"Pretty Savage" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Blackpink Blackpink (, stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie (singer), Jennie, Rosé (singer), Rosé, and Lisa (rapper), Lisa. Regarded by ...

from their debut Korean studio album ''

The Album The Album may refer to: * '' ABBA: The Album'', released in 1977 * ''The Album'' (Caravan album), 1980 * ''The Album'' (Mantronix album), 1985 * ''The Album'' (Cliff Richard album), 1993 * ''The Album'' (Haddaway album), 1993 * ''The Album'' ( ...

''. It was released on October 2, 2020, through YG and

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. The track was composed by

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore or Theodora. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), American boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olym ...

R.Tee Kim Jung-gu (, born March 6, 1990), known professionally as R.Tee (), is a South Korean record producer, songwriter, and DJ signed with The Black Label. He has produced songs for artists including Big Bang, Blackpink, iKon, and Winner. Early l ...

, 24,

Bekuh Boom Rebecca Rose Johnson, professionally known as Bekuh Boom (stylized as Bekuh BOOM) is an American singer and songwriter. Johnson signed her first publishing deal to Warner Chappell Music at the age of 18. She featured on two co-written singles: " ...

, with lyrics written by Teddy, Løren, Vince, and Danny Chung. Lyrically, the song deals with the group not caring about the opinion of others. The song was performed with "

Lovesick Girls "Lovesick Girls" is a song by South Korean girl group Blackpink, recorded for their debut studio album, '' The Album'' (2020). It was released on October 2, 2020, through YG Entertainment and Interscope Records, as the third single from the album ...

" on several music programs in South Korea including ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'' and ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'' and also at ''The Late Late Show With James Corden'' as a preview performance for their headlining livestream concert,

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...

. "Pretty Savage" peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and was a top-ten hit in Malaysia and Singapore. It also debuted in the national charts of several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea. In the United States, the song debuted at number two on the

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chart and number 21 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. The song has since been certified

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by the

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Background and promotion

"Pretty Savage" was confirmed with the album's tracklist on September 28, 2020. "Pretty Savage" was performed with "Lovesick Girls" on music and variety shows with in October following the release of the album. On October 10, the group made the debut performance of the song at MBC's ''

''. The next day Blackpink performed the song on ''

''. Blackpink also did an interview with

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...

on The Late Late Show With James Corden as part of the group's US promotion for their virtual concert "The Show" and then performed the track as a preview for the said concert. The Japanese version of the track was released as part of ''The Album -JP Ver.-'' which was made available on August 3, 2021.

Composition

"Pretty Savage" was written by

, Danny Chung, Løren and Vince, with production being handled by Teddy alongside 24,

R. Tee Kim Jung-gu (, born March 6, 1990), known professionally as R.Tee (), is a South Korean record producer, songwriter, and DJ signed with The Black Label. He has produced songs for artists including Big Bang, Blackpink, iKon, and Winner. Early li ...

and

. The song runs for a duration of three minutes and nineteen seconds. "Pretty Savage" is a trap song with "haunted vocals and a skittish, staccato-style beat", those lyrics are a "collective middle finger to the haters". The song is about how the group's success comes by being different from everyone else.

Critical reception

The song was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', Jason Lipshutz ranked "Pretty Savage" as the best song on the album, calling it "hypnotic during its ferocious high points" and one of the best Blackpink songs. Callie Ahlgrim from ''

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'' called "Pretty Savage" a "straight shot of adrenaline" and noted that the lyrics "Yeah, we some bitches you can't manage" are an "ace-in-the-hole". Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Tim Chan labelled it as the "sassiest kiss-off track since"

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

's "

Thank U, Next ''Thank U, Next'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on February 8, 2019, by Republic Records, six months after her fourth studio album ''Sweetener'' (2018), which was conceived in the midst of Grande' ...

". In a more negative review, Mikael Wood for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described the song, alongside "

How You Like That "How You Like That" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on June 26, 2020, through YG Entertainment, YG Plus and Interscope Records, as the first pre-release Single (music), single from the group's debut studio ...

", as "two vaguely phrased declarations of fierce self-determination".

Usage in media

"Pretty Savage" was featured in the 2021

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film '' To All the Boys: Always and Forever''. South Korean boy band

iKon iKon (; stylized as iKON) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The lineup consists of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, B.I departed from the group in June 2019. ...

performed a remake of the song entitled "Classy Savage" with a guest appearance by

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

in the 2021 Mnet competition show '' Kingdom: Legendary War''. "Pretty Savage" is featured in the soundtrack of the 2021 Brazilian

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

Quanto Mais Vida, Melhor! ''Quanto Mais Vida, Melhor!'' (English title: ''A Life to Die For'') is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo. It aired from 22 November 2021 to 27 May 2022. The telenovela is written by Mauro Wilson, with the collaboration of ...

'', which was broadcast beginning in November 2021.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''The Album'' and ''The Album – JP Ver.'' Recording * Recorded at

The Black Label The Black Label Inc. (; stylized in all caps or THEBLΛƆKLΛBEL) is a South Korean record label and an associate company of YG Entertainment. It was founded in 2015 by YG producer Teddy Park and Kush. History On September 22, 2015, YG Enterta ...

Studio (

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

) * Mixed at The Lab (

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) and MixStar Studios (

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) * Mastered at Sterling Sound (

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) Personnel *

– vocals *

– lyricist, composer, arranger * Løren – lyricist * Vince – lyricist * Danny Chung – lyricist * FanFan – lyricist *

– composer, arranger * 24 – composer, arranger * Yong In Choi –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

* Jason Robert –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing engineer *

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including Blink-182, DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse ...

–

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications

References

{{Blackpink Blackpink songs 2020 songs Songs written by Teddy Park Song recordings produced by Teddy Park Trap music songs