On a long hiatus from group activities, the BLACKPINK girls have been investing heavily on their solo careers since 2023, when their last concert took place. Songs such as “APT” by Rosé and Bruno Mars, “Rockstar” by Lisa and “earthquake” by Jisoo were successful beyond their target audience. It couldn’t be any different with Jennie.
Although the singer went viral in 2018 with her single “Solo”, this time Jennie has set her sights on Western audiences with songs sung entirely in English. Before producing her latest album, songs like “You & Me”, “One of the Girls” and “SPOT!” had also conquered the top charts.
First releases
In 2024, the first release from the album, “Mantra”, reached more than 200 million streams on Spotify, and more than 150 million views on the YouTube music video. The song is upbeat and fits perfectly with American Pop, bringing the confident girl energy that Jennie expresses to her listeners.
The idol released two other well-received songs, with feats that caught the public’s attention and helped to hype the album. “Love Hangover”, with Dominic Fike, showed the singer’s comedic and ironic side as she portrayed relapses from a past relationship. She also surprised with an authentic music video alongside Charles Melton, which had around 35 million views.
On January 25, the music video for “ZEN” was released on YouTube, a song that differed from all the other pre-releases in terms of concept, rhythm and lyrics, which aroused doubt and a certain curiosity as to what other paths the album might take.
And to close the season of pre-album releases, on February 21, Jennie released “ExtraL”, featuring the rising rapper Doechii. The song takes up the narrative of the confident, independent woman and, in just a few days, reached 60 million listens on Spotify, while also making a huge success on TikTok.
Ruby: Romance, R&B and Hip Hop
Right from the first three tracks, Jennie highlights the main themes of the album. Right after “Intro : JANE with FKJ”, a calm instrumental song, “like JENNIE”, produced by Diplo, bursts with a wide variety of phonk beats and animosity. On the other hand, “start a war” highlights the obsessiveness and intensity of the singer’s feelings.
It’s impossible not to notice the clever choice of the color red to represent Ruby, as it expresses her romantic, sensual and confident side. Throughout the album, Jennie also shows that she’s not afraid to take risks with her lyrics, which are mostly explicit and sentimental.
It is also possible to perceive the presence of the most varied genres and artists throughout the songs. While “Handlebars (feat. Dua Lipa)” appeals to a more sentimental and passionate side with the Pop genre, “Damn Right (feat. Childish Gambino & Kali Uchis)” follows the logic of sensuality through the influence of R&B and Hip Hop, which shows the personality of each of the singers.
“with the IE (way up)” also shows Hip Hop influences, but focused on the 2000s, carrying lyrics with attitude just like the other tracks, but differing in sound and the daring contained in the lyrics.
“I love me more with no filter”
Jennie also shows that she’s tired of hiding her true essence in an attempt to please the music industry and the media. “F.T.S” and “Filter” show her desire to break free and dare both in her professional career and in her life, which could open the way for a future album as good and unique as this one.
At the same time, in an interview for Apple Music, the singer talks about the production process, revealing her perfectionism when it comes to composing every detail of her project. Jennie also shares her thoughts on the song “twin”, which tells the story of a lost friendship through an acoustic guitar, and which is possibly the most intimate and emotional song on the album.
Her only mentions of Korea are limited to two songs: “Seoul City”, produced by Mike WiLL Made-It, which is immersive in both the beat and the vocals, and “Starlight”, another introspective track that appeals to electronics, featuring a little Korean dialog in its introduction and at the end.
jennie kim as herself
With Ruby, Jennie has shown that she knows how to carry a good solo album. Her detail is not only limited to the concept, the compositions and the promotion, but also to the rhythm which, although diverse, follows a fine line of reasoning from start to finish. Like the other BLACKPINK girls, the singer wanted to give her project her own personality, which she did perfectly.
The influence of the producers and collaborators was also crucial in bringing the album to life, especially Diplo, Mike WiLL Made-It and Dem Jointz, who made some of the most appreciated songs yet. In some of her most recent shows, Jennie performed choreographed performances and wore outfits that captivated the audience, even starting new trends on TikTok and Instagram.
Jennie was able, in a certain way, to unleash her imagination in the creative process, combining her favorite genres to reveal part of her essence as a music industry professional and as a woman. In just 41 minutes and a few seconds, Ruby proved to be not only a good album, but a great start.
The article above was edited by Isadora Mangueira.
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