BLACKPINK invites guest star, goes retro in 2nd pre-release single ‘Ice Cream’

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK is gearing up to drop its second song of this summer, “Ice Cream,” having invited a special guest artist for the track and adopted a new visual style that represents a sharp departure from its previous hit “How You Like That.”

The K-pop quartet plans to release “Ice Cream,” the second pre-release single from its ambitious inaugural studio album announced for this fall, at 1 p.m. Friday. The first pre-release single “How You Like That” was dropped in late June, drawing great anticipation among global fans of K-pop.

YG Entertainment, the band’s label-management agency, has been busy building up buzz for “Ice Cream” since early to mid-August. The biggest draw of the upcoming single album is its featured guest artist: American pop singer Selena Gomez.

This image provided by YG Entertainment shows the album cover art for BLACKPINK’s upcoming single “Ice Cream” featuring American pop star Selena Gomez. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

BLACKPINK singer Rose thanked Gomez for taking up the offer, describing the band as having been a “big fan of (Gomez) for a long time.”

The 27-second-long video also showcases short instrumentation of “Ice Cream,” offering a preview of its bright tone and rhythmic beat.

On her social media, Gomez posted a close-up photo of a van license plate that reads “Selpink,” which is a portmanteau of her name and that of BLACKPINK, presumably a prop from the music video for “Ice Cream.”

The upcoming song marks BLACKPINK’s third international collaboration. The K-pop act was featured in Dua Lipa’s “Kiss and Make Up” released in 2018 and Lady Gaga’s “Sour Candy” put out in May of this year.

According to currently available teaser materials, BLACKPINK has adopted a brighter and ’70s retro-themed visual direction in “Ice Cream.” In the previous song “How You Like That,” the band dabbled in a darker and edgier tone both visually and musically.

Individual teaser images for “Ice Cream” released successively showcase the members — Jennie, Jisoo, Rose and Lisa — adorned in colorful, ’70s-themed retro outfits.

According to YG, “Ice Cream” is a “very refreshing song that will go well with the sweltering hot summer.”

“In contrast with the group’s previous heroine-like image based on its hip-hop music, BLACKPINK will appeal to fans with a more refreshing and lovely charm with ‘Ice Cream,’” the company said.

BLACKPINK’s two pre-release singles are part of a three-tier rollout scheme of the band’s first-ever full-length studio album announced for October. Hence hopes and expectations remain high for “Ice Cream,” especially following the huge global success achieved by “How You Like That.”

“How You Like That” garnered an enormous international following upon its release, setting five new Guinness World Record titles with the song’s music video on YouTube and landing at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

The song also peaked at No. 2 on Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart, for a while becoming the highest-charting K-pop track on the international streaming service. BTS’ “Dynamite” last week broke the record, debuting at the top spot on the chart.

Upon release, “How You Like That” also took the No. 1 spot on iTunes charts in 60 countries and regions.

One of the biggest K-pop girl groups today, BLACKPINK of YG Entertainment landed a successful debut in 2016, storming multiple music charts back to back with its edgy hip-hop tracks “Whistle” and “Boombayah.” Other hits include “Playing With Fire” and “Kill This Love.”