Songfacts®:

• In early April 2023, YG Entertainment revealed that the mobile game Blackpink: The Game would launch in the spring with an original soundtrack and music video accompanying it. Developed by Takeone Company, the game isn't just a one-trick pony - it's a combo of management, puzzles, mini-games and other exclusive content. Fast forward to May 18, and the game landed on mobile platforms, ready to rock. But the launch of "The Girls" and its music video hit pause. Why? Blame it on the quest for top-tier perfection, making the wait stretch longer.
  
  August 23, 2023, finally marked the premiere of the song and its music video inside Blackpink: The Game. Just two days later, YG officially dropped it as a digital single.
• "The Girls" cranks up the tempo with its trap and EDM fusion, riding on hip-hop infused beats intertwined with Turkish flute sounds. As the music throbs, the lyrics offer a stage for the K-pop titans to do what they do best: empower women.
• Jennie takes the mic for the opening verse, asserting this track's command over the charts - numbers don't lie, it's already staking its claim. "Run it up, run it up, oh-ooh," she declares.
  
  And then, it's chorus time as the ensemble belts out:
  
  Don't mess with the girls
  With the girls, with the girls
• "The Girls" came to life during the Born Pink sessions. It was forged in the creative furnace where Blackpink's Jennie and Rosé collaborated with producer Ryan Tedder in Los Angeles back in June 2021. Though the trio cooked up multiple tracks, none of them made the cut for the final album lineup, but "The Girls" emerged from the selection shadows, chosen by YG Entertainment to set the sonic stage for Blackpink: The Game.
• Jennie, Rosé and Tedder wrote "The Girls" alongside frequent BlackPink collaborator Danny Chung, the husband-wife team of Melanie Fontana and Michel "Lindgren" Schulz, and singer-songwriter Madison Love. Tedder and Fontana previously co-penned BlackPink's 2020 collaboration with Cardi B, "Bet You Wanna."
• In the music video, an animated quartet of Jennie, Rose, Lisa, and Jisoo take the spotlight. They groove to the beat, showcasing Blackpink's iconic group choreography in a playful cartoon rendition.