K-pop group BLACKPINK were chosen to launch RELEASED, a new weekly music series from YouTube Originals that follows artists in the hours before they put out new music.
YouTube announced the show on 30 September 2020, with the first episode set to premiere the next day, on Thursday 1 October, just before the release of BLACKPINK’s first full-length studio record, THE ALBUM, on 2 October.
How the show works
RELEASED was planned as a run of 16 weekly episodes, streaming on Thursday nights in the US, each built around a new single, album or music video arriving on the platform. The format mixed behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and live moments as the release went out to fans.
The series was hosted by Washington DC radio personality and DJ Little Bacon Bear. It was produced by Den of Thieves, with former MTV executive Van Toffler, chief executive of Gunpowder & Sky, among the executive producers. YouTube said the show was meant to celebrate the way fans now discover and share new music on its service, and that further artists would be announced week by week.
A big week for BLACKPINK
Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa said they were honoured to open the series and saw it as a way to celebrate their first full album with fans around the world.
THE ALBUM brought together the singles How You Like That and Ice Cream, recorded with Selena Gomez, as well as the new track Lovesick Girls. YouTube had been central to the group’s rise: their videos regularly broke viewing records on the platform, and How You Like That had set a record for the biggest YouTube premiere when it came out in June 2020.
Two weeks later, on 14 October 2020, Netflix released the documentary BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky, which followed the four members on and off stage.
Sources: YouTube Originals announcement (30 September 2020), statements by YouTube and YG Entertainment, release details of BLACKPINK's THE ALBUM (2 October 2020).