Top 5 Underrated BLACKPINK Songs

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BLACKPINK's biggest singles have crossed a billion Spotify streams each. "How You Like That," "Kill This Love," and "DDU-DU DDU-DU" dominate playlists and define the group's public identity. But those tracks represent one version of BLACKPINK. The most underrated BLACKPINK songs live on the same albums, released on the same days, and received none of the same promotional investment. The result is a streaming gap as wide as 99% between singles and B-sides that has nothing to do with quality.

BLACKPINK

This list covers five tracks that critics at Rolling Stone, NME, and Clash Magazine have singled out as proof of a deeper artistic range. If you have only heard the hits, you have heard one side of BLACKPINK. These are the songs that reveal the rest.

"Stay" Showed a Different BLACKPINK From Day One

The most frequently cited underrated BLACKPINK track across major publications is a country-pop experiment from 2016 that almost nobody heard.

"Stay" appeared on the Square Two EP as a B-side during BLACKPINK's debut era. Written by Teddy Park and co-composed by Seo Won-jin, the track opens with harmonica, builds through guitar, and uses lyrical repetition to express the loneliness felt after being left alone. The Forty-Five describes how "'Stay' grows from guitar and harmonica to bubbly handclaps, all the while maintaining its poise and elegance."

Rolling Stone praised its "countrified, Kelsea Ballerini-style vocals" and used the track as proof that BLACKPINK "don't like working within the confines of genres." Billboard calls it one of BLACKPINK's "most underrated mid-tempo B-sides." K-pop criticism site The Bias List awarded it an 8.5/10, with hooks and production each scoring 9/10, declaring the song "proves that the girls can deliver a sound that lives outside of trends and ultimately feels close to being timeless."

It was completely buried by the massive success of "Boombayah" and "Whistle." No music video. No promotion. A softer, more vulnerable sound that clashed with BLACKPINK's fierce branding. That is exactly why you should hear it first.

"Hope Not" Is Rolling Stone's Underrated Gem

Rolling Stone explicitly called "Hope Not" "an underrated gem" on their last EP, a "raw, minor chord-leaning" ballad with genuine emotional stakes.

Released as a B-side on the Kill This Love EP in 2019, "Hope Not" sits in the shadow of that era's enormous title track. LWOS Life highlights the chorus as the moment "you hear the Pinks belt out each exquisite emotion-fueled high note." The vocal performances here are unguarded in a way that BLACKPINK's singles rarely allow.

The streaming numbers tell the story of how overlooked this track remains. "Hope Not" has accumulated fewer than 745,000 Spotify streams, making it one of the most severely under-listened tracks in their entire catalog. For context, that is less than 0.1% of "How You Like That's" total. A song that Rolling Stone called a gem, streaming at independent-artist levels.

"Kick It" Is the Festival Song That Never Got a Festival

NME called out "the underrated 2019 cut 'Kick It'" by name in a live concert review, praising its "infectious, festival-ready chorus."

Also from the Kill This Love EP, "Kick It" is a track about independence and freedom that pushes against BLACKPINK's expected sonic boundaries. The Forty-Five explains: "'Kick It' is a prime example [of pushing boundaries], its sonics refusing to take the obvious direction as the girls sing about independence and freedom."

With only 4.7 million Spotify streams, "Kick It" sits at less than 0.5% of "How You Like That's" total despite strong choreography and production. Never promoted as a single. Never given a music video. A festival-ready song that never got its festival.

"You Never Know" Was Written From Real Conversations

"You Never Know" is one of the most overlooked tracks in BLACKPINK's catalog, sitting at an 84% streaming gap behind "How You Like That" despite sharing the same album and release date.

Songwriter Løren gave a rare interview to NME, revealing that he wrote the lyrics after sitting with the group and listening to their personal thoughts about being in the public eye. "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," he told NME.

Stereogum praised its "plaintive piano chords, dramatic string section, and distinct closing-montage energy," noting that Rosé's lyric "It's easier to judge me than to believe" reads like "she's daring you not to take Blackpink seriously." This is a track that Rolling Stone noted "spoke to BP's harsh experiences with megafame." Built from actual conversations with the members, recorded at The Black Label in Seoul, and heard by a fraction of the people who streamed the singles surrounding it.

"Tally" Almost Didn't Exist at All

The backstory behind "Tally" is as unlikely as the song itself. Producer Soraya LaPread revealed that she had "honestly, had forgotten about the song" after making it. Producer Nat Dunn picked it up, got Bebe Rexha to cut it, and from there it somehow made its way to BLACKPINK. A track originally created for a different artist ended up on Born Pink almost by accident.

Clash Magazine describes it as a "rock-infused ballad" where "BLACKPINK present their free spirit as they openly speak about the importance of being yourself." The Crimson identified "'90s grunge" as a clear influence. NME singled out "the empowering 'Tally'" by name in live concert coverage, a rare distinction for a non-single.

"Tally" tackles the double standards women face in the entertainment industry through a rock-influenced sound unlike anything else in BLACKPINK's catalog. Buried behind "Pink Venom" and "Shut Down," it never got its moment. The track almost didn't exist at all — producer Soraya LaPread had forgotten about it entirely before it somehow found its way to BLACKPINK.

The B-Sides Are the Full Picture

These five tracks span country-pop, raw balladry, festival-ready anthems, piano-driven confessionals, and '90s grunge. That genre range is the point. Rolling Stone framed BLACKPINK's full albums as providing the "capacity to showcase new genres and singing styles" that their singles never allow. The streaming gaps between these songs and the billion-stream hits are a marketing story, not a quality story.

Start with "Stay" if you want to hear BLACKPINK at their most surprising. Start with "You Never Know" if you want to hear them at their most honest. Either way, add these tracks to your rotation and follow Underrated on Instagram for more deep cuts worth discovering.