BLACKPINK and Dua Lipa’s “Kiss and Make Up” Still Splits the Room for a Reason

A collaboration that changes the temperature

BLACKPINK teaming up with Dua Lipa on “Kiss and Make Up” is the kind of pairing that should instantly raise the stakes. Two huge pop names, one track, and all the pressure that comes with blending distinct styles into something that feels seamless.

That’s exactly why the reaction feels interesting: the collaboration is acknowledged as a major part of what the song is. It doesn’t come across like a throwaway feature. It feels like a record shaped by the fact that both artists are in the room, which naturally affects how the song lands.

The song works, but it doesn’t hit the top tier

The response to the track is not hostile at all. It’s more measured than that. The song is basically treated as solid, but not the standout when compared with other BLACKPINK songs that have already come up in the channel’s rotation.

That kind of reaction makes sense with a collaboration like this. A featured artist can bring extra polish and appeal, but it can also shift the energy in a way that makes the track feel different from what listeners may expect from the main act alone. Here, the result seems to be a song that’s liked, but not loved in the same way as some of the group’s stronger material.

Why the video feels dated

The visual side gets a sharper reaction than the song itself. The video is described as having a dated look, with heavy green-screen use that makes it feel closer to an earlier era of pop visuals than something from 2018.

That matters because music videos often age in strange ways. A video can be polished, expensive, and still feel rooted in a very specific production style. In this case, the reaction points to exactly that: the overall look doesn’t fully read as fresh, even though the release itself wasn’t that long ago in the bigger picture of K-pop and pop video aesthetics.

There’s also a comparison to earlier eras baked into the reaction. That’s usually what happens when a video leans hard on effects instead of feeling grounded in a more current visual language. The result is not that it looks bad, exactly. It just feels unmistakably of its time.

The younger energy stands out

Another thing that comes through is how young the performers look compared with later videos. That observation gives the reaction a little extra perspective. It’s not just about whether the song works on first listen; it’s also about how the group is seen at a specific point in their development.

That kind of comparison can change the way a video feels on revisit. If you’ve seen later BLACKPINK visuals, a 2018-era clip can read differently simply because the members project a different kind of confidence and maturity in newer work. Even without overexplaining it, that contrast helps explain why this video feels like a snapshot of an earlier phase.

Mixed reaction doesn’t mean forgettable

What makes this response useful is that it’s not trying to force a dramatic take. The song isn’t being dismissed, and the video isn’t being written off entirely. Instead, the reaction lands in a familiar middle zone: respectful, interested, but not personally sold.

That’s probably the most honest way to talk about tracks like “Kiss and Make Up.” A collaboration can be memorable without being a favorite. A video can be historically interesting without feeling visually timeless. And a reaction can be mixed while still making it clear that the song has value in the larger BLACKPINK catalog.

For anyone revisiting this era, that tension is part of the appeal. The song shows how a feature can shift expectations, and the video shows how quickly visual trends can age. Together, they make “Kiss and Make Up” feel like a record that’s still worth talking about, even if it doesn’t top every fan’s list.