Lady Gaga on Thursday treated fans to a surprise-drop of “Sour Candy,” her collaboration with K-pop superstars Blackpink.
This is the third release from Gaga’s forthcoming sixth studio album, Chromatica, following “Rain on Me,” her duet with Ariana Grande, and first single “Stupid Love.” “Sour Candy” also marks Blackpink’s first new music since 2019’s Kill This Love EP.
The song features production from Gaga’s frequent collaborator BloodPop and BURNS (Britney Spears, Ellie Goulding). Gaga, Madison Emiko Love, Rami Yacoub and Korean rapper Teddy Park served as writers on the bilingual dance-pop track.
The promotional single opens with Blackpink’s members volleying verses with sassy lyrics over an enticing house beat. “I’m sour candy, so sweet, then I get a little angry,” Jennie sings, while Lisa offers, “I’m super psycho, make you crazy when you turn the lights low.”
Elsewhere, the quartet sings in Korean before Gaga comes in on the chorus. “I’m hard on the outside, but if you give me time, then I could make time for your love,” the Grammy winner croons on the club-ready confection, showing off her signature vocals. “I’m hard on the outside, but if you see inside.”
Later, she speak-raps this assertive message: “I might be messed up, but I know what’s up. You want a real taste? At least I’m not a fake. Come unwrap me.”
Of working with Gaga, Blackpink’s Rosé wrote on Instagram, “Thank you for having us be a part of this, Gaga! We love you so so much.”
This isn’t the first time Blackpink has teamed up with a mainstream pop artist. In 2018, Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo released “Kiss and Make Up” with Dua Lipa, which broke through on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 93, and reached No. 36 on the U.K. Singles chart.
Blackpink has achieved unprecedented commercial success not only overseas but also stateside. They made history in April 2019 as the first K-pop girl group to play Coachella — considered in the industry to be Blackpink’s first significant step in conquering America after signing with Interscope Records and the larger Universal Music Group for representation outside of Asia in 2018. The group’s abridged festival concerts served as a warmup for the North American leg of their In Your Area World Tour, which featured dates at Los Angeles’ The Forum and other well-known U.S. venues.
Blackpink currently holds the record as the highest-charting female K-pop act on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 41 with their 2019 single “Kill This Love.” Earlier this month, the group’s Korean label YG Entertainment revealed plans for a full-length album to be released in September.
In addition to Blackpink and Grande, Gaga’s Chromatica contains a collaboration with Elton John titled “Sine From Above.” The album is out on Friday.
Listen to “Sour Candy” below.
