"How You Like That" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on June 26, 2020, through YG Entertainment, YG Plus and Interscope Records, as the first pre-release single from the group's debut studio album, The Album (2020). The Japanese version of the single was released through Interscope Records and Universal Music Japan on July 27, 2021. An EDM, hip hop, trap, club and pop song, it was composed and produced by Teddy, R.Tee, and 24, while Teddy co-wrote the lyrics with Danny Chung.
"How You Like That" was a commercial success in South Korea and peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for three weeks, marking Blackpink's third number-one single in the country. It peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Blackpink's second top-40 hit and tying as the highest-charting song by a female K-pop act in the country. The song also topped the national charts in Hungary, Singapore, and Malaysia as well as Billboard's K-pop Hot 100 and World Digital Songs charts, and figured within the record charts in 26 other countries. The song was certified diamond in Brazil, double platinum in Canada, platinum in South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and silver in the United Kingdom, while the physical version was also certified platinum in South Korea for surpassing 250,000 units sold.
The music video for the song, directed by Seo Hyun-seung, set various records on YouTube upon its release. It garnered the highest number of views during a premiere, the most views for a music video within 24 hours—with 86.3 million views—and became the fastest video to reach 100 million and 200 million views on the platform. It also became one of the most-liked videos on YouTube with over 25 million likes. Both the song's music video and dance performance video achieved one billion views on YouTube, and it became the first song by a K-pop girl group to reach one billion streams on Spotify. "How You Like That" won numerous accolades, including Song of Summer at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Dance Award for a female group at both the 2020 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards.
Background and release
On May 4, 2020, it was reported that the group had finished recording their new album and were working on a schedule to shoot a music video later that month.[1] On May 18, YG Entertainment shared an update on the project, projected for a June 2020 release, and revealed that more than ten songs were expected for their first full-length album.[2] On June 10, YG Entertainment released the teaser poster to the single on social media and confirmed the comeback date to be June 26.[3] Three days later, YG Entertainment released a prologue of the group's newest reality show, 24/365 with Blackpink, ahead of its launch on July 4,[4] via YouTube. The show documents their comeback alongside sharing their lives through vlogs.[5] According to member Jisoo in the prologue of 24/365 with Blackpink, the song represented a move from previous "powerful" music, describing it as more "swag".[6]
On June 15, YG Entertainment released individual posters of the members.[7] The teaser video was released on June 21,[8] while the official group teaser poster was revealed the following day.[9] The music video teaser was released on June 24, and the song officially premiered on June 26, 2020, after an hour-long live countdown.[10] A physical version of the single was released on July 17, 2020, featuring the song and its instrumental.[11]
"How You Like That" was composed and produced by Teddy, R.Tee, and 24, while its lyrics were penned by Teddy and Danny Chung. Musically, "How You Like That" is an EDM,[12][13]hip hop,[14]trap, club[15] and pop song[16] about "not being daunted by dark situations and to not lose the confidence and strength to stand up again".[17] A "thrillingly bombastic lead single", Billboard wrote, the track "fuses pop, trap and hip-hop with regal horn blasts and a braggadocious hook."[18]
Critical reception
"How You Like That" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Consequence of Sound ranked the song as the 27th best track of the year, noting that the members deliver a positive message of resilience over a "slamming, hip-hop-oriented track with plenty of explosive drops."[19] The Los Angeles Times featured the song in their list of the top 50 songs of 2020, asserting that the "squelchy, gum-smacking and titanically fun comeback" should establish them as pop icons in the U.S. in the foreseeable future.[20]Billboard magazine placed the song at number 23 on their list of the 100 Best Songs of 2020, praising its musical arrangement and the group's dynamic energy, and felt that the "fireworks show of a coda" was "the most thrilling 30 seconds of pop all year."[21] Crystal Bell of Paper magazine initially criticized the song for its formulaic structure, but countered that by emphasizing its addictive quality and described the song as "gloriously big", feeling that it had significantly more cultural impact than the group's other singles released that year.[22]
"How You Like That" received 13 first place awards on South Korean music programs, while its music video achieved five Guinness World Records. It additionally received three consecutive weekly Melon Popularity Awards in July 2020.[25]
In South Korea, the song debuted at number 12 on the Gaon Digital Chart issue dated June 21–27 with less than two days of tracking.[55] The following week (June 28 – July 4) it rose to number one, making it Blackpink's third single to do so, after "Whistle" (2016) and "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" (2018).[56] It remained atop the chart for three weeks and became the first song by the group since "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" to top the Gaon Monthly chart.[57] The physical version of the single debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart, and peaked at number one the following week.[58] It sold 302,377 copies in 2020 and was certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association.[59] The song entered the BillboardK-pop Hot 100 chart issue dated June 27 at number 50, and reached number one the following week on the issue dated July 4.[60][61] In Japan, the single debuted at number 24 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart with 8,219 downloads sold and 1,804,749 streams in its first three days.[62][63][64] It debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 with 3,952 estimated units, and peaked at number eight the following week with 6,321 estimated units.[65][66] The song peaked at number one in Malaysia and Singapore for eight weeks each, and was the highest-selling song of 2020 in Malaysia.[67]
In the United States, "How You Like That" debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with "Sour Candy" as the highest-charting song by a female Korean act at that time.[68] It debuted at number two on the Digital Song Sales chart with 16,400 copies sold and at number 18 on the Streaming Songs chart.[69][70] The song also reached the top twenty in Australia, Canada, Estonia, Hungary, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Scotland. The track reached 38.9 million streams in the UK as of September 2022, becoming the group's third most streamed song in the country.[71] Globally, "How You Like That" debuted at number five and peaked at number two on the daily Spotify Global Chart, breaking the record for the biggest girl group debut in Spotify history.[72] Following the chart's launch in September, "How You Like That" charted on the Billboard Global 200 for 34 weeks, becoming the third longest-charting song by a K-pop act as well as the longest-charting song among all female K-pop acts.[73] In 2021, the song became the first by a female Korean group to surpass 500 million streams on Spotify.[74] In 2024, "How You Like That" reached one billion streams on Spotify, marking the first-ever K-pop girl group to reach the milestone and only the second K-pop female act after member Lisa's song "Money" did so in 2023.[75][76]
Music video
Background and synopsis
A scene in the music video where Blackpink is surrounded by dancers and statues of horses in a grand domed hall.
The music video for "How You Like That" is directed by Seo Hyun-seung,[77] who previously directed "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" and "Kill This Love". It was the most streamed music video premiere on YouTube at the time with 1.66 million concurrent viewers,[17] and the most viewed music video in its first 24 hours at the time with 86.3 million views.[78] It became the fastest video in the platform's history to hit 100 million views, doing so in 32 hours, and 200 million views, doing so in seven days.[79][80] On November 12, 2021, the music video accumulated one billion views, becoming Blackpink's fifth music video and the fastest music video by a Korean female act to do so.[81]
In the beginning scene of the music video, all four sit like queens atop steps. The members are depicted dancing in several locations, including a jungle, a trapezoidal hall, and the Arctic, all while rocking a parade of high-fashion looks. At the end, they are united in a dance break in a grand domed hall where the quartet are surrounded by back-up dancers.[82] The colorful music video shows Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo delivering both a message of resilience and a blistering kiss-off to an unseen foe.
Controversy sparked on social media after the official music video's release due to the inclusion of a statue of the Hindu godGanesha in a solo scene with band member Lisa. The statue was used as a prop and placed on the floor next to a bejewelled Aladdin lamp, causing an outcry from fans who labelled the placement as "inappropriate" and "disrespectful", and the statue's usage as "cultural appropriation".[83] The statue was subsequently edited out of the video.[83]
Dance performance video
A dance performance video was additionally released on July 6, 2020; the video features the four members doing the full choreography in matching black athleisure in front of a hot pink background.[80] In the climax, the girls are joined by eight back-up dancers for a high-energy, synchronized finale.[84] In January 2021, it became the first K-pop dance performance video to reach 500 million views on YouTube.[85] On February 7, 2022, it became the first K-pop dance performance video and Blackpink's sixth video to achieve one billion views. It also marked the first time that both the music video and the dance performance video for the same song reached one billion views each.[86] The video was named the 20th best music video of 2020 by Billboard and was praised as being "endlessly watchable".[23]
Covers and other usage
In October 2020, the song was performed by Everglow during the second season of KCON:TACT’s live online concert.[87] In December 2022, Nmixx performed a cover of the song at the 2022 SBS Gayo Daejeon.[88] The song made an appearance in the 10th episode of the first season of the Disney+ series Big Shot titled Marvyn's Playbook, which was broadcast on June 18, 2021.[89] It was also used in the initial trailer of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania during an interview with directors Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska.[90] In 2023, "How You Like That" was featured in a commercial for the Google Pixel 8 smartphone[91] and was added to the main tracklist of the video game Just Dance 2024 Edition.[92]
Track listing
Digital download and streaming
1. "How You Like That" – 3:01
CD single
1. "How You Like That" – 3:01
2. "How You Like That" (instrumental) – 3:01
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single and The Album – JP Ver.[93][94]
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