Flower (Jisoo song)

Following the release of bandmates Jennie's solo single "Solo" (2018), Rosé's solo single album R (2021), and Lisa's solo single album Lalisa (2021), attention turned towards Jisoo as the final member of Blackpink to debut as a soloist. On January 2, 2023, YG Entertainment confirmed that Jisoo was in the process of recording music for her single album and had completed filming the album's jacket photo shoots.^[1][2] On February 21, her label revealed that filming for her music video was underway in a top-secret location overseas, with the highest production budget they had ever invested into a Blackpink music video.^[3] On March 5, YG Entertainment, dropped a poster confirming that Jisoo's solo would be released on March 31, 2023.^[4] On March 19, the album's lead single was confirmed to be "Flower" with a teaser poster including the title written in hangul in the shape of a flower.^[5] On March 28, the music video teaser for "Flower" was released.^[6] "Flower" was released alongside its B side "All Eyes on Me" for streaming as the lead single from Me on March 31, 2023, by YG Entertainment.^[7][8][9]

"Flower" was written by Vince, Teddy, Kush, and VVN, with composition from the latter two alongside 24, who also handled the production.^[10] Musically, it is a mid-tempo pop, dance, and trap song that incorporates traditional Korean melodies, indie, and Caribbean elements.^{[11][9][12][13]} It is characterized by a "distinctive" bass sound, minimal arrangement, poetic lyrics, and "Jisoo's unique vocals".^[14] The lyrics talk about overcoming a toxic relationship,^[11] "leaving behind nothing but the whiff of flora".^[12] The word "Flower" was used as a metaphor to describe the singer's heartbreak, with the line, "Nothing is left but the scent of flower". Eventually the "flowers come to their own and bloom" as the protagonists leave the toxic relationship and come to her own self, with the line, "Spring comes and we say bye bye bye."^[15] In terms of musical notation, the song was written in the key of A minor and has a tempo of 124 beats per minute.^[16]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Harvard Crimson	[13]
IZM	[17]

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Rhian Daly, writing for NME, praised the poetic lyricism as well as the fresh production of "Flower", naming it one of the best K-pop songs of the year. Daly noted that the song successfully managed "to mix elegance with inventiveness and elements of modern production with more traditional sounding sonics".^[18] For Rolling Stone, Tim Chan commended the song's "finger-snapping production" as well as Jisoo's confident vocal delivery, which he felt managed to make the lyrics feel personal as well as keep the listener's attention.^[19] Samantha H. Chung for The Harvard Crimson labeled "Flower" a "classy, laid-back debut", with appreciation for the verses's "sophisticated, mature groove that creates an almost indie sound" and the song's "compelling hook".^[13] Chung found that the song was well-fitting for Jisoo and praised her "understated charisma" for carrying the track, although she criticized its "meandering cadence".^[13] Writing for The Straits Times, Jan Lee praised the song as "pretty and elegant", though she felt it "would have benefited from a more memorable hook."^[20] Rolling Stone ranked "Flower" number 67 in their list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2023", calling it a "sophisticated track with a staccato, Latin-tinged melody and Caribbean-inspired percussion" that "feels instantly familiar yet unlike anything else on the radio".^[21] Grammy included it in their list of the "15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm", calling it "elegant and delicate", highlighting the song's overall production, and Jisoo's solo potential.^[22]

"Flower" won nine first place trophies on music programs in South Korea, including two Triple Crowns at Inkigayo and Show Champion. It also won Song of the Year at the Asian Pop Music Awards and received three nominations for the same category at the MAMA Awards, Melon Music Awards, and Golden Disc Awards respectively.

"Flower" debuted at number two on the Billboard Global 200 with 108.7 million streams and 21,000 downloads sold worldwide, marking Jisoo's first solo entry and top-ten song on the chart. It earned the third-biggest streaming start for an artist’s debut track, behind bandmate Lisa's "Lalisa" (2021) and Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" (2021). The song also debuted at number two on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. with 103.3 million streams and 16,000 downloads sold outside the U.S., marking Jisoo's first top-ten song on the latter chart as well.^[43] "Flower" surpassed 100 million streams on music streaming platform Spotify in just 32 days after its release, breaking the record held by Lisa for the fastest song by a female K-pop soloist to do so.^[44] In April 2024, it hit 400 million streams within 354 days of its release, setting a record as the most streamed song among Korean female solo singers on the platform.^[45] The song surpassed 1 million listeners on Shazam in March 2024, making it the most popular song by a Korean solo female singer in the past decade on the platform.^[46]

In South Korea, "Flower" debuted at number 33 on the 13th issued week (March 26–April 1, 2023) of the Circle Digital Chart, with less than two days of tracking.^[47] The following week, it rose to a peak at number two for the period dated April 2–8.^[48] On the Billboard South Korea Songs chart, it debuted at number one for the period dated April 15–21.^[49] The song also broke records on the South Korean music platform Genie, becoming the most streamed female solo debut song with 28.34 million streams by March 2024.^[50] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the first top-40 hit by a K-pop female soloist and breaking the record held by Rosé's "On the Ground" (2021) as the highest-charting song by a K-pop female soloist at the time.^[51][52] The song debuted at number 40 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number 33 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, making Jisoo the third Blackpink member to enter the top-50 on the latter.^[53][54] In the United States, "Flower" did not debut on the Billboard Hot 100, but entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number four.^[55] It peaked at number ten on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart and number two on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart with 6,000 downloads sold.^[56] In Canada, "Flower" debuted at number 30 on the Canadian Hot 100 and surpassed "On the Ground" as the highest-charting song by a K-pop solo female artist in the country at the time.^[57]

On April 8, 2023, Jisoo performed "Flower" for the first time live during Blackpink's concert at the Tokyo Dome as part of the Born Pink World Tour.^[66] She performed the single on SBS's Inkigayo on April 9, where she showcased a "strong presence with red and black accents", notably featuring a red flower hanging from her hand.^[67] Jisoo performed the song again on the same show on April 16, 2023.^[68] "Flower" was also performed by Jisoo during Blackpink's set as the headlining act of Coachella in Indio, California on April 15, 2023.^[69] On July 2, she performed the song during Blackpink's set as the headlining act of BST Hyde Park in London.^[70]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Me.^[71]

Recording

• Recorded at The Black Label Studio (Seoul)
• Mixed at Gudwin Music Group Inc and The Lab (Los Angeles)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel