Over the course of their nearly decade-long career, BLACKPINK has positioned themselves as one of the most popular girl groups worldwide. After making history as the first K-Pop girl group to play Coachella in 2019, an explosive gig as the first Asian act to headline the same festival in 2023, and setting several impressive charting records over the years before and since, K-Pop’s it girls are nowhere near their peak.
Under YG Entertainment, each member of BLACKPINK debuted as soloists, releasing a song or two in between group activities. Songs like “FLOWER” by JISOO, “SOLO” by JENNIE, “MONEY” by LISA, and “On The Ground” by ROSÉ were incredibly well-received by fans, garnering impressive streaming and YouTube view numbers, but they don’t do much to introduce listeners to the women behind those catchy hooks and mostly empty choruses.
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In December 2023, JISOO, JENNIE, LISA, and ROSÉ signed an extension contract for BLACKPINK’s group activities but declined to renew their individual contracts with YG. Since then, each member has signed to (or even created) new talent agencies to pursue their individual goals. Beginning in 2024, fans were introduced to the girls’ newest musical journeys, with LISA’s “Rockstar” dropping in June to kick off a new era for herself and the group as a whole. As of March 2025, every member of BLACKPINK has released a new solo project, and the results are miles above what they released under YG.
4
LISA
Alter Ego (February 2025)
BLACKPINK’s main dancer and lead rapper, LISA, dropped her debut solo album, Alter Ego, on February 25, 2025. The 15-track album was introduced with four pre-release singles: “Rockstar,” “New Woman feat. Rosalía,” “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me),” and “Born Again feat. Doja Cat & RAYE.” These singles introduced listeners to the premise of her album. As the title states, LISA presents five alter egos to the listener, each of which is connected to different tracks that show these different sides of herself and her musical identity.
Unfortunately, Alter Ego surrendered to a case that plagues many albums. Her singles were successful on their own, but the rest of the tracklist wasn’t strong enough to build upon this success. LISA’s artistry shines on “Rockstar” and “New Woman,” where she leans into the production and comes out on top of it rather than letting it overpower the songs. Her collaboration with Rosalía is the album’s strongest, presenting both women in their own light with the juxtaposition of their verses coming together beautifully in the last chorus.
Other high points on the album include the racy “Elastigirl,” where her vocals blossom in the chorus, and the subtly enticing “Chill,” which pulls away from heavy production, softening her vocal delivery. The lowest point of Alter Ego, for me, is its struggle to grasp too many different styles to feel cohesive. Maybe it would’ve worked better as a series of mini-albums, each focusing on a different persona. I also believe that the features make or break it, with a throwaway Future verse, a Megan Thee Stallion verse on a forgettable track, and RAYE shining brightest on “Born Again.”
3
JISOO
AMORTAGE (February 2025)
JISOO, the group’s lead vocalist, released her debut solo mini-album AMORTAGE on February 14, 2025. With just four tracks, it’s not a deep dive into JISOO as an artist, but the mini-album provides a nice sample of what she’s capable of. Of the four solo projects, AMORTAGE is the most directly tied to K-Pop. The tracklist features a fairly even balance between Korean and English, with two fully English tracks and two that are more of a mixture between the languages.
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Personally, I wasn’t a fan of her 2023 debut single “FLOWER,” and I let that guide my expectations for future releases. After a first listen and a watch of the music video for “earthquake,” I moved on fairly quickly. As is usually the case for me with K-Pop, a second listen was exactly what I needed. JISOO’s vocal tone is much deeper than her fellow BLACKPINK members, with a subtle rasp that comes out occasionally. Her voice sounds especially addictive on “Your Love,” a sickeningly sweet love song where the English lyrics accompany her tone perfectly.
The mini-album’s featured track “earthquake” is one of its highest points. The track’s partially empty chorus is less disappointing and more beneficial to the rest of the song in how her vocals are woven into the instrumental. “TEARS” is a strong blend of K-Pop and Western pop music from artists like Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande, and would be a great song to listen to in warmer months. The final track, “Hugs & Kisses,” isn’t bad by any means, but a bit more forgettable compared to the rest, making it a hesitant low point of an impressive, albeit short, solo project.
2
JENNIE
Ruby (March 2025)
BLACKPINK’s versatile main rapper and lead vocalist, JENNIE, dropped her debut solo album Ruby on March 7, 2025. Taking its title from her stage name, Jennie Ruby Jane, this album is an examination of one of the K-Pop industry’s most sought-after idols. “Intro: JANE” drops listeners right into the world of the album with “like JENNIE” nearly bowling them over with its immediate energetic contrast to the introduction’s atmospheric tone.
While listening to that first track, one can’t help but feel like they’re hearing JENNIE get everything off of her chest that she’s wanted to say to anyone who’s questioned her worth within an industry that she was so clearly born to thrive in. The collaborations on this album are tailored to fit her sound. She sings and raps alongside artists like Doechii, Dominic Fike, and Dua Lipa, but JENNIE holds her own. Tracks like “ExtraL” and “Love Hangover” enable her to blend her voice with her collaborators while constantly ensuring that her own parts stand as the most memorable.
It’s obvious that JENNIE had a clear vision for her debut album. Working with producers like Dem Jointz and Mike Will Made It, and co-writing with artists like Zico, Bibi, and Amy Allen allowed JENNIE to follow that vision to its fullest extent. The three pre-release singles sit perfectly towards the middle of the tracklist, sandwiched between songs that hold their own. Her tone breathes life into every word, whether she’s singing or rapping, and the lower points of the album in a track like “Starlight” still have their moments.
1
ROSÉ
rosie (December 2024)
ROSÉ, BLACKPINK’s main vocalist and lead dancer, was the first to release her debut album on December 6, 2024. rosie‘s two pre-release tracks conveyed completely different sides of the singer. “APT.” is a high-energy track that was born from a popular Korean drinking game, while “number one girl” is a heartbreaking ballad about the validation we all seek from those we love. “APT.” was somewhat of an overnight sensation that has since racked up over 1 billion Spotify streams and over 15 weeks on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. Chart.
The rest of the album follows either of its singles, with some blending the two in the ever-popular style of melancholic lyrics over upbeat instrumentals. “APT.” is the only collaboration on rosie, creating an intimate look into the innermost thoughts and feelings of ROSÉ on each additional track. The idol is already well-known for her vocal talents, but she reaches new heights on this album, belting with fervor and switching into flawless falsetto on “stay a little longer” and “too bad for us.”
ROSÉ dives deep into past relationships with honesty, relaying the kind explicit personal experiences that are often kept out of the mouths of K-Pop idols. She wrote much of the album with Amy Allen, known for her work with artists including Sabrina Carpenter and Harry Styles. This partnership resulted in a collective work that places ROSÉ on an expansive list of young women writing honest music, comparative to Avril Lavigne’s Let Go and Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS. With just one album, ROSÉ cements herself as not only one of the strongest voices in K-Pop, but a rising star in the wider music world.
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The women of BLACKPINK each present themselves in their own way to listeners. With four solo projects spanning dozens of genres and influences, JISOO, JENNIE, LISA, and ROSÉ easily maintain their spot at the top of an industry that thrives on constant change. By adding to their resumes with releases crafted under new management, the quartet invite fans even closer, showing new sides of themselves while exploring their own artistic identities in the process. Each of these projects is different and unlikely to be everyone’s cup of tea, but the fact that each artist released a lengthier project than those released under YG is a clear indication of four very bright futures.
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