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BLACKPINK\'s Lisa
BLACKPINK\'s Lisa
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Culture > Entertainment

Lisa’s “Rockstar” Samples Tame Impala & My Entire FYP Is Obsessed

Siobhan Robinson

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.

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.

Siobhan Robinson is a member of the Her Campus national writing program. She works on the Entertainment and Culture team, covering the most recent pop culture events, trends, and entertainment releases. Previously, she worked as an Entertainment and Culture intern during the Spring 2023 semester, where she was supervised in writing breaking news verticals, live coverage of events such as the Grammys and Met Gala, and interviewing emerging Gen Z talent for Her Campus's "Next Questions" segment. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in Spring 2024 with a B.A. in Communication Studies from San Jose State University and received communication honors for completing a graduate-level course during her undergraduate studies. While in college, she was an active member of the SJSU chapter of Her Campus, serving on the executive board as Editor-In-Chief. In this role, she supervised a team of writers, senior editors, and copy editors, and assessed their articles for the site. Previously, she served as a senior editor, supervising a team of 4-5 writers, and also worked as a campus correspondent for the entire chapter. Additionally, she contributed to the school's publication magazine, Access, and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. In her free time, Siobhan enjoys scrapbooking, hanging out with friends, going to concerts, and, of course, writing for fun! A die-hard fangirl, she loves sharing everything she knows about her favorite boy bands, even if you don't ask. If you need her, you'll likely find her binge-watching the latest K-drama or catching up on pop-culture social commentaries on YouTube.