› ࣪ . ๑ 𝗹.𝗴 : 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

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Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic said "overflowing with confidence, Jisoo, Jennie, Ella, Rosé, and Lisa conquer each track on The Album with their vocal ability, both singing and rapping, and effortless charm, switching up styles to offer something for every type of fan." Alexis Petridis from The Guardian praised the album's production calling it a "precision-tooled rap-influenced pop that makes most western artists' efforts in that area seem wan", but critiqued the lack of an "overarching concept". Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick wrote that the tracks "sounds like five different songs tightly packed into one" and that the album "is Britney Spearmint Bubblegum on steroids". For Rolling Stone, Tim Chan wrote that "the eight-song set is a slick, confident and wildly entertaining release from the biggest girl group in the world". From Insider, Callie Ahlgrim said that The Album "feels more like a playlist" whose songs do not form a group. On a positive note, she referred to the songs as being "eight straight shots of multicolored, sugary liquors". Palmer Haasch said that the album "manages to encompass their musical identity" and that it's "always keeps you on your toes".

Hannah Zwick of Consequence of Sound said that the album "showcases their signature style of blending genres and influences to create songs that are just as classically pop as they are identifiably Blackpink", but critiques that it "leave[s] you wanting more, both in quantity and quality". In a more positive review, IZM wrote that the appearance of this work informs that K-pop has begun to be reborn from a "passive attitude" to a "subjective aspect" and believes that "a lot of things will change starting from this album".

In a mixed review from Slant Magazine, Sophie Ordez wrote that "crammed chockfull of crowd-pleasing EDM pyrotechnics and cheeky one-liners, The Album is undeniably a product of a well-oiled, state-of-the-art pop machine, but it feels stuck looking back to tried and true trends in both K-pop and Western pop music." Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times gave a mixed review, calling the album "oppressive" and "almost entirely out of alignment with pop music's prevailing trends" and that the release "fails the test of old pop as well as the test of new." Sputnikmusic's Raul Stanciu rated the album 2.4 out of 5, pointing out: "There is roughly an EP worth of songs here that bring something remotely interesting to the table, rather than simply rehashing past ideas and reproducing beats you've heard in 100 other tracks before."

Billboard and Uproxx named it one of the best albums released in 2020. Its singles, "How You Like That", "Ice Cream" and "Lovesick Girls" were also named amongst best songs of 2020.

﹑→ .𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦 .

Publication • List

Billboard | Top 50 Best Albums of 2020
Billboard | The 25 Best Pop Albums of 2020
Dazed | The 20 Best Albums of 2020
Genius | 50 Best Albums of 2020
Glamour | The 30 Best Albums of 2020
Idolator | The 70 Best Pop Albums Of 2020
PopCrush | 25 Best Albums of 2020
Uproxx | The Best Albums of 2020

﹑→ .𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 .

Year • Award • Result

2020 | Best Album - Overseas | Won
2020 | Album of the Year | Nominated
2020 | Album of the Year | Nominated
2021 | Album of the Year - 4th Quarter | Nominated
2021 | Best Album - Bonsang | Won
2021 | Album of the Year - Daesang | Nominated

﹑→ .𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 .

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