves? How do you, like, when you're kind of nervous or when you're not like totally connected to the crowd, I feel like you have a lot going through your head, like, like, "What am I singing right?" or like, "Are these people feeling it?" Like, "What do I have to do more to, like, you know, interact with them more?" Like, you get a lot of thoughts. But honestly, I mean, personally, at Coachella, I just really enjoyed myself. Such a big stage, and I had pressure. We all had pressure. And I were not thinking like, "We have to perfect this." But then as soon as I got off, like, whatever I want is that because everything was kind of synched up, everything was in line, the crowd was with you, and the energy was right. Expect to have, you know, have such a big crowd, and they were really singing their lungs out. Feel like they're singing with us, and that the whole thing is just so, I don't know. But that wasn't the best part of it. It was that we did not expect it. And I think the best things come when it's unexpected.
Um, like even in the morning of the show, I literally, I was in bed, and I kind of, to be honest, was thinking, "Okay, maybe like today, tonight, it might not be like a full crowd, but still, like, I'm gonna have to do my best today." That is what I thought. Until we, like, us before we walked out on stage, we didn't even have time to talk about it. But we were like, and then the music came on, and I'm like, took me a whole hour to really figure out that everybody that was standing there was actually looking at us. They weren't there for, like, a different shirt. They wouldn't like, faced like a different way. They were faced towards us, and it was crazy, crazy. You set yourself up for the worst, and the best, yeah, ended up happening.
I mean, you said something pretty interesting, right? Like, why you guys then, right? You didn't expect all these people to be there. What is it about Black Pink? What is it about what you stand for that people feel connected to the art that you really? I mean, that's even that's a question we asked asked every day. Like, we would like to know. If we were four different girls that came from four different worlds and to be in a group like this is odd itself, I feel like. And to perform and with music that, that you guys have never heard because it's little, I mean, I think you guys are used to. So that's new, you know? They're injected to something new. So maybe. Yeah. And I also think your productions amazing on these records, and the way you guys flow between English and Korean, unless it's really beautiful. Like, in one record, it's, I, I spent all weekend really diving in. So let's dive in here. Whoa. Where do I start? What one back to Coachella? You made friends. You guys showed up. Or Austin, or yeah, Ashton Irwin from Five Seconds of Summer. He ended up in the back of one of your insert videos. He was there. Video. Yeah. One of the videos. The point I'm trying to make, you, okay, do we make friends at Coachella? We kind of did. Yeah. Yeah. Jaden Smith and Diplo actually, they actually waited out. Um, yeah, I can't even play. Hi. Yes, we got to say hi. They were like, really, really. There this day was so down to earth, like way more than we would accept him to be. And they were so, like, happy to see us, man. When we're almost awestruck, we're like, "Hi, it's freaking Diplo." "Yeah, I'm Jaden Smith." Okay.
Jennie, there's so much here because you guys all have your own stories. You learned English by going to school in New Zealand, right? Why go back to Korea and why into the trainee program? And really, I'm assuming, or did you always want to do this? Like, sorry. So when I was in New Zealand, I lived by myself. Like my family was. And you were so young. I know. I was 10 when I went there. So by the time I turned 14, 15, my mom wanted me to actually move me, move me to the States. Like Florida. Yeah. She had plans to move me. But for Florida. Yeah. We actually, what, took a trip to Florida, saw the school too, saw the place that I would live in. And it hit me like, I don't want to live by myself in Florida, not knowing what I want to do. And I started thinking, what I want to do. And it was really, like, I was like, out of that, I was like, "Oh, it's music. I don't like learn how to dance and stuff like that." So I told my mom, "Mom, instead of going to a new school, why don't I just come home and do something that I would enjoy for the rest of my life?" And she was supportive. Started. Wow. Whoa. Your life really could have been totally different. And I think it's really special that you traded in not wanting to be alone to having three incredible human beings around you all the time. Beings that you're comfortable enough around to like, open your mouth so they can feed you M&Ms. Almost. I think what closer than like, out like family. So we're basically like, yeah, new sisters to each other.
Do you remember the first time you met each other? About all the time. So Rosie joined us last. Group. I mean, she came through with her guitar and fuzzy, go, little girl from Australia. She came along, and us were just singing together that day. One we talk about every time. Somebody that's about like, first impressions. Is when I flew all the way from Australia, like, I brought a guitar, and we ended up like jamming until like 5 a.m. I don't think we've had about what our neighbors thought. It was an apartment. Sang 'til sunrise. It was funny. By the way, it is crazy that you left New Zealand to go to Korea to join. Because did you audition? Yep. I'll show you. I'm so sorry. No, it's okay. Because I was born in New Zealand and I lived in Australia, then I left. Did you audition for YG in Australia? Yes. Like, literally, like, just an open audition. Why'd you do it? Because my dad likes, like, screaming at the top of my lungs on my piano every night at like 12 a.m. Um, the key was to give me. So he just wanted to like, get rid of me. And just once I grew up, they told me they were like, "Rosie, like, to be honest, it was really hard for us to like, you know, good bed when you were like singing at the top of your lungs." I think I would sing like Beyoncé's "Listen." Just I was a terrible singer, but I used to do that. And I think my dad was, I, okay, I think she wants to do music. And he asked me, "Do you want to take an audition?" And I was like, I didn't even know if I was qualified. So I was like, "Is that even a question? Like, can I like, am I allowed to like?" But it was, it was funny because I was like, um, "Yeah, okay." And then my parents had all fight about it. Like, Mom was worried, but in the end, they decided to be really, really supportive. And I flew all the way from Melbourne to Sydney to take the audition, and I got it. And then what do your parents fight with you to Korea? Do they just ship you off? No. Yeah, they flew with me to Korea. But then after they dropped me off, they had to come back to Australia because they've got their jobs there and everything. So that's when these girls became my like family, and they really, really stuck by me through all this times. It's clicks. Teen results. Look, y'all now.
By the way, Lisa, congratulations on being the most followed K-pop artist on Siri. I mean, pretty wild. Yeah, it's that beautiful hair. What color is your hair? It's ash brown. I think it's kind of gray. Really gray. Kind of be more of like a blue tone, you know? It just turned out. Yeah. Change every day. Either way, it's beautiful. You made something sure yourself. You were YG, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're YG's first non-Korean artist, right? Yes. So how did they get to you? How did you hear about all this? Oh, well, I always, when I in Thailand, I always listened to K-pop songs. Like, I love K-pop singers. And I told Mom that, "Oh, I want to be one of part of them. I want to be a K-pop artist, artist, you know?" And then Tiny, thankfully, thankfully, the YG there, they have audition in Thailand. And yeah, it's a mystery. I miss you. And then I just got in. And then, yeah. Yeah. What country where she couldn't speak the language at all? At all. It's just only onion SEO. That's crazy to me. Like, even that, and that's like the first. Heard a lot of many hurdles that you're about to go over, which is one of the biggest is you don't know the language. You have to. And you leave your family. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What kept you going? And this is a question for all of you, because training is not easy. I'm assuming it's years and years, and it's, yeah, there's a lot. Everything in your world is different overnight. Yeah. What was that motivation? For me, it was like this drive. Like I was like, "I cannot go fly all the way back to Australia without making this work." Like, I felt like it was a fight against myself because it was really, really difficult to be honest, you know, being away from family. And I was so young. I'd never left. I'd never slept outside of my house for like more than two weeks, you know, at that age. But I had to just leave. And the culture wasn't like fully like in my blood yet. So it was very difficult. But for me, it was more like, "I have to, I have to make this work before I like, you know, I'm never gonna leave Korea without making this work." Was more my drive. I was more like angry about it. Passed away. Kind of the same. Like, you know, we all kind of just dropped everything that we were doing. Like our whole life just changed overnight. And, um, and they put us into these groups of girls and justify, like, do like a survival thing every month. And some people just go home after a month. So people go home after three years. It's so different. And to see some of the girls that I trained with go home just made me more like faded. Yeah, motivated. Because it's, we all had one dream, and it's, it wasn't an easy thing to just stay there and go on with what we want to do. So I don't want to go home. That's all. Yeah. That was the only thing in my mind. And you're so close to it, right? You just want to keep going, and your dreams are a fingertip. Mmm.
Juicy, by the way, I'm not forgotten about you. Hi. How are you? You play the drums. I read that online. Wow. Thank you. And I was watching you acting and stuff. Are you still open to acting roles? Oh, oh, did she do anything? Get on with Jimmy? So, so you go, get her. Okay. Bunny, to Kaja, to I don't know what those. Anyway, so I even Troy. So she, she like, she says, but for now, like working as a member of Black Pink is like really hot. She's really happy doing that for now. So I think she's more focused on Black Pink's work. Beautiful. There's nothing but opportunity ahead of you guys, which is crazy.
Kill This Love EP, that is the most recent EP that you've put out there into the world. Where do we start here? I want to start with "Kick It," I guess. My interpretation of the song might be off from how you guys interpret it, but does it have to do with stereotypes and the name Black Pink? How is it all connected? Can you, like, like the song? Yeah. What does it tell me the story behind the record? Um, I mean, I guess it's like, it goes for like, whatever, like the listener, if you decide to hear it this way, it could be that this way. And if you kind of change the story up, it could be whatever you can put your mind to it. But I guess basically, it's just like, it's about freedom. It's like, "Can I just let go of all these like, you know, restrictions and like names and, you know, that he died and just be myself? Can I just kick it and just be?" Yeah. No stereotypes, no preconceived judgments, anything. Yeah. That's how I, that's how I felt. Was it? Yeah, that's exactly what it is. What are you thinking over there? I just love like the last 40 seconds where there's like that chant. Rev seems like everyone's singing. Yeah, we had lost. Seeing that in this. You. Yeah, you guys all just get in there and sing that part together. Yeah. We only had the lyrics and, mm-hmm, just gave us the melody right in the booth. Mm-hmm. Inside the, yeah. And he was like, "Don't sing it well, like, to be more like reckless with it." So we did. What? Why is that part written all in English? Mm-hmm. I think when we make our songs, like, we don't usually think before, yeah. Like, we don't set it like, "Okay, this is the Koreans." Yeah, cuz Ana produces, speaks English, and he's English speaker. Yeah. Sometimes we would write out demos in English sometimes, and sometimes we stick with it because, yeah, perfect the way it is, and we don't want to change it up into Korean sometimes. So whatever, like, it's perfectly. Yeah. Nothing in that's like fake. We don't force anything to be Korean. We don't force anything to be English. I think it often just kind of just finds its own place.
Are you creatively open to doing an original record all in English? Oh, I mean, we're always doing it already. Yeah, making demos in English. Yeah, like full-on English. Boom, Booyah. My favorite baby song. Yes, that's on Square One back in 2016. Hmm. "Whistle." To write those two records kind of came back to back. Even how many times do you think you performed "Boom Bah"? Is it weird that that record is just now catching on here in the States and now? Yeah, I mean, I think so. I've listened to it a thousand times over. I love it. Also, who does that chant in there? There's like a, like a scream almost, but like, yeah, and it comes in a couple times. I think that's it. Yeah. I remember you. I think I'll try it out once. I was funny recording it. It was funny. That says middle finger up a few public. [Laughter] That Coachella performance of that song, and you do like the windmill arms. That face. Jennie. Is exactly. Remove. What was the hardest for you to tackle? Are you, piece of choreography is the hardest, but you just gotta have, you have to let it go. Like, let's say you just did your head perfectly, and you kind of don't ruin, but you just have to let it go. Who, who like takes, who do the moves come easiest to? Like, yeah, yeah. Lisa. Lisa. The moves come easiest to you. Yeah. She sees something. Is that what are you thinking about when you dance? Are you thinking about what you're doing next, or are you just lost in it? I just, I don't want to think about anything. I get it. Yeah. You just got, I just like, just let my body. That's beautiful.
Another record I like, I don't want to say wrong. Do you? Oh, yeah. So good. I mean, that would just, I don't know. These records are so pretty, so beautifully, and the music is just boom. And you have a record that you're the most connected to. I mean, from the beginning, "Whistle." Yeah. Do you like the acoustic version also that you do, or do you like the produced version? The, the normal voice. There is no one. I love the acoustic, though. The strip back is great. "Playing with Fire" is another great record. I love that song. You like it? Yes. I think that makes it. Korean, English is so beautiful. They flow into each other. When you're, when you're putting vocals on it, when you're rapping on these records, are you embodying somebody else's words, or are you adding your own words to it? How do, what is the writing process like? Yeah, I got pretty some more gets together like the best. Yeah. And then you embody the lyrics. Are you embody the verses? Basic. I mean, I've seen them do it, and I think they changed it in a way. Like, sometimes, let's say there is a demo done, but they change it in like a totally different way. Like it's like, um, it's pretty cool to see. Yeah. Put your own color into it. I think they're very good at that.
What makes it special? Jennie and Lisa, you guys are the rappers, right? Yeah. Was rapping something you've always done, or is that new when you joined the group? For me, I started rapping because when I first came to YG, I was, I think I was the only one who could speak English. And the whole, within the trainees, and, you know, we had to cover pop songs, and they always have wraps, and they're like, "You could speak English pretty fast." I enjoyed it. As soon as I started, though. Yeah. I actually haven't sang for a long time. I only just started singing like when we debut. Interesting. Because solo, you're the first one to have your solo project go through, but you all are having one. So when you, when you dive into solo, you know, you need to rap on it, right? Yeah. It was a hard decision to make, actually. Like, these days, I'm really into singing too, but then I feel like both singing and rapping kind of represent who I am. So I had to mix it up in there. Do you both? Yeah. How are you doing on your solo project? Um, well, we've got a few songs down, but we still contemplating. It's always a hard decision, I guess. But I mean, everything's like, even members, I'm sure like where they're preparing. Little step, yes, at a time. But yeah, you pretend tell you anything. Like, "Kiss and Make Up" feature into a Lipa. Probably. I mean, really, it slaps. So freaking good. What does that process like? Like the fact that do it, leave it, even down to do a record and want to do a record with you guys. Iconic. Iconic. She's the coolest. Came to Korea for a show and being so in town, watch the show. We met her. She was just so cool about it. It's like, "Yeah, I've heard of Black Pink, and, you know, let's do a song together." And after a year, she sent us "Kiss and Make Up" and just like, hit us up with like, the best song ever. And you guys had Korean lyrics to it. Really. It's beautiful what you guys have done, and how you guys really embody just this global culture in your art and what you stand for. Music is a universal language, and it's obvious in your fans and the assortment of people who really relate and see and hear themselves in the music you all put out. It's really cool just to be over here as somebody who's been affected positively by your music, but also I get to watch other people be affected for the better too. It's really special stuff. So all the hard work is really worth it. It's the truth.
Who came up with the phrase "Black Pink in your area"? It was fun recording it. We're like, "What?" Really? Yeah. Can you guys say right now? "Black Pink in your area." Even that phrase kind of it showcases this global thing that everybody and anybody can be a part of. And Black Pink is anywhere. Yeah, we're in your area. So wherever you are, we are there.
What songs are you covering right now on this new tour? Do you have any covers in the set? Um, we're actually continuing with the last set, but we just kind of like put it up a notch or I like changed it up a little bit. And there. Yeah. Are we still covering Beyonce? Beyonce? Oh, I wish. No, not this time. I'm just making sure. I don't know. I've been, I gave my whole weekend. Yeah. So it's crazy. Okay. "Kill This Love" EP, it deserves your ear. You should listen to it. Any of you guys try to produce your own music, write your own records? So far, we've kind of gone with what our producer really prepared for us, but I mean, yeah, anything's open. Yeah. You've learned so much since the beginning of this journey, you know, just soaking knowledge like your sponge. It's cool. Yeah. You guys are definitely my favorite K-pop group. Yeah. What a statement. I like all the music. It's so good. Oh, thank you. Would you guys say you're the best? Well, Black Pink. Everybody send you a lot of love. Thanks for hanging out and giving us your energy. It really means a lot. I really hope you enjoyed that conversation. If you did, please subscribe. And also check out our podcast. There's a link in the description. And also comment and like and do things. Other interviews are on the screen somewhere, so click them. Thanks for watching.