Lisa is taking risky steps, laying the foundation for her career when the name BLACKPINK is no longer attached.

The pioneering product lacks depth

Recently, Lisa officially returned to the music scene with the MV ROCKSTAR. This is the first song that Lisa produced herself with her own team – the company LLOUD. Leaving behind the title “BLACKPINK’s youngest member”, Lisa affirmed her leading position with a product released under the label RCA Records, broadcast every hour internationally and is a song entirely in English. At first glance, it is enough to understand that Lisa is moving towards the position of a global star, not targeting the Korean market, shedding the image of a Kpop idol.

Made entirely by a foreign crew, ROCKSTAR has the main production participation of Ryan Tedder – the famous producer behind a series of hits by Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift,… ROCKSTAR is also the first song for a Thai female idol. Participate in writing lyrics. That’s enough to show Lisa’s “all-in” investment and dedication to working to the end for her first song after leaving YG.

Lisa’s MV was filmed in Thailand

Female idol invests heavily, shows her performance strength in first MV after leaving YG

As for the MV, Lisa also spent heavily. Set in a busy street in Thailand, Lisa brings the characteristics of her homeland into each frame, combined with the luxurious – genuine – smooth image she always pursues. The strength of dance is also promoted through epic scenes, dancing with 100 dancers. Lisa’s MV highlights the wealth and fancy of the owner while still being bold in street hip-hop. For fans, this is a product that satisfies both the listening and visual aspects.

However, in all fairness, ROCKSTAR really “lacks depth”. Lisa still retains the concept that YG built for her, from her solo debut with LALISA and Money. Lisa from 3 years ago and now, still is a hip-hop image that is cool, luxurious and “flirting” with Thai culture. In terms of concept, there haven’t been many breakthroughs.

Lisa in ROCKSTAR is still a cool, luxurious and “flirting” image of Thai culture.

The most notable part is the music. Ryan Tedder has brought a trendy, modern mix of electronic and pop sounds, helping Lisa easily present her ideas. However, ROCKSTAR is “poor” in terms of content, if not meaningless lyrics.

With a duration of more than 2 minutes, the thing that lingers throughout the song is the repeated phrase “Baby, I’m a rockstar” . On music forums, Lisa has sparked controversial debates. Many people have underestimated the lyrics of ROCKSTAR. The lyrics are really not commensurate with the quality of the MV. It only brings a bland sense of repetition, the silly content revolves around a girl “obsessed with showing the world how ‘slay’ she is”. 

ROCKSTAR is “poor” in terms of content, if not meaningless lyrics

Besides, the rap line “Lisa, can you teach me Japanese?” (roughly translated: Lisa, can you teach me Japanese?”) also caused intense controversy. In the context of the song, this rap verse is really difficult to understand. Many Lisa fans interpreted the above rap verse as implying Western misconceptions about Asians, thinking that they all come from Japan or China.

However, this explanation is not really convincing. Because, up to now, Lisa has not been popular in Japan, everyone knows that she works in Korea and is a Thai idol. Japanese people find it difficult to understand when the female idol puts her country in her rap lyrics, when there is not much connection. If explained as fans, Westerners usually mistake Asians for Chinese. Therefore, once again, the controversy over Lisa writing meaningless lyrics has arisen loudly.

Lisa’s cultural elements and artist’s identity were superficially and unconvincingly included in the song

Lisa brought a catchy, trendy opening song, but lacked content. By participating in the songwriting, she made “passersby” feel that Lisa’s talent was only that much. When working in a group, Lisa’s strengths in dancing and rapping could help her shine, as long as she fulfilled her role.

But with the current orientation of becoming a global “rockstar”, Lisa still lacks many things – especially “artist”. She has not exploited her story, the product is only limited to two words. The cultural elements and artist’s identity were superficially and unconvincingly put into the song by Lisa. Many professional opinions commented that ROCKSTAR was just a song with enough excitement to create a TikTok trend.

Participating in composing, Lisa’s performance was as naive as a “child learning to write music”

With the same musical material as ROCKSTAR , the world has just had Charli xcx’s album BRAT . Compared to an album with enough capacity to win a Grammy, Lisa’s performance is as naive as a “child learning to write music”. The Thai female idol is just an entertainment phenomenon “buffed” by Kpop culture.

Where will Lisa’s global ambitions go?

Lisa can still reap impressive achievements thanks to the large fan base that has been formed during her 7 years of working with BLACKPINK. With the support of fans, Lisa set a record for a music video with the highest views in the first 24 hours (2024) by a Kpop artist. ROCKSTAR also reached 5.8 million streams on Spotify after 1 day of release. This achievement helps Lisa become the Kpop female idol with the highest daily streams on Spotify (solo artist).

But to start becoming a global star, records limited to the scope of “Kpop idol” are not enough. And clearly, Lisa did not choose the Korean market at all, she abandoned the title of Kpop idol right from the first images.

Lisa caused cultural appropriation controversy with her brown skin photo shoot promoting ROCKSTAR

Lisa caused controversy over cultural appropriation with her brown-skinned photoshoot promoting ROCKSTAR. Lisa knows exactly what she needs to do to make an impression, reorienting her visuals to follow black icons is the first step in her “Americanization” journey.

In the main MV, Lisa aims to look like a European and American star, transforming from Kpop visual standards. The country’s signature street hip-hop is emphasized – even though the MV scene was filmed in Thailand’s “Chinatown”. The scene where Lisa filmed with 100 dancers was also “peeled” similar to the FE MV! N of famous rapper Travis Scott. It can be seen that Lisa has determined to go international, this ambition is clearer than ever.

The American street hip-hop style is highlighted – even though the MV was filmed in Thailand’s “Chinatown”

The scene where Lisa filmed with 100 dancers

… was “exposed” to be similar to famous rapper Travis Scott’s MV FE!N

After the noisy striptease at Crazy Horse, Lisa lost the sympathy of the Chinese audience. Korea and Japan are not interested in Lisa. The Thai market is not enough for a Kpop superstar like her to strive. “Advancing to America” ​​is the most suitable strategy. But this path will be extremely thorny and full of challenges. Especially when Lisa’s largest fan base is still concentrated in China and Southeast Asia.

Lisa’s global ambition is also influenced by many factors, including BLACKPINK’s group activities and her love affair with LVMH’s third son. The career path of the Thai female idol is really difficult to predict, especially when there are more and more signs that she will soon become a wealthy bride.

Lisa lost the sympathy of Chinese audiences; Korea and Japan are not interested in Lisa; the Thai market is not enough for a Kpop superstar like her to thrive.

Therefore, Lisa will need to be more steadfast than ever to develop her personal career, now that the name BLACKPINK is no longer attached. With support from RCA Records under Sony Music – one of the three largest labels in the world, fans put their hopes in Lisa’s “all-in” game. To do this, Lisa must make a breakthrough. Thai female idol needs to show her ability in many aspects, “escape” from the flexing theme that YG has built so successfully for her.

Above all, Lisa must build her own identity, in order to distinguish herself among a series of talents in the country. Letting yourself “melt” with European and American visual characteristics, music that follows US-UK trends but lacks core elements is not the way.  Competition in an open market like the US is even more fierce than Korea. Many Kpop artists have struggled to make their mark here.

Lisa’s rapping ability cannot be compared to real European and American rappers. In the BLACKPINK lineup, Lisa also does not take on the position of main rapper. The way words are written, the accents and the English accent are all “amateur” compared to professional rap artists. If you want to make it big in America, skills must also improve.

Lisa needs to define her identity, to let herself “blend in” with European and American visual characteristics. Music that follows the USUK trend but lacks content is not the way.

It is still too early to predict Lisa’s global ambitions. After the opening product ROCKSTAR , Lisa is also planning a solo album. This will be an opportunity for Lisa to prove her bravery when going alone.