... to me it isn't right. And i will explain why I think like this.
They debuted with Boombayah and Whistle, while Boombayah sure was targeted to the "west" i don't believe Whistle was too. Whislte were different of any other song i heard and it uniqueness made it more kpop than any other thing.
Then we had their follow up cb which to me was no way focused to the west. PWF wasn't westernized neither Stay, these two songs were more to their s.k. audience with PWF being a super hit and loved in s.k., and then we had AIIYL which was a "cute" concept or like many like to say: it reminded them of 2012 kpop songs which, funnily, gave BP some backlash for being an outdated kpop song while it lead then to an unexpected almost entry on Hot100.
Just after D4 i consider them opening their market to a way more global case, and even then, this change was duo to BLACKPINK already demand ww in the kpop niche and more.
So this whole westernized thing while may be true to some, to me it isn't. Unless just cute concepts are kpop centered which also doesn't make sense. Having rappers also doesn't make it westernized neither knowing to speak English.
I think they took some directions and with the high demand they went to a more global sound while being kpop. But this isn't a surprise seeing their ww results and success.
Their music direction was right seeing the numbers digitally and physically that The Album got.
Anyways, that's it. To me Whistle, PWF and AIIYL are totally kpop songs focused on the kpop market.
Edit: if so their music are kpop and a huge success in s.k. too where kpop started. They are a kpop focused group kkkkk
Disclaimer: just bye kkkkk
