BLACKPINK released their third EP, titled “DEADLINE” on Feb. 27, featuring five songs with a dynamic mix of EDM, techno and synth pop with powerhouse vocal melodies and rap. Carrying on where the group left off back in 2022, the girls — Jisoo, JENNIE, Rosé and Lisa — delivered their usual bold, empowering confidence set in a surreal, futuristic aesthetic.

The EP opens with the first single, “JUMP,” which was released on July 11, 2025 alongside a music video, capturing the captivating influence of BLACKPINK’s “perfect synergy” despite years apart. The single was an immediate commercial success, becoming the third BLACKPINK song to debut at number one on the Billboard Global 200 and entering the top 10 in 23 countries. Additionally, “JUMP” was certified platinum in Canada, France and Australia and gold in the United States and New Zealand.

Notably, this hit single was released roughly seven months before the EP release. During this gap, BLACKPINK commenced their first worldwide, all-stadium tour. Besides “JUMP” and the girls’ solo songs, every song on the setlist was performed on their previous worldwide tour, “BORN PINK.”

Despite the similarities to the previous tour, the “DEADLINE” World Tour sold out almost immediately. But when the tour commenced on July 5, 2025, fans criticized the girls’ performances, discussing their lack of energy and synchronization. Still, many fans enjoyed the tour, which brought the BLACKPINK members back together to perform.

As K-pop is known for iconic and intense dance performances for their songs, “JUMP” naturally needed some choreography to match its dance-pop sound. Although not pictured in the single’s music video, the girls debuted the choreography at the first show on the DEADLINE Tour. This new, iconic choreography immediately sparked an online trend that encouraged fans to learn and post their performance of the dance.

Months later, on Jan. 14, BLACKPINK announced the “DEADLINE” mini album, releasing a set of concept photos for the EP two weeks later. BLACKPINK continued to promote the EP throughout February by releasing the track list and unveiling posters that showcased the various aesthetics that the physical albums would depict upon release.

Alongside the release of the EP on Feb. 27, BLACKPINK released the music video for its second single, “GO” — the first song written together by all four members. The single balanced softer, lyrical melodies, a confident rap and an intense beat drop into one powerful anthem.

Visually, the music video depicted the girls in a surreal, dreamlike setting with oceanic, ballet and space themes. Subverting their usual colorful aesthetic, much to some fans’ dismay, the color palette was dark, moody and in neutral tones such as beige, burgundy, gray, silver, white and black.

Despite the high production quality of the music video, the great beat and the vocals, fans expressed their disappointment that “GO” had an empty chorus just like “JUMP.” Commenters online criticized the choice to use heavy instrumentals instead of additional lyrics for the two singles.

The final three songs of the EP, “Me and my,” “Champion” and “Fxxxboy” brought even more stylistic diversity to the album.

“Me and my” draws on their iconic sound from previous albums — driving home the members’ “it girl” quality. While the lyrics in the chorus are repetitive, the verses include a variety of witty lines from the girls.

The most different from the other songs, “Champion” draws on ’80s new-wave synth-pop. Following suit with the previous tracks, the lyrics discuss the girls’ success but put it in a new light. Rather than boasting their charm and influence in the music industry, the song describes how they rise from failure and continue fighting — the girls all say, “I know I’m a champion.”

Taking a step back from the big sounds of the previous tracks, “Fxxxboy” has a softer, more emotional sound. In this acoustic guitar ballad, the girls sing about recovering from toxic exes by flipping the heartache back onto them.

Despite the fun and diverse songs in the EP, many fans were less than satisfied with “DEADLINE,” especially with it being the group’s first comeback since 2022. Many critics claimed that the songs felt like a collaboration between four independent artists rather than from a united group.

Fans were also outraged to discover that Jisoo was once again given the fewest lines across the EP. While “DEADLINE” runs nearly 15 minutes, estimates of Jisoo’s line distribution added up to only about one minute and 25 seconds. She was the only member to have fewer than 100 seconds of singing lines. Moreover, she had the least amount of screen time in the two music videos despite being the group’s visual.

Besides that, fans criticized the complete absence of Korean lyrics in all of “DEADLINE”’s songs besides “JUMP,” suggesting that the group was moving too far away from their background in K-pop.

Overall, the mini album was a hit to some and a disappointment to many others. However, because each member has a successful solo career, it is still a joy to see them working together again. Hopefully, fans will see them together again in the future.

Rating: 3/5