Whistle (Blackpink song)

"Whistle" (Korean: 휘파람; RR: Hwi-param) is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on August 8, 2016 together with "Boombayah" as a digital single titled Square One. The lyrics were written by B.I., Teddy Park and Bekuh Boom, while the song was composed by the latter two, with additional assistance from Future Bounce. Musically, "Whistle" straddles between a minimalist hip-hop production and a more guitar-driven pop composition. The lyrics utilize a whistling motif to describe a love-call and the rhythm of a beating heart.

"Whistle"
Single by Blackpink
from the album Square One
A-side
ReleasedAugust 8, 2016 (2016-08-08)
Genre
Length3:32
LabelYG
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
Blackpink singles chronology
"Boombayah"
(2016)		 "Whistle"
(2016)		 "Playing with Fire"
(2016)
Music video
"Whistle" on YouTube

Blackpink's debut television performance was held on SBS's Inkigayo on August 14, 2016, where Blackpink performed "Whistle" alongside "Boombayah".[2][3] The song was a commercial success, with "Whistle" peaking atop the Gaon Digital Chart. It was the first debut song by a group to achieve the "perfect all-kill" status on the South Korean charts. It was also featured in the pilot episode of the Freeform series, The Bold Type.

Background and composition

YG Entertainment announced the final lineup and name of the group on June 29, 2016, after multiple teasers. On August 6, the label announced the second of two title tracks, "Whistle", which was released digitally alongside "Boombayah" as the single album Square One on August 8.[4] The song was written by B.I., Teddy Park and Bekuh Boom, with production being handled by the latter two and Future Bounce.

Music video

The music video for "Whistle" was directed by Beomjin J of VM Project Architecture, and was released through Blackpink's official YouTube channel on August 8, 2016.[5][6] It surpassed nearly ten million views within five days.[7] A choreography practice video for "Whistle" was released on August 18, 2016.[8] As of June 2020, the video has surpassed 500 million views.[9]

Promotion

Blackpink began appearing on South Korea's televised music programs with the August 14, 2016 broadcast of Inkigayo, where they received their first trophy for "Whistle" a week later, becoming the fastest girl group to achieve this feat.[10]

Critical reception

Billboard K-Town's Jeff Benjamin opines that Blackpink "[embraces] the hip-hop sensibilities and club-ready sounds with which their seniors gained an international following", referring to their labelmates Psy, Big Bang, and 2NE1. He further stated that the song, "brings together impassioned crooning and their youthful hip-hop delivery with minimal drum 'n' bass and an undeniable whistle hook".[11] Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos placed Blackpink in her list of "10 New Artists You Need to Know: September 2016", saying: "[a]ll low-end boom and high-end tweets, the infectious "Whistle" feels like perfect pop update of the similarly chirpy Ying Yang Twins classic "Whistle While You Twurk."[12] Entertainment Weekly's Joey Nolfi said that the song "quickly turns up the heat, layering irresistible finger snaps, a saccharine bridge, electric guitar riffs, mammoth bass, and, of course, cow bell-accompanied whistles ... it wouldn't sound entirely out of place occupying a lofty position on American charts."[13]

Decade-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank / Year Ref.
Medium 25 Best K-Pop Song of the 2010s
6
[14]
Billboard The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s
26
[15]

Commercial performance

In South Korea, "Whistle" achieved the "perfect all-kill" status, a status in which a song is topping all charts, both daily and realtime in addition to topping the weekly Instiz iChart. This made Blackpink the first and to date the only group to achieve that status with their debut single. "Whistle" went on to top the Gaon Digital Chart on the chart issue dated August 7–13, 2016 with 150,747 downloads sold–topping the component Download Chart–and 4,302,547 streams.[16][17][18] As of November 2019, the song has over 2,500,000 digital downloads in South Korea.[19]

In the United States, "Whistle" entered at number 2 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. Both songs on the "Square One" single moved about 6,000 downloads each, with "Boombayah" selling slightly more.[20][1] In its second week on the chart, "Whistle" placed at number 3.[21]

Charts
Chart (2016–17) Peak
position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 24
Philippines (Philippine Hot 100)[23] 95
South Korea (Gaon Digital Chart)[16] 1
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[24] 2

Accolades
Awards
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2017 Gaon Chart Music Awards Song of the Year – August Won [25]

Music program awards
Program Date Ref.
Inkigayo (SBS) August 21, 2016 [26]
September 11, 2016 [27]
M Countdown (Mnet) September 8, 2016 [28]
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gollark: You are really supporting transgender people here.

References
  1. "Blackpink's Major Debut: New K-Pop Girl Group Lands No. 1 & 2 on World Digital Songs Chart". Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  2. "BLACKPINK – '휘파람'(WHISTLE) 0814 SBS Inkigayo". 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  3. "BLACKPINK – '붐바야(BOOMBAYAH)' 0814 SBS Inkigayo". 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  4. "Blackpink's Other Title Song is a Sexy Hypnotizing Song Titled "Whistle"". YG Life. August 6, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  5. "BLACKPINK – '휘파람'(WHISTLE) M/V". 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  6. "BLACKPINK – '붐바야'(BOOMBAYAH) M/V". 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  7. "BLACKPINK's View Count For "BOOMBAYAH" Soars Past 10 Million Views". Naver. August 12, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  8. "BLACKPINK – '휘파람(WHISTLE)' DANCE PRACTICE VIDEO". 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  9. "BLACKPINK's "Whistle" Becomes Their 6th MV To Surpass 500 Million Views". Soompi. 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  10. "VIDEO: Blackpink hits a new milestone with 1st 'Inkigayo' win". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  11. Benjamin, Jeff (August 16, 2016). "Blackpink's Major Debut: New K-Pop Girl Group Lands No. 1 & 2 on World Digital Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  12. Spanos, Brittany (September 14, 2016). "10 New Artists You Need to Know: September 2016 – Blackpink, Noname, Dua Lipa, Young M.A and more". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  13. Nolfi, Joey (September 28, 2016). "8 hot under-the-radar singles from emerging artists you need to hear now". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  14. "25 Best K-Pop Song of the 2010s". Medium. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  15. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  16. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  17. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  18. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  19. C., Daniel (November 26, 2019). "Gaon's 관찰노트" [Gaon's Observation Notes]. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  20. "World Digital Songs : Aug 27, 2016 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  21. "World Digital Songs : Sep 03, 2016 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  22. "Blackpink: Boombayah" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  23. "BillboardPH Hot 100". Billboard Philippines. September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  24. "Chart Search "Blackpink"". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  25. Yoon, Min-sik (February 24, 2017). "EXO, BlackPink, Twice win big at Gaon Awards". The Korea Herald. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  26. "데뷔 2주만에 '인기가요 1위' 차지한 블랙핑크 '휘파람' 영상". Insight (in Korean). August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  27. "'인기가요' 블랙핑크, '휘파람'으로 가요계 1위 점령…벌써 '굿바이 무대'". Asia E (in Korean). September 12, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  28. "'엠카운트다운' 블랙핑크, 방송 안 나와도 한동근 누르고 '1위'". Sedaily (in Korean). September 8, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
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