BLACKPINK’s ‘Ddu-du Ddu-du’ becomes 1st K-pop video to top 2.1 bln YouTube views

July 31, 2023

BLACKPINK’s megahit single “Ddu-du Ddu-du” has set a YouTube record for most views for a video by a K-pop group, the quartet’s agency said Monday.

YG Entertainment said the music video surpassed 2.1 billion views around 5 p.m. the previous day, about five years and one month after it was first released on June 15, 2018.

“Ddu-du Ddu-du,” the title track off the group’s 2018 EP “Square Up,” captivated audiences worldwide, setting a record as the most-watched K-pop music video on YouTube later that year. Its addictive chorus and dance moves resembling shooting a gun propelled its popularity.

This image, provided by YG Entertainment, shows BLACKPINK's megahit single "Ddu-du Ddu-du" surpassing 2.1 billion views on YouTube. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
This image, provided by YG Entertainment, shows BLACKPINK’s megahit single “Ddu-du Ddu-du” surpassing 2.1 billion views on YouTube. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The single peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, then the highest position by a K-pop girl group on the main singles chart.

The song has also garnered more than 600 million streams on Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform.