| "You Never Know" | |
|---|---|
| Song byBlackpink | |
| from the albumThe Album | |
| Language |
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| Released | October 2, 2020 (2020-10-02) |
| Studio | The Black Label (Seoul) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:49 |
| Label | |
| Composers | |
| Lyricists |
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| Audio video | |
| "You Never Know" onYouTube | |
"You Never Know" is a song recorded by South Korean girl groupBlackpink from their debut studio albumThe Album. It was released on October 2, 2020, throughYG andInterscope. The track's lyrics were written byLøren andBekuh Boom, with composition handled by 24 and Boom. "You Never Know" is apopballad that features the group's stripped vocals, minimalist arrangement and instrumentation provided by apiano and orchestralviolin. Lyrically, the song deals with being judged by others.
"You Never Know" peaked at number 64 on theBillboard Global 200, number four on the USWorld Digital Song Sales chart, and was a top-ten hit in Malaysia and Singapore. The song was certifiedgold byPro-Música Brasil.
On July 28, 2020 the group revealed that their debut record would be titledThe Album and that it would be released on October 2, 2020.[1] "You Never Know" was announced as the eight track ofThe Album on September 28, 2020, through the group's official social media accounts.[2] On January 31, 2021 the group performed the song alongside "Love to Hate Me" at their first virtual concert,The Show.[3] A Japanese version of the track was released on August 3, 2021.[4]
The lyrics of the song were written byBekuh Boom andLøren. During an interview withNME, Løren described working with Blackpink as a "particularly special moment". He wrote the lyrics of the song based on the group's "experiences and struggles about being in the public eye". The writer revealed that he would sit down with them and listen to their "personal thoughts". He furthermore explained: "it was great taking something that isn’t as personal to me and then using it to make music, because my creations are usually very personal. It was almost like working with a different kind of material".[5] The final version of "You Never Know" was recorded by Blackpink atThe Black Label in Seoul, South Korea.[6][7]
"You Never Know" is a "heartfelt"popballad with minimalist arrangement and its instrumentation being provided by apiano and orchestralviolin.[8][9][10][11] It features the group's "stripped vocals" and "a sense of triumph".[8][11] Thematically, the track is about patience and empathy.[12] The song's "sensitive" lyrics deal with sadness and inadequacy alongside being judged by others.[9] Its chorus talk about "the danger of only knowing second-hand information": "But you’ll never know unless you walk in my shoes/ Cause everybody sees what they wanna see/ It’s easier to judge me than to believe".[9] The song is composed in thekey ofF major, with a fasttempo of 144 beats per minute, and runs for 3 minutes and 49 seconds.[13]
The song was met with favorable reviews from critics. Writing forBillboard, Jason Lipshutz ranked "You Never Know" as the third best song on the album, calling it a "heartfelt balladry".[12] Writing for theYoung Post, Candace Kwan noted that the song's production allows "the girls’ vocals to shine".[10] Sophia Ordaz ofSlant Magazine stated that the track "sees Rosé, Jisoo, Lisa, and Jennie grappling with feelings of sadness and inadequacy".[14] Hunter Church ofThe Young Folks named the track an "effective emotional closer" and "very unique in the context of the entire project" as it "manages to slow the pace down in preparation for the end of the record".[15]
Callie Ahlgrim fromInsider called the song an "underwhelming farewell". Writing for the same article, Palmer Haasch noted that the song shows "the members' individual vocal colors". Inyoung Choi deemed the track a good album closer after "an album that gives off so much energy".[16] Raul Stanciu described "You Never Know" as an "obligatory ballad that doesn’t do much to lift the record in any way".[17]
Credits adapted from theliner notes ofThe Album andThe Album – JP Ver.[6][7]
Recording
Personnel
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Global 200 (Billboard)[18] | 64 |
| Hong Kong (HKRIA)[19] | 22 |
| Malaysia (RIM)[20] | 5 |
| Portugal (AFP)[21] | 111 |
| Singapore (RIAS)[22] | 7 |
| South Korea (Circle)[23] | 101 |
| South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[24] | 51 |
| USWorld Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] | 4 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[26] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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