Nearly three years after her first massive hit single “Lalisa” and accompanying viral b-side track “Money,” BLACKPINK member LISA launched her follow-up single “Rockstar,” and fans can’t help but detect an interesting inspiration in the song and a possible nod to another famed musical act, Tame Impala.
On June 28, LISA released her highly anticipated single, “Rockstar,” on streaming platforms, along with an accompanying music video. LISA’s first venture into music comes after all BLACKPINK members decided not to renew their individual contracts with YG Entertainment, one of South Korea’s largest entertainment organizations, back in December 2023. The group did sign a group contract and will continue to promote themselves as BLACKPINK when music is released. Nevertheless, the group members decided that they would pursue separate projects when it came to their independent work. LISA was one of the first members to start releasing new songs under a new label, signing with LLOUD and partnering on solo recordings with RCA Records.
With “Rockstar” now available to the public, fans can’t help but notice the song’s instrumentals and wonder if they were partly sampled. Sampling songs is nothing new for artists and musicians in the music industry, and the same can be said about famous performer LISA. But fans are wondering whose song she sampled from. Don’t worry, bestie, I might have just cracked the code.
The song’s electro and trap-infused tempo slows down after the chorus, and a calmer instrumental replaces it abruptly within the post-chorus. Eagle-eyed music fans noticed that the sound used in “Rockstar” sounds eerily similar to that of the 2015 track “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” by none other than acclaimed instrumentalist band Tame Impala.
It turns out that “Rockstar” was, in fact, a sample from Tame Impala, and everyone on social media couldn’t stop listening to both songs to spot the similarities, resulting in some pretty funny reactions on X/Twitter.
BITCH DID SHE SAMPLE NEW PERSON SAME OLD MISTAKES BY TAME IMPALA?:$:&/8 OMFGGGG#LISA #ROCKSTAR pic.twitter.com/pFc0vZSPLK
— nova (@interningnet) June 27, 2024
rockstar sounds so much like new person same old mistakes by tame impala did lisa sample it?
— aleyna
(@rachaflex) June 28, 2024
not because she sampled Rihanna but LISA just needs to go solo from now on, ROCKSTAR is fresh and solidly produced… so love that Same Ol Mistakes sample
— Johnn (@j_hamto) June 28, 2024
woah lisa’s rockstar is great. It’s honestly her best single imo it’s very interesting sonically. that tame impala sample was used very well too
— oscar
(@neonsoo) June 28, 2024
the last thing I expected on a Lisa song was tame impala influence but. goddamn? rockstar is actually a bop
— sneha dureha ♡ (@snehadureha) June 28, 2024
That tame impala part of rockstar…. Shouldve been longer tbh but lisa did THAT
— ny (@honeybeurre) June 28, 2024
lisa sampling tame impala was never on my dictionary… indeed a global rockstar she’s writing another history with this comeback
— fish (@giv333n) June 28, 2024
The tame impala interpolation in #LISA_ROCKSTAR is everything
— karima ミ☆ (@kstitt23) June 28, 2024
LISA SMAPLED TAME IMPALA?????? OH FUCKSHSHCSKCHSJXKS
— r | ROCKSTAR
(@startariott_) June 27, 2024
Lisa sampling Tame Impala…. THAT’S MY MOTHER I’M SO EFFING PROUD OF YOUUUU THE ROCKSTAR @wearelloud
— Kätzchen (@dreamdashed) June 27, 2024
LISA’s sample execution on “Rockstar” is not the first time “New Person Same Old Mistakes” has been utilized in another artist’s song.
In 2016, Rihanna sampled the song for her hit album, ANTI, on the track “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” in which she performed a cover of the song. Kevin Parker, leader of Tame Impala, released a statement to NME in 2016 about his and Tame Impala’s label response to Rihanna’s cover, writing, “The Roc Nation team got in touch with us here at Spinning Top letting us know that Rihanna loved the Tame Impala track ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes.’ They asked if she could cover the song for her new record. Kevin was more than happy to send it her way. We’re all really happy with how the song turned out, love it!”
Whether you prefer Rihanna’s version or Tame Impala’s original depiction of the song, LISA’s use of the instrumental helps transform the sound for 2024 and is another summer release that I desperately needed on my playlist.