One of the most anticipated comebacks of the year has to be BLACKPINK’s album release, their first full-group album since 2022’s BORN PINK. Today, they dropped their 3rd mini-album, DEADLINE, and their new title track, GO. Also featured on the mini-album is last year’s JUMP.

To me, GO feels a lot more abstract than their past releases. The first thing that jumped right out at me was the classier and more elegant vibes that GO exuded, which isn’t something I have felt in a BLACKPINK song before. The vocals in the opening verse, courtesy of all the members, felt euphoric. The pre-chorus does lean into shouty territory, but it didn’t bother me. The synths in the background suspensefully built up to the chorus. This results in the drop in the first chorus is quite punchy and powerful, and I quite enjoyed the grittiness of the EDM here. From there, we get an awesome rap verse from LISA and JENNIE (loving the piano in the background). But then GO does something boring – it repeats the same pre-chorus and chorus from earlier. While I did praise it at its first pass, it just doesn’t have the same impact and effect mentioned earlier. Luckily, the bridge doesn’t repeat earlier material, opting instead for vocals that feel reminiscent of ROSE’s solo work. Though the bridge does repeat the unnecessary “BLACKPINK’ll make ya” for some reason. For the final chorus, the same chorus returns, but with an additional “BLACKPINK” chant by the members. I didn’t mind the additional inclusion. The only other thing to point out is that throughout the song, GO lacks a strong melody or hook to remember it by, which does dampen its appeal.

Leave it to BLACKPINK and YG Entertainment to come together to create an amazing and stunning music video. The whole 3:21-minute video was a whole visual experience, with really aesthetic visual effects and transitions. The members look beautiful throughout. I presume the futuristic rowing concept is to reflect the idea that unity and courage keep BLACKPINK constantly moving.

I am unsure if we will get a performance for GO. The music video offers no hints of choreography, and I have yet to see anything that appears to feature choreography (e.g., shorts, performance videos, etc.). For the time being, I will not consider the performance aspect in the overall rating, but will return if something does pop up.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10