BLACKPINK celebrated their second year as a group since their debut in 2016, making them relatively rookies at this stage despite their mass of achievements. When the news broke that each member would be making their solo debuts, starting with Jennie on November 12, there was a mixture of anticipation, curiosity and skepticism received in return.
Though, given the success gained from both domestic (climbing to #1 across all major Korean music charts) and international charts, perhaps while this may be a diverted path that no one expected so soon, it will be interesting to see the contrasting concepts from each of the members.
The melody pedals off as quite mellow to start off, almost like a hesitant step forward towards a nerve-wracking path that Jennie has now embarked on. There’s nostalgic and bittersweet feelings as she reflects on the broken shards left in the wake of her old relationship, how consumed she was in love and blinded by rose tinted glasses. The song grows stronger in tone and picks up pre-chorus, a new-found confidence shining through her vocals and she finds herself once again. No longer did she allow the prickling isolation to take over but rather she embraced it fully, acknowledging that she gave herself time to heal and now she’s in the process of rebuilding herself to who she wants to be, rather than what others want her to be.
The opening image we get is future Jennie, who has already overcome the heartache that once crippled her both on a mental and physical level. This could indicate that while she had to endure dark days filled with tears, it doesn’t last forever and the skies will gradually seem less bleak than they used to. During the launderette scene, which she incorporated the English rap verse into, she enters with a white/pink dress and leaves in a black ensemble. This could symbolise the transition made as a result of the breakup as Jennie parts with an old version of herself, discarding it away as she finds a newfound strength inside of her. We also get to see the fashionista side of her that she’s known for being, with a handfuls of costume changes that can be seen throughout the video.
This is a promising debut for Jennie, while it leaves room for improvement for future solo comebacks, we’re excited to see both her own journey and the other members as they go on to release their own tracks. What did you think of Jennie’s debut song?
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