When it comes to Black Pink MVs, you know what you’re going to get: big sets, bright costumes, and endless glamour shots with little-to-no plot or nuance beyond pure hype. Judging by their viewership, it is a successful formula, and they have stuck to it religiously. That’s what makes “Jump,” a reunion single nearly three years in the making, a shock to the system.
As a song, “Jump” does stick closely to Black Pink’s signatures, featuring fairly shallow girl power lyrics, a strong beat, and simple but catchy melodies. Still, “Jump” avoids the complete nothing-burger impact of songs like “Pink Venom,” instead skewing closer to likeable earworms like “Shut Down” or “Lovesick Girls.” The track has the much-loathed empty chorus, but it is backed by delectable bass-boosted production and surrounded by strong vocals in the verses and pre-choruses. Also like “Shut Down,” there is an appealing cheeky quality, likely provided by the classical sample in “Shut Down” and a slight country twang in “Jump.” Black Pink feel playful in these tracks, almost winking at the absurdity of their ultra-fame.
It is this energy that “Jump” attempts to channel in its MV. Conceptually, there are some fun things happening. The MV opens on five individual billboards introducing each member and the MV’s director Dave Myers before we find Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo, and Jennie themselves, nearly camouflaged in front of a group billboard. The first verse then sees the girls celebrated by an unhinged crowd. The sequence slips into uncanny territory as the members find themselves dancing in the crowd’s mouths, between their heads, and even in their ear canals.
The unabashed weirdness of some of these visuals may be off-putting to some (especially given Black Pink’s aforementioned penchant for safe, pretty visuals), but it is also kind of cool. Fame is strange and maybe even scary, “Jump” says. Perhaps all of Black Pink’s bluster is just how a human survives the clawing demands of being a global commodity. It is hardly a revolutionary message, but for a group that have largely avoided messages at all, it is a refreshing heel turn.
Alas, “Jump” has an Achilles heel that undercuts all of its intriguing creativity: poor execution. From the jump (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist), the MV is dogged by questionable camerawork and wildly unpolished CGI. There has also been widespread online speculation that the MV is rife with AI-generated elements. What is certain is that things look very, very sloppy throughout.
A strong example are the two chorus dance sequences, which see Black Pink surrounded by dozens of backup dancers, head-banging and gyrating to the booming beat. Again, this is conceptually a pretty solid idea. There is something cool but slightly alarming about the imagery, and the second chorus sequence that sees Black Pink standing nonchalantly amidst the dancing chaos has enormous potential. However, the dance sequences are all marred by choppy editing and a certain artificiality likely caused by an overly liberal use of green screens and CGI backgrounds. Movement-heavy sequences in general are a mess: a handful of scenes that see Black Pink high-speed running or flying are downright laughable.
For a group that should have no issue with resources, it is a massive shame to see one of their first creative MV swings brought low by poor production, especially since their past formulaic MVs never lacked when it came to budget. The optimistic view could be that “Jump” is at least the start of a welcome creative shift that can be better supported in future comebacks… though an intriguing but ultimately bad MV is a very slim hook to hang hopes on for however many years it will take for Black Pink to return once more.
English (US) · 