Image via Dua Lipa
A deluxe edition of Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut album dropped on Friday, marking the latest release from the buzzy U.K. singer. The record, originally released in 2017, has already earned success across the globe, but this Complete Edition includes three brand new songs. One of those tracks, “Kiss and Make Up," features a collaboration with K-Pop girl group BLACKPINK.
This is the first time the quartet, which hails from South Korea, has ever recorded a feature for another artist. They sing in Korean, trading lines with Dua about the cyclical nature of a cheap, fragile romance:
그게 뭐가 되었건 다 필요 없어, 너면 됐어
So tell me, can we work this whole thing out?
Work this whole thing out
날 첨 만났던, 설레던 순간 그때처럼
In the lead-up to her album’s release, Dua Lipa hinted that “Kiss and Make Up” is a track she was particularly excited about. She explained in a red carpet interview at the 2018 American Music Awards that she wrote the song a year ago, but couldn’t find the right artist to collaborate with. She met the BLACKPINK girls in Seoul during her world tour earlier this year:
I was just like, ‘Oh my god, wouldn’t it be crazy if I just sent them a song to see if they liked it and if they wanted to sing on it?’ So that’s what I did and they were very quick with the response. They were like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’ and they just quickly went and recorded it and changed some of the lyrics to Korean… and that was really it! I’m really thrilled about that one, I’m very excited about that one.
“Kiss and Make Up” is the latest example of K-Pop’s rapidly growing appeal in the English-speaking entertainment world, a part of the globe where widespread popularity has long eluded the genre.
BTS stands as the biggest example of a K-pop group making waves in America and Europe. The group started making waves in the US in 2017 with their surprise win at the Billboard Music Awards. One year later, they’ve collaborated with Steve Aoki (“전하지 못한 진심 (The Truth Untold)” and “MIC DROP (Remix)”) and Nicki Minaj (“Idol”), both of whom are featured on their No. 1 album Love Yourself: Answer. “Idol” even managed to peak at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The interest in South Korea isn’t just limited to pop artists like Dua Lipa and BLACKPINK. High-profile American artists in the rap, EDM, and rock genres have recently collaborated with Korean producers and artists, including Skrillex, RiFF RAFF, Diplo, Fall Out Boy, Tinashe, A$AP Ferg, and the 88rising project.
BLACKPINK were already flagged to be the new faces of the hallyu wave taking over today’s international music streaming scene, and a high-profile pop collaboration is likely to generate even more appeal. The group is reportedly already in talks with American labels for a proper US debut. K-Pop fans are notoriously diehard, and “Kiss and Make Up” shot to No. 3 on Genius' Top Songs chart shortly after its release.
Dua Lipa is well-accustomed to working with international audiences hungry for global content. She has sung in French before, and also notably helped organize her father’s dream of hosting an international music festival in Kosovo earlier this year. As foreign-language music continues to gain popularity with western audiences, we’re likely to see more global collaborations in the future.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Dua Lipa’s “Kiss and Make Up” featuring BLACKPINK on Genius now.
