BLACKPINK announces the #PinkVenomChallenge in partnership with YouTube

 

Global pop superstars BLACKPINK announce the #PinkVenomChallenge in partnership with YouTube, kicking off August 19 at 12 AM EST / 1 PM KST exclusively on YouTube Shorts following the debut of their highly anticipated new music video ‘Pink Venom’. Fans (BLINKs) everywhere can also get amped up for the new video and #PinkVenomChallenge with a special countdown livestream starting tonight at 11 PM EST / tomorrow 12 PM KST on BLACKPINK’s Official YouTube Channel.

 

"We are pleased to have another meaningful partnership with YouTube,” said BLACKPINK. “Hope we can have some special events with our fans through #PinkVenomChallenge on Shorts, countdown livestream and our new music video 'Pink Venom'. Stay tuned for it!"

 

Once BLACKPINK unleashes the music video for ‘Pink Venom’ on YouTube, the group is inviting fans to head to YouTube Shorts to join them for a global dance party as part of the #PinkVenomChallenge. BLINKs around the world can participate by creating and sharing their best dance moves from the ‘Pink Venom’ music video, adding the hashtag #PinkVenomChallenge to the Shorts caption, and publishing live. The #PinkVenomChallenge will run through September 15 and upon conclusion, which is also the eve of BLACKPINK’s BORN PINK album release, fans can expect a special surprise from the global superstars.

“Every time BLACKPINK releases new music, they up their game to the next level and I am certain that ‘Pink Venom’ will be no different,” said Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music. “I’m all about the #PinkVenomChallenge on Shorts – it’s going to be amazing to see what BLINKs around the world create.”

 

In June, BLACKPINK became the first musical artist on YouTube to reach 75 million subscribers and continue to be the most-subscribed with +76.5 million subscribers on their Official Artist Channel. The group has amassed 7.2 billion views globally on YouTube over the past 12 months and were amongst the top 10 most-viewed artists in the world in 2021. BLACKPINK own three of the 10 all-time top 24-hour music debuts (#3 - “How You Like That,” #4 - “Ice Cream,” and #10 - “Lovesick Girls.”), with BLACKPINK member LISA owning the #6 slot with her solo music video for “LALISA.” They also have six videos that have entered YouTube’s famed Billion Views Club.

 

The #PinkVenomChallenge begins on August 19 through September 15, only on YouTube Shorts!

 

BTS and YouTube officially announce the Permission to Dance Challenge starting this Friday, July 23 on YouTube Shorts!

Today, 21st century pop icons BTS and YouTube officially announce the Permission to Dance Challenge starting this Friday, July 23 through Saturday, August 14, exclusively on YouTube Shorts. 

 

BTS is inviting the world to dance along with them to their new track, “Permission to Dance,” for the first-ever worldwide dance challenge on YouTube Shorts, following its global expansion. Starting this Friday, anyone from across the globe can create a 15-second YouTube Short right from the YouTube mobile app, replicating the core dance moves from the “Permission to Dance” music video. The dance moves for this challenge are the “International Sign” gestures that the septet was seen doing in the music video, bearing the meaning “Peace,” “Dance” and “Joy”. As the “Permission to Dance'' lyrics encourage listeners to move to the rhythm of their heartbeat, BTS is bringing the world together again with this special dance and inviting people to add their own style to their YouTube Shorts creations. 

 

As part of the challenge, BTS will be spotlighting some of their favorite Shorts in a compilation video, so participants are encouraged to use hashtags #PermissiontoDance and #Shorts for their creations to be considered.* For further dance challenge inspiration, get a closer look at the “Permission to Dance” choreography by watching BTS’ latest YouTube Shorts on desktop HERE and on the mobile app HERE.

 

“Permission to Dance” is a song that will get everyone’s heart pumping and dancing again. We also prepared the ‘Permission to Dance Challenge’ with YouTube Shorts so please stay tuned for more,” teased BTS upon the announcement of this new engagement. 

 

Shin Young Jae, the President of BIGHIT MUSIC added, “Just as ‘Permission to Dance’ sends the message that you don't have to ask anyone for permission to dance, we hope that we can bring people all over the world together to dance along with us, free of any limits or constraint. We are very excited to watch this challenge come to life on YouTube Shorts and can’t wait to see what you all create.”

 

“BTS are global icons,” says Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music. “Breaking record after record on YouTube, BTS’ immense contribution to the world of music has made them an undeniable force. We are humbled to be partnering with them on the Permission to Dance challenge on YouTube Shorts, helping to spread happiness and build lasting connections amongst their fans on YouTube across the globe. We are stoked to see the ARMY dance!”

 

Just last week, BTS made its television debut performance of “Permission to Dance” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. BTS Premiered the official music video for “Permission to Dance” just over two weeks ago, earning an extraordinary nearly 170 million views on YouTube to date. The video’s debut landed the record-breaking group their 5th slot on YouTube’s top 10, all-time biggest 24-hour music debut list, with the band now owning 50% of the spots, including #1 for “Butter” and #2 for “Dynamite.” “Butter” also owns the record for biggest music video Premiere of all time, with 3.9 million peak concurrents and held the top slot on YouTube’s Global Top Songs chart for seven straight weeks. 

 

Globally, BTS is amongst the top 5 most-viewed artists on YouTube so far this year; and in the past 12 months, it has earned over 10 billion views on the platform. With 54 million subscribers on its Official Artist Channel, they are the third most-subscribed artist on YouTube. BTS has joined YouTube’s coveted billion views club on three different occasions with its hits “DNA,” “Boy With Luv,” and most recently “Dynamite.” 

 

Get ready to dance this Friday, July 23, and stay tuned for more information on the Permission to Dance challenge on YouTube Shorts! 

 

YouTube announces the arrival of the beta version of YouTube Shorts in the Philippines

YouTube announced today the arrival of the beta version of YouTube Shorts in the Philippines. Shorts is the platform’s new short-form video experience to create short, catchy videos from mobile phones. First announced in September 2020, YouTube has since expanded the feature to 26 countries including the Philippines, making it available across more than 100 countries where YouTube is available.

While short form videos were already viewable in the platform, users will now be able to access Shorts’ creation tools which include a multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together, the ability to record with music, control speed settings, and more. YouTube will also be bringing new features such as: 

 

●      Adding text to specific points in videos

●      Automatically adding captions to Shorts

●      Recording up to 60 seconds with the Shorts camera

●      Adding clips from a phone’s gallery to add to recordings made with the Shorts camera

●      Adding basic filters to color correct Shorts, with more effects to come in the future

 

The new features also include the ability to sample audio not only from other Shorts but also from the billions of videos available on YouTube, unlocking a new playground of creativity like never before. This means that users can give their own creative spin on the content they love to watch and help find it a new audience. From reacting to favorite jokes, trying a hand at a creator’s latest recipe, or re-enacting comedic skits, creators will be in control and will be able to opt out if they don’t want their long form video remixed. 

 

“We want to make it easy and fun to create Shorts,” said Todd Sherman, Global Product Manager for YouTube Shorts. “As we continue to build Shorts alongside our creators and artists, we’ll be adding more features for people to try,” he added.

 

Delivering a seamless viewing experience across YouTube

Helping people find Shorts to enjoy and creators get discovered is also a key component of the product experience. That is why even before announcing the creation tools, YouTube introduced a row on the YouTube homepage especially for Shorts, launched a new watch experience that lets viewers easily swipe vertically from one video to the next, and will soon add a Shorts tab on mobile that makes it easier for people to watch Shorts with a single tap.

 

As of today, the YouTube Shorts player has surpassed 6.5 billion daily views globally.  

 

Shorts will be integrated to the YouTube experience people already know and love: if they hear a snippet of a song on Shorts, they can easily find the full song, watch the music video, or learn more about the artist.

 

Supporting mobile creators 

YouTube has helped an entire generation of creators turn their creativity into businesses and become the next generation media companies. Over the last three years, the company has paid more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and media companies.

 

With Shorts being a new way to watch and create on YouTube, the company has been looking at various ways to monetize Shorts and reward creators for their content, including the recently announced YouTube Shorts Fund, amounting to $100M distributed over the course of 2021-2022. 

 

“We know that it will take us time to get this right, and we're just getting started. We can't wait for you to try Shorts and help us build a first-class, short-form video experience right on YouTube,” Sherman said.

 

The Shorts beta is rolling out in more countries and will be available to everybody soon.