The British royal orchestra covered popular Blackpink song and fans are freaking out

Bee Delores
Blackpink performing onstage at a concert in front of pink backdrop

Outside Buckingham Palace, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed a cover of Blackpink’s “DUU-DU DDU-DU,” and fans are losing their minds.

On November 21, Global sensation Blackpink was invited to Buckingham Palace to attend a state banquet, which honored South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

During the event, K-pop band members Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé, and Jennie were also awarded honorary MBEs (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for their advocacy of environmental stability at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

Blackpink joins the ranks of such previous honorees as The Beatles, PJ Harvey, and Adele. They are the first non-British artist to be honored.

British royal orchestra performing outside the Buckingham Palace
The British royal orchestra performing a Blackpink song.

The British royal orchestra reinvented a Blackpink song

As an unexpected treat, the royal orchestra took to honoring the group with a horn-laded rendition of Blackpink’s smash “DDU-DU DDU-DU.” Outside Buckingham Palace, the musicians ripped into the song and delighted fans both in-person and online.

Fans were quick to take to Twitter/X to express their excitement.

“That’s a royal performance! BLACKPINK’s energy reaching Buckingham Palace is truly a global sensation. Music knows no boundaries,” wrote one fan.

“I can only imagine the unique blend of classical music and K-pop vibes. It must have been a memorable performance,” said another.

Added a third user, “Ok but this slaps actually.”

Rosesarerosie agreed, writing, “That must be a cover version never before seen in the world.”

Ali Barbie even compared it to a James Bond theme.

Another user expressed their surprise over the moment. “Didn’t have the royal orchestra playing Blackpink on my bingo card but 2023 keeps getting wilder by the minute so not shocked.”

A fan named Q was completely blown away and suggested Blackpink should release “songs with an orchestra accompaniment” as they “feel sooo revolutionary.”

From their 2018 EP Square Up, “DDU-DU DDU-DU” became a global hit. It vaulted to the top of the charts in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as climbed Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart and the Hot 100.

About The Author

Bee is a former music writer at Dexerto. Bee has been working in the digital media space for a decade. Their work can be found in American Songwriter, Billboard, and Grammy.com.