On reddit I was responding to a number of Jisoo bias’ comments related to “Deadline”. Some examples:
“Can’t hear Jisoo much on this minialbum :(“
“Queen mistreated once again 💔”
“Jisoo’s lines… under one minute across five songs?? She barely feels like a member, more like a featured artist. Blackpink ft. Jisoo.”
“he disrespect to jisoo is HUGE. barely any lines..”
Jisoo is both my group bias and my ultimate bias so I obviously have thoughts on this, and here they are (and what I responded):
I think there is a different way to think about it.
I too am upset when Jisoo is overlooked but it’s by other parties, not YG.
For example, in the People article about the new album where they mention the other three solo albums but not Jisoo’s (as if it doesn’t count because it’s not a full album or because they don’t know about – either way not ok). (The whole People article is not well done but the Jisoo omission there particular annoyed me.)
And there have been many examples of this towards Jisoo particular in Western media, which also gets really “blind” when the people speak less English.
(The Western sports media almost completely ignored the Japan team in the last Women’s World Cup and they were easily one of the best teams there.)
In Blackpink however I think you have to think of Jisoo as you would if you were the ones blending the different elements into a song.
Obviously you use Lisa for things like “Me and my” and if not her then Jennie. This is fitting. Then you Rosé and Jisoo in key places there as a contrast – and for some us as a musical relief as rap isn’t our go to mode.
And a song like “Fucktoy” is built for Rosé. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER: the part of the song that is the killer lyric and the titular lyric and is Jisoo and switching to her vocal tone and power there IS what elevates it then.
Jisoo’s role in Blackpink vocally is always this elevation of the sonic quality at key points. She does this on “Deadline” especially on Jump, Go, and Fuckboy, because it works better there.
This has always been Jisoo’s role and the parts of the song where she comes ALWAYS are elevated in this way.
It isn’t a contest and quantity doesn’t matter; what matters is using this power in the RIGHT places EFFECTIVELY to utilize her specialties to elevate the whole.
Jisoo’s solo albums are songs that fit her vocal strengths throughout. Blackpink songs are songs that switch in nature throughout and draw on the different strengths of each member, so when a members strength works it works in these contexts.
Another point I would make is that JISOO doesn’t seem bothered by this, she never even has indicated a hint of this. Yes I recognize it’s not in her nature but I mean she’s had a DECADE to express even the slightest complaint about this and there has been none.
I love Jisoo AND I also love her role as the one who cuts in at keys times and elevates the songs. I have never thought to complain about it; I like the group dynamic as it is, it’s one of the best in music.
Historically there have been huge bands that have members that barely tolerate each other (Van Halen. Journey. The Police. Et cet) Even now I bet you can name KPOP groups where the chemistry between certain members is sort of iffy, and you can tell.
The chemistry between all four Blackpink members and ESPECIALLY Jisoo towards the other three comes across as nothing but positive. So I don’t think SHE is upset, I don’t think any of them are about their roles in Blackpink.
And their solo endeavors relieve whatever creative tension could start to build even more.
I won’t mince words. As my previous post indicated, the stakes were very very high. And Blackpink hit it out of the park, in powerful, surprising, and interesting ways.
“Go” is the best song they’ve ever put out. Period. And that’s saying a lot. I watched this video like 5 times straight while I was waiting for the four new songs to load on Apple Music because the demand at 9pm Pacific Time (2pm Korea time 27 February) when the album dropped globally seems to have overwhelmed Apple music.
And the video obviously is incredible.
And “Jump” is the second best song they’ve ever put out – and so their two best songs are 2/5th’s of this album. “Jump” has been out for many months and I also will cover it a lot in my Top 100 Songs of 2025 so I won’t cover it here as the focus is on the just-released stuff, though you know how I feel about albums. The tracks the artist chose and the order in which the artist put them both matter as to the collective artistic statement. And the album should be consumed and considered in that way. So this album kicks off with “Jump” then through “Go” “Me and my” “Champion” and ends with “Fuckboy”, that is the artistic work, in that order.
(For completeness I will document the credits on “Jump”: 24, Ape Drums, Boaz de Jong, Claudia Valentina, Francisco Zecca, JUMPA, Jesse Bluu, Malachiii, Teddy, Thomas Wesley Pentz, Zikai. Arguably the pressure on and stakes for “Jump” at the time of it’s release were even higher than for the “Deadline” album, since it was the first new group music since “The Girls” single 23 August 2023 and “Jump” essentially had to promo an entire stadium tour. So YG made damn sure it hit.)
“Go” unbelievably is the first time all four members have written on one song together, so it’s historical as well. Rosé both as a lyricist and composer; Jisoo, Jennie, and Lisa all as lyricists. Chris Martin from Coldplay was also involved in the writing and composition of the track, and Cirkut and Danny Chung were also involved.
The song utilizes both hard and soft musical aspects which is what the group’s name was designed to represent, and this duality and diversity of elements has been core to their identity and output throughout their existence. This song is now their statement piece.
“Go” is so good I barely have words, and “Jump” of course came out in 2025 and is #1 on my list of 2025 releases (which you would know if I ever get the complete list up on the site! Sorry! Soon! It’s VERY thorough.)
“Me and my” is dripping with Lisa. This is like a Lisa solo song with her Blackpink sisters fucking around on it with her. Lisa fans should look forward to this music video for sure. Jennie is the other strong rapper and has some excellent lines and parts here; the whole still feels to me more aligned with the vibe of Lisa’s solo output than Jennie’s. Writing credit here is John Blackwell and Viexen N.
“Champion” would be a great song to listen to loud in a convertible at the maximum volume possible. It surprisingly starts with Lisa again, then Jennie takes over in the bridge, then the chorus is full on pop rock Bon Jovi crossed with Avril Lavigne and it will be fun to CRANK THIS UP. It makes your mind and body feel good to sing along loudly to the chorus, which I assume will be happening in some of the largest venues all over the world.
The songwriting credit for “Champion” is shown as now-superstar Ejae (as in KPOP Demon Hunters HUNTR/X Ejae), along with Lukasz Gottwald, and Theron Thomas.
“Fuckboy” (I refuse to type “Fxxxboy” we all need to grow up) is the most surprising and interesting of all. A ballad, one with lyrics that are VERY interesting, and definitely a new way to be edgy and empowered at the same time. The track seems heavily Rosé influenced to me though she isn’t credited as a song writer (credit is Courtlin Jabrae Edwards, Ido, Kush, Tommy “TB Hits” Brown, Vince, Zikai – it takes a bunch of people to make a Rosé-like track apparently 🙂 it certainly has a relation to her solo stuff, in the same way “Me and my” relates to Lisa’s solo work. And Rosé’s voice dominates it initially, but wow does Jisoo compliment Rosé’s voice and then against character Jisoo has the first utterance of the big line. (“How’s it feel? Now I’m the fuckboy”) All the members come through strong here, more balanced than in “Me and my” which is more dominated by Lisa (and maybe Jennie). This is Rosé AND all of them.
“Fuckboy” is a follow-on to “Tally” with Jennie saying there: “Sometimes, I like to go play dirty / Just like all of the fuckboys do / That’s my choice and there’s no one I’m hurtin’ / And that’s not girly”. Indeed.
(Sidenote: The little “Twice, Twice, Twice” background lyric in “Fuckboy” is interesting 🙂
As I wrote about previously the creation of this artistic work took place under the weight of seemingly impossible expectations and the highest stakes possible under constant public and media scrutiny. By all logic it would seem that this would be a labor under immense pressure; somehow they not only pull it off in a way that took what they already are and pushed it much much further while sounding and appearing like they are having a fantastic time even as they operate at this level.
The superstardom on display here is of a magnitude seldom seen, yet I was reading Jisoo and Lisa’s Bubbles today and thinking how absolutely humble and relatable they are, and generally likable as people. Rosé appears the same way in all her many many interviews and appearances. Jennie is a bit more guarded and not as nakedly available (mentally and emotional at least) constantly as the others are but certainly she comes off as a real human who has overcome a lot.
Blackpink is impressive as always. More accurately, they keep getting more impressive all the time.
Great album, great job, great group.
15 minutes more of the legend continuing. #BlackpinkInYourArea
Now to listen to the complete album – all five tracks – a few hundred more times tonight……
Here on the eve of what I would argue is the biggest musical release of the entire first part of 2026, I wanted to talk about several aspects of Blackpink’s marketing and strategic plan, using the ultra-impressive “GO” teaser as a springing off point.
If you are one of the two people in the world who hasn’t seen it yet:
First, let’s be clear. Blackpink are the biggest group in the world right now.
(I know the ARMY is going to have a problem with that but BTS has been gone a long time, and ONCE will have something to say and you know I love TWICE. But my statement stands. Sorry Swifties – and I love and respect Taylor too – but worldwide it’s looking more and more black and pink out there.)
For the world, they are the as big as any of the biggest bands with fervent fanbases at their peak – Beatles, Rolling Stones, KISS, whoever. And like with the reaction to an artist as huge as Bad Bunny before the Superbowl, to US people who are mired in their myopic view that US culture and specifically English speaking US culture is supreme in all areas, remarkably you are just as likely to find people in the US who would agree with my statement above as you are to find people who’s response would be “What are you talking about? Who is Blackpink?” (Though the latter crowd is certainly diminishing because you REALLY have to strive to not pay attention at this point.)
Anyone with any doubt can consider so many metrics:
They are the first artist in history to have over 100 million YouTube subscribers. They have over 41.1 billion total views. Over 50 of their videos have more than 100 million views. On Spotify alone, monthly listeners are around 43 million.
The group has over 57 millions followers on social media. They (obviously) hold the Guinness World Record for “Most Viewed Band on YouTube”. They were TIME magazine’s 2022 Entertainer of the Year – so TIME understood quicker than most.
When they headlined Coachella April 15 and April 22, 2023 – and they had yet to explode supernova like as they have now – they performed to a crowd of over 125,000 people.
Their list of endorsements includes Adidas, Guess, Orea, Asahi Super Dry, Sprite Korea, Samsung, PUBG Mobile, Mise-en-scène, and Zepeto.
The above doesn’t even speak to them as individuals, where on top of all their musical accomplishments, basically are ubiquitous in fashion and fashion magazines.
Jennie is a Chanel global ambassador, and her other endorsements include Calvin Klein, Hera Beauty, Tamburins, Gentle Monster, Lotte Soonhari, Haribo, and many others.
Jisoo is a global ambassador for Dior and Tommy Hilfinger as well as Pokémon’s 30th-anniversay campaign, and her other endorsements include Cartier, Alo Yoga, MapleStory, Dyson, and many others. Jisoo also did an exclusive collaboration partnering with Sanrio and MuseM.
Lisa was a former global ambassador for Celine, and currently her roster includes Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Prada, MAC Cosmertiics, Chivas Regal, Penshoppe, Vivo, AIS, and many others.
Oh and she is Thailand’s official Amazing Thailand Ambassador as named by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and revealed at a ceremony at the Wat Arun temple. So there’s that.
Rosé is a global ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent, and includes Tiffany & Co., Rimowa, Puma, Levi’s, and others among her brands.
Jisoo is building a substantial acting career in parallel with all this (“The Producers” cameo, main roles in “Snowdrop” and “Newtopia”, the upcoming television series “Boyfriend on Demand” – 6 March 2026 on Netflix – and the upcoming feature film “The Prophet: Omniscient Reader”), and Jennie (“The Idol”) and Lisa (“The White Lotus”) have acted enough that they also have fans that think they are actors not singers (yes, you, my MIT fraternity brother Erik Larson before you were enlightened ;-). Rosé was a main cast member in the variety “Sea of Hope”.
Jisoo and Rosé popped up on Superbowl commercials (Levi’s and Pokémon). All four members were appointed by King Charles III honorary members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Lisa was part of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ performance opened the 2026 Grammys.
It goes on and on. This large list encompasses only a fraction of the group’s accomplishments and just hints at their accomplishments as individuals.
This is their time.
The Deadline Tour that occurred PRIOR to the album (as opposed to the conventional way of touring, you know, to SUPPORT the album that has been released) was a quaint 33-show sold-out stadium tour spanning the globe.
Just normal stuff.
(As an aside and a whole other topic: all of this was accomplished essentially drama and scandal free to a remarkable level. And it’s been over 9 years since their debut, all of which were spent completely in the public spotlight, where during the entirety they all have come off as remarkably good natured and down to earth. This alone is incredible.)
I point out all this to highlight the incredible and indeed unfathomable anticipations and expectations associated with literally anything and everything Blackpink does, both collectively and individually. It’s quite a challenge to create quality art. It’s quite another entirely to do this in an intense public spotlight, starting from a young age. And then it’s quite another level of all this to be Blackpink today.
So everything they do at this point has to be viewed through this lens – what it’s like to be them with all these demands, the burden of constantly overcoming all their previous accomplishments (even bands like The Rolling Stones didn’t always – some would argue rarely – succeed in this), and the immense expectations of a rabid global multi-cultural fanbase audience who is possessive of them in that very special KPOP intense way.
So once again, the teaser for “GO” hits it out of the park. It drips with excess because it had to. It’s visually jaw dropping incredible because it had to be.
It also continues the, in my opinion, brilliant “less is more” strategy that YG Entertainment has executed with BlackPink.
This teaser is short, stunning, reveals essentially nothing, and leaves you simultaneously craving more and watching it over and over and over again.
I personally chuckle when people criticize the job YG has done with Blackpink, and these shots come from both fans who aren’t Blackpink fans and Blackpink fans themselves, which is even more laughable to me.
Obviously whatever YG is doing is working, on a ridiculously successful scale. If I could have YG manage my artistic career and bring me this level of success I would certainly be like “Yes absolutely! PLEASE DO THAT.”
With Blackpink they have brought managing scarcity to an art form. As of mid-2025, BLACKPINK has officially released 33 original songs (22 in mainly Korean, 11 in English) in addition to 17 Japanese versions of their Korean tracks and various remixes. What this choice means is that the stakes for each individual track and the accompanying music video, and the impact of each, is much larger.
TWICE, to cite a different strategic approach, are managed by JYP in quite a contrasting way, with near constant releases and a huge deep catalog. This obviously works for them, as they have many many hits in many different genres, and nearly the global success of Blackpink. It’s just a different approach. (What they do have in common is a pointed desire to penetrate this US market and indeed the entire world market.)
YG is doing great with Blackpink, which obviously the members agree with (how could they not?) since they renewed their initial seven-year contract.
The arrangement where the group stayed with YG while having the freedom to manage their solo careers themselves was both ground breaking (for KPOP) and logical. I could argue both that it was brilliant of YG to do it this way while at the same time the members were so powerful at that point they had no choice. And both are true.
YG and Blackpink themselves have also done a wonderful job of utilizing both the solo strengths and group strengths, including of course on this most recent tour which followed the solo releases by the members through their own companies, but indeed prior to that with solo stages in performances.
One of the reasons that Blackpink is so successful is that the group and each member have equal and definitive personas at a level rarely achieved. The Beatles for one. KISS is their hey day. (There are a lot of KISS parallels actually, which I will elaborate on at length in another blog post at some other time.) The list isn’t very long.
Another aspect YG gets criticism for sometimes which I also think is laughable is the notion of trying to squeeze money out of the fans – which of course is their JOB and what they are SUPPOSED TO DO.
This reminds me a bit of sports teams that have ownership that charge high ticket prices so they can pay big name athletes and hopefully win championships (Dodgers, Lakers, et cet.). THIS AGAIN IS THEIR JOB.
Who knew that I needed a Black, Pink, Gray, Mood Light, and four individual member-specific Silver versions of the album? I didn’t know myself but when I saw how cool they were I certainly did then!!!!!!
Again, brilliant job by YG. As Gene Simmons always says about high priced KISS merchandise and events – if you don’t want them, don’t buy them.
Blackpink succeeded wildly with “Jump”. Under impossible expectations, both the song and the music video exceeded them triumphantly, and this was reflected also in the enthusiastic audience response to “Jump” on the tour.
We’ll see in just a few hours if they can do it again.
NOTE: I will add photos/video content from the concert later, want to go ahead and get this post written 🙂
Monday 23 February 2026 was the fourth of a four night stand of Lady Gaga’s The MAYHEM Ball Tour in Los Angeles (yes we in Los Angeles can say these were the Los Angeles dates as well as say the Kia Forum is in Inglewood and we all know exactly what we mean 🙂
I had missed the earlier leg of the tour (last year) in Los Angeles and was quite excited to finally see a date. I had floor tickets, stage left, Section E, row 9, seat 5. I also was a VIP at the KIA Club prior to the show so had the dinner and the custom Lady Gaga event cake.
You would never know it was a Monday, the crowd was decked out and highly engaged. And the show ran just minutes shy of 3 hours, starting at 8:45pm and ending at 11:37pm. (No opener though the special effect of a giant three-dimensional Gaga writing with a quill pen on a scroll that occurred between ticketed start time of 8 and the show start was very impressive and mood setting.) The show was organized into five theatrical acts and then there was an encore.
Just physically, with the number of nights on this tour, many consecutively, and the difficulty of the choreography and singing in these performances, it’s absolutely flat out impressive.
Though the “commercial” (I guess you would call it) name of the tour is The MAYHEM Ball the actual name is “The Art of Personal Chaos (The Manifesto of MAYHEM)” and in total was one of the most elaborate, intricate, and immersive narrative original experiences in a concert setting that I have been a part of.
If what you want is a play by play or narrative summary, you will have to (preferably) go yourself while the tour is still on or get that somewhere else; I am going to discuss themes and responses/emotions I had to the experience while they are fresh.
By the way, though I always have been into Gaga and all of her many manifestations, I surprisingly have only seen her live once before, when she first was breaking big. That was 21 December 2009 at what was then called the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles at LA Live. That setlist is here: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/lady-gaga/2009/la-live-nokia-theatre-los-angeles-ca-73d32601.html
She’s come a long way, and the path hasn’t been linear. Gaga (like myself) has many different creative phases, for example her “Jazz & Piano” Las Vegas residency she did for six years at Dolby Live at the Park MGM. I resonate with this because Gaga refuses to be categorized in any one genre or style (or look or persona or really any way at all).
This show here on this tour brings together a lot of different elements of her entire creative output and life and then goes more over the top with many of them than she ever has before. This is a BIG show, it’s a big flex too, artistically, commercially, statement-wise, everything. It’s dripping with ambition. And she’s a big time rock star in it, make no mistake. Like a ROCK STAR. The interesting thought I was having in the early stages of it was whether she could do all of that and still be the accessible oddball person standing up and representing all the Little Monsters.
Turns out she could! And quite effectively. But I am getting ahead of myself.
All the effects were over-the-top and need to be seen in person as descriptions do no justice. Giant queens whose dresses are also cages containing writhing dancers, the pull of paparrazzi depicted as literally an arena-spanning garment, waking up in a grave – with others!, ….. it goes on and on. The versions of Gaga’s catalog woven into this epic narrative, reworked in whatever way was appropriate for the larger work, all succeeded. With some artists, if they had taken such liberty with their own known works, the audience would at least partially rebel. Not here, because clearly the greater overall was dominant and effective.
At times the power and dark themes of the earlier acts were almost overwhelming and it was designed this way to set up the most effective and emotional part of the performance later. Even the absurdly long loud climactic sounds held and elongated by the musicians between events were overpowering. Almost to the point of being too much and then there would be relief as it moved off it just in time.
By Act III it was still overwhelming but the mood had shifted a bit into more joy-like relief. I said joy-like not joy because there was still a dark thread, I mean we were doing Dead Dances with giant skulls after all. But it had shifted. Enough to know I was fucked 🙂 and wouldn’t here my clear favorite off the latest album “Can’t Stop The High” because it potentially could have fit in the earlier act moods and narratives but clearly didn’t now – and to her credit I knew Gaga wouldn’t do something counter to the broader narrative elements at play.
Act IV is when the performance transcended to a new level of both brilliance and intimacy. A very Cirque de Soleil “O” influenced section where Gaga and her partner were literally on a boat floating across the catwalk – you have to go experience it! – utilized “Million Reasons” and “Shallow” to bring the narrative and the performance and the entire audience to what initially would have been a quite unexpected destination amidst all the excess.
Gaga alone. At the piano. And her true power and talent and real person-ness and all of it was…. RIGHT THERE. And you didn’t need any of the rest of the huge production because this was the part that touched you so deeply the tears were there, the feelings were there, everyone was one, everything was transformed.
The entire piano segment was almost indescribably good and the absolutely high point was “Hair”. It was one of the most moving experiences live I have ever had, and it meant a lot to me personally on my own journey…. and from the reactions of everyone around me, apparently to all of them as well. (In one of the most diverse crowds you will ever see.)
From then one we all were one and the return to the large production and “Bad Romance” plus the drop-your-guard no makeup encore were both celebratory and coasting in a way, because “Hair” was the climax and the rest was just cuddling.
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There is one area that I must discuss that significantly detracted from my overall enjoyment and even my maintaining the vibe throughout. This was Gaga’s completely over-the-top and near constant screaming to “Put your fucking hands up!” or some variation (“arms” “claws” whatever) in literally nearly every song until the Act IV. There were also various other admonitions like to stand or make noise.
Lady Gaga is by no means the first of artists I greatly enjoy live to have this affliction. Ozzy drove me crazy with his way way way too often “Let’s Go Crazy” / “Go Crazy” and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden said “Scream for me Long Beach” or whatever city was literally constantly. And both of those due to their frequency and overuse were annoying.
Gaga’s constant “Put your fucking hands ups!” and all the variations were much worse than either Ozzy or Bruce, both because it fits her overall persona less but especially because it did not fit the surrounding meticulously constructed theatrical presentation or narrative. Certainly, doing it one time, early and angrily, would fit well within the initial act, especially the initial entrance piece as the gigantic queen, and would be an effective way of proving the headset mike is live as well. But the overuse annoyed me and threw me out of the moment each and every time she did it, no matter the variation. I would be submerging into the world she had effectively created and deeply vibing with whatever song was being performed and without fail, every time she did this, I would lose momentum on both of those fronts and just be annoyed. I was silently begging and wishing her to not do it anymore.
I’m definitely a believer in it’s way way better for the audience to do something on their own then be TOLD to do something. That’s true in sports, concerts, anything. If the game is exciting the crowd will respond, they don’t need announcers or graphics saying to make noise. If a crowd in a concert wants to stand up, scream, dance, whatever they want to do, THEY WILL. I recently saw TWICE at the same venue (25 January 2026 This Is For World Tour) and you can see videos online of literally the whole crowd mimicking the moves of Jihyo as she led them like some fantasy army and IT HAPPENED SPONTANEOUSLY.
Certainly getting the crowd to scream (say between songs maybe or Paul Stanley having a contest to see which part of the arena is loudest during his solo bit) or KPOP people asking for noise during ments does NOT detract…. there is a way to do it. And that way is NOT during songs… unless it’s very occasion and/or an admonition to sing. Asking people to sing is almost never bad.
All of what I am complaining about here disappeared almost entirely during the best parts of the concert (number 24 and on in the setlist) by the way.
If Gaga can eliminate this one bad crutch/habit/whatever, her achievement in staging a performance like this will be even more impressive than it already is.
IVE’s heavily anticipated full album comeback “REVIVE+” dropped today, their second full length album. This is my initial review following just a couple listens.
Photo: IVE at the press showcase at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul 23 February 2026. Left to right: Rei, Gauel, Jang Won-young, An Yu-jin, Leeseo, Liz.
I am clearly using the term “initial review” because I feel one’s understanding, resonance, and relationship to a musical work evolves over time. Like my feelings on rankings lists (which I discussed elsewhere), the way reviews are done – due to the influence of needing to get material published or time limitations or whatever factors are causing it – isn’t reflective of this reality. What I plan to do on this EricJohnMusic.com site is initial reviews and then revisit works in different ways over time to communicate how my emotions and thoughts related to the work have evolved.
Different music has a different number of exposure times before it first resonates, and then before it evolves and/or your understanding/relationship of/with the piece deepens. With much KPOP, between the 2nd and 4th listen I find I get a pretty strong initial resonance and impression (whereas, say, something complex like Iron Maiden may take a few more listens, or something in a genre I don’t listen to frequently may take more listens to “find”).
Let me be clear when I say “listen” that means doing nothing else with your consciousness except focusing on the music. Not having it on in the background, not jumping around out of order or listening to partial songs. This is an ALBUM, and as such it’s a set of shorter work bundled together in a particular order for a reason that the artists and producers designed. The goal here is to understand and receive and be affected by what THEY were trying to get across first, before say tailoring the tracks in some order or skipping around or any of this, and before one imposes one’s own opinions on it.
It would do us all well to have the focus and attention span to listen actively as I describe, and also you are honoring the work of the artists and production teams by doing so.
Also important to note is that this is a review of the album and the music. KPOP comebacks entail much more in conjunction with a release than just the album and the music, including the concepts/lore, the looks, all of the pre-release promotional material, behind-the-scenes glimpses in various forms, and more. IVE’s build-up to this album has been effective as usual as they and they company Starship Entertainment have done well in these areas since their 2021 debut. I am focusing in this writing on the album and the music NOT these other aspects, though I tangentially touch on them in some cases.
To call this IVE’s second full length album is of course massively misleading to especially people not well versed in KPOP because IVE has been a hard working group since their inception and have released seven EPs and many more singles, most of which had additional songs on them. The EP’s in KPOP which they also call a “comeback” entail just as much work in terms of all the aspects and just as much of an artistic statement/concept as an “album”, so the distinction has not that much meaning. An album just has a few more songs in this context.
So if you look at it like that, “REVIVE+” is actually IVE’s tenth substantial comeback. They also are clearly at the point where there are leaning into a more mature and edgier image, which would be appropriate both for their actual ages and their contractual ages, not to mention that in the ultra competitive world of KPOP you always need to take it SOMEWHERE, and this is a logical place for them to take it given where they have been.
IVE’s image circa the last world tour I saw them live on (SHOW WHAT I HAVE Tour, 2nd World Tour, Kia Forum, Inglewood CA 13 March 2024) was very much aligned with what a barely knowledgeable US music fan would guess if I say “KPOP” to them. This isn’t a knock in any way, I am just highlighting both that the average US music fan is NOT knowledgeable about KPOP (though that is changing), and that many many groups would NOT fit their stereotype so well (say for exampled DREAMCATCHER…. but also i-dle, aespa, and a host of others since the diversity in way broader than people unfamiliar think).
And IVE executed on this type of KPOP and image very very well, and then grew from there. Each comeback and even single release absolutely stayed true to their past (unlike some artists than radically shed their past each comeback and emerge some new entity) AND built on it. And certainly through the touring and experience got stronger and stronger – the solo song section of “REVIVE+” features songs that have been worked in solo performances in the recent touring.
“REVIVE+” is a strong release, a logical evolution, builds on the past while advancing. This album should serve them well and further elevate their status.
The opener “BLACKHOLE” captures what I am saying right off the bat, the sonic wall group vocals, the soaring melody lines, and many typical IVE things combined with an immediately heavier sounding backdrop. There a lot of different bits in here, it will take me more listens to get it all. But it hits.
Probably not to many of you, but to me “BANG BANG” immediately conjures up the 1991 Aldo Nova sex song from the “Blood on the Bricks” album that was collaborative produced with Jon Bon Jovi (and sounds pretty much like Bon Jovi), so I had to move my immediate reaction pretty far to get back to IVE :-). In any case, again a second complex track, the over-riding feeling it leaves me with is acceleration, you get faster as you go along. Continuing the more mature edgy vibe certainly.
“Hush” is the sexiest track on here. The vocal comes across very intimately talking to you, and of course all of the whispering and breathing. There is an interesting vocal line that evokes “ATTITUDE” right before the chorus. Ultimately, this track is enticement and seduction and implies all sorts of clandestine activities… of course in KPOP’s “less direct than it would be in US music but not fooling anyone what we are talking about” way.
“Stuck In Your Head” is written in the way some KPOP songs that initially are borderline annoying actually DO stick in your head, as they are designed to do. Here in fact, it worked. It happened. It’s done. (As an aside, one of the more effective uses of a random beep sound that I’ve ever heard in any context, not to mention a cartoonish whistle sound like they use on some Korean comedies as a wink sound. Either you get that or you don’t lol.)
“Fireworks” You can already picture in that part of the concert near the end where the fans and the group have collectively taken so many feel-good music drugs that the entire arena is all bouncing with glee – a part of a musical performance the best KPOP does better than any other, the euphoric high is real. The group harmony vocals invoke GIRLS GENERATION for me, and you can’t get much more of a compliment from me than an SNSD one :-). And similar to GIRLS GENERATION “Lucky Like That” just enough electric guitar going off between all the harmony at the latter stages elevates it even more.
“HOT COFFEE” is the high point for me, this didn’t take multiple listens, this took seconds…. and then got better. This is a fantastic track and I assume will make my year end best list for 2026… that’s how confident I am. I absolutely love the track.
JANGWONYOUNG’s solo “8” is all attitude and swagger and it works.
GAEUL’s “Odd”…. I love GAEUL and I’ve loved watching her emerge more and more in performances over the years but I haven’t been able to “find” what she is going for here, at least not yet. Which I suppose is “Odd” :-).
“Super ICY” is certainly an interesting image statement for LEESEO. Challenging track and well done. Very much in the TWICE “Strategy” vein, which they directly tell with the line “I’m not going to tell you TWICE” which I find quite entertaining since TWICE uses the same lyric :-). None of which I saw coming in particular from LEESEO of all people. But O.K.
“Unreal” is a fantastic straight ahead pop song of the kind I love always. It takes you soaring and you want to go. Great job by LIZ.
REI’s “In Your Heart”…. this style of music is much more accessible to me in present times because I have been spending time listening to artist’s such as Dreamiecloud (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dreamiecloud/1477427818). Even so it’s going to take me more time/listens to really get deep into this one. There is a LOT going on here. And it’s going on FAST.
ANYUJIN’s album closer “Force” I love and loved instantly. What a strong vocal! To me this is just a great rock song with a great vocal. I think it’s funny that Apple Music says she “channels naughts-era hip hop”. Seriously? This is a rock song. Whatever the little drumbeat thing is doing doesn’t matter, her vocal is right there is the power rock song tradition. Hell, it even could be like a Carrie Underwood pop country vocal. It’s a strong vocal that wants you to play it loud and sing it loud. To me, that’s rock n’ roll.
“REVIVE+” dropped today 23 February 2026, delve into it and all of IVE’s catalog. Hopefully they will tour the US this go round.
Of course this is posted by a non-neutral account dedicated to supporting ARTMS, so it emphasizes that and not the tons of other recognition in the article. You will see my rankings and thoughts with respect to much of what’s covered soon. For now I also want to focus on recognizing ARTMS and Club Icarus / Grand Club Icarus.
Certainly attractive simply as a story of rebirth and triumph (“Reborn like a pheonix wing”), ARTMS as a group and as individuals continued to bring me no end of joy throughout the challenging and personally often painful year pf 2025.
The album at the heart of it, the tour and appearances that accompanied it, and all of the associated visuals and video that made up the complete Club Icarus concept was an absolute triumph and the next evolution of the group as well.
Everything added to the experience, from the initial Burn teasers birthed from LOONA and ARTMS lore to the “hanging out” at clubs and afterparties, let alone transforming the entire concert experience into a giant club, from the DJ starting half an hour before to the allowed dancing in the aisles and entire mood.
I saw the tour twice, in Los Angeles (26 November 2025 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre) and Monterey (28 November 2025 at the Golden State Theatre), the last two stops on the North American portion of Grand Club Icarus. (I have many photos with the members from the 1:1 VIP photos, which I will get up on this site soon.) In Los Angeles, there was also an afterparty at a club nearby (Catch One) where the members came and danced and drank with everyone.
I have seen ARTMS on Moonshot (Los Angeles at The Orpheum in 2024 August 31) and Lunar Theory (Los Angeles at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre also in 2025, amazingly April 13), and now these two Grand Club Icarus shows. (Somehow between the April and November concerts they found time to be in Los Angeles for a Grand Club Icarus club appearance not even connected to tour dates (!); I somehow missed this due to losing track of it.)
There has been a clear evolution over Moonshot then Lunar Theory then Grand Club Icarus of the group’s performances and bonds with each other. These were all challenging, physical sets pulled off beautifully. It was a master stroke by Modhaus / Jaden Jeong to have ARTMS pull together the threads of LOONA lore and then own them so convincingly by performing the LOONA songs during Lunar Theory as 5. And the of course moving forward with the lore.
This clearly has positioned ARTMS – more than positioned, fully made them – effectively the present day LOONA and yet still an entity on their own. CHUU and Yves are clearly thriving as solo artists but their is no LOONA lore tie, they are doing their own thing, and of course there is the trainwreck ending of LOOSSEMBLE (a topic for another day). ARTMS stands stronger and unscathed.
As an aside, the other smart thing MODHAUS and Jaden Jeoing are doing is allowing them their solo space, including for HaSeul’s solo concerts and HeeJin’s rock band times. BLACKPINK of course is the apex example of this philosophy, but I would argue BLACKPINK was so huge and the contract renewal timing left YG little choice – let them do what they want or lose them. (To both YG and the members’ credit, it’s been managed well so far. YG already heavily emphasized solo stages even before, knowing they have lightning in the bottle with four strong independent personality members, and so incorporating the non-YG solo material into the BLACKPINK concert experience was as smooth as it was obvious.)
MODHAUS is letting the solo stuff blossom within the company, and the members seem to be well on their way to establishing unique public personas. Of course it’s easy to forget HeeJin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, Choerry, and HaSuel had debut dates nearly as long ago as the BLACKPINK members – though their path to now since then obviously has been much harder.
Often when a concept heavy work like Club Icarus is implemented, the charisma and nature of the group involved can be muted as a result; the danger is too much focus on the concept loses some of what made the group special just because of the natural way the members are.
A perfect example is STYX during the Mr. Roboto days. They might has well have been actors performing theater instead of Styx the rock band. Of course this ultimately led to strife within the band as those two forces – the concept emphasis versus the rock band emphasis – pulled the band apart, and the demise of that classic lineup. (Hopefully the present lineup of STYX – several of whom are the same – handle this better with their current concept effort “Circling From Above”.)
On Grand Club Icarus, ARTMS magnificently manifested both themselves as a group and simultaneously realized the concept which transformed the Grand Club Icarus concert into a truly unique experience – and experience is the right word as opposed to show.
As opposed to seeming muted or constrained, the unbridled joy apparent and literally effervescing out of all the members at the Los Angeles Grand Club Icarus afterparty was both uplifting and moving, the members breaking free of all of the past travails and being totally present, free and happy.
Being a perfectionist and a strategic planner, I too often fall into the trap of a great strategy and plan and then slow execution due to trying to perfect every aspect of it before getting everything out.
This year, with the amazing help of my assistant Kitty Kott, there was been a much better track record of getting stuff out continuously – especially on the fashion explorations on Instagram but in many other areas as well.
In any case, on here, instead of creating the “perfect blog posts” I am going to share thoughts as they happen and evolve as I go.
They were all established artists already (in fact, I saw Audrey Nuna live at The Whiskey this year), and if they did a tour doing long solo stages and then combined HUNTR/X stages it would be amazing even without the album – but let’s have an album!
Greetings and thank you for being here! I didn’t want to hold up the soft launch of the site while I was creating the blog. I was very keen to get the Music Videos, Top Lists, and Shop Merch sections there so people could start watching the videos, poring over the lists, and of course buying merch (please – I worked very hard on it! Thank you!.
EricJohnMusic.com showcases original music videos, personal top music rankings, and concert experiences, offering engaging content and useful music recommendations and insights for fans, as well as Eric John designed Erotique Entertainment merchandise.
