You don’t need to understand this album to love it, but you will for sure love this album when you understand it.
This is one of those albums that hits the hardest for those who have followed the artist for a while. Jennie has received so much hate in the past for basically nothing. Just haters hating. Or people who are reading into situations that hold no ground. This album is the answer to all that: maybe it’s better to be misunderstood. By preserving who Jennie truly is and staying true to herself, is so much more valuable than being understood. What motivates the artist is her sense of self. No one gets to influence, criticise that or tear it apart.
In this album we are presented with a story that is still very much in progress, but it’s told from the perspective of an artist who has found grounding in valuing herself above all else when it comes down to her career.
BlackPink as a group are very private. They are probably the most private K-pop group I have ever come across. It’s also something they mention themselves, that they want to be private that is. I think it’s very strong how the girls always made this choice for themselves and their group, and never felt they had to share anything even when being asked in interviews. They share what they want. Take it or leave it.
So I love that Jennie touches on that topic with her songs. Like you don’t need to understand her. You can also just choose to adore her as the artist she is and what she shows in regards to that.
That being said, the last five tracks of the album are where Jennie the idol and Jennie the person meet the closest. Especially in her last song that left many fans like me in absolute chills. But there is also a colour theory going on in my opinion.
Red and blue meet
These colours meet in this album and it means more than just two contrasting colours . Ruby is part of Jennie’s English name that she got when living in New Zealand: Jennie Ruby Jane. However her favourite colour is blue, the same colour roses her mom always gives her for her birthday. Which probably suggests that the songs on this album that have more blue colours like Love Hangover and Handlebars are closer to her personally. Even in the like JENNIE mv you see at the end of the video blue roses and Jennie her favourite animal, the capybara. I think that mv is the start where the idol Jennie (Ruby) and the private person Jennie (blue) meet.
In case this was indeed the idea behind the album, the album cover makes even more sense. You see both Jennie peeking behind the stage curtains as also being in front of them, suggesting this duality.
Intro : JANE (feat. FKJ)
We start with a very moody opening track with a name derived from her English name. The intro features the famous French instrumentalist, FKJ, who helps set the tone that evokes a feeling of mystery and nostalgia. It feels like a blast to the past, but also someone who is moving forward. I personally love a good intro song, as a bookreader I think prologues can be really strong especially in cases like these kinds of albums that tell a broader story.
like JENNIE
“Special edition and your AI couldn’t copy”. What an amazing way to start the album with the first song. It feels like the bridge between BlackPink and Jennie her solo career by celebrating Jennie’s individuality, highlighting her distinct style and allure.
Most of the time I am not really into chant-like repetitive choruses, but in this song it just works and at the same time reciprocates the message of the overall song. It also relays the meaning that despite the negativity, she remains untouchable and irreplaceable by humans or technology.
In the beginning I was wondering why she basically made a performance mv for her title track, until I realised that industrial and futuristic set showcases Jennie’s dominance together with a troop of dancers and incredibly sharp choreography.
start a war
The inspiration for the song was the desire to protect and care for someone you love. Reminding the person of someone that you want to protect and could be anyone, it could be your friend, your family, your love, it could be anything that you want to protect for. The mood starts to switch with this song on the album, and I was a bit surprised that this one was put as the second track (when not counting the intro), but it does give a bigger message that builds the rest of the album. A message of not just wanting to protect someone else, but also understanding yourself better, since you get an understanding of why you feel the need to protect someone or something. It kinda also feels like the underlying thought of like JENNIE.
Handlebars (feat. Dua Lipa)
It’s a good follow up of start a war, since that song started the message on this album of falling in love with oneself by believing and focussing on herself. In Handlebars she wants to become a better version of herself and look into who can complete her or who she can complete. But these two songs also show a version of oneself that was willing to burn herself for someone else. Because if we look at the overall meaning of Handlebars, it is a song about walking into love knowing that you’re gonna be hurt and falling for someone over and over again. Making me wonder which song actually was written first: Love Hangover or Handlebars? However, I do think the order of the tracklist is amazingly done. Since ZEN gives off a strong message that she is done, truly done now.
with the IE (way up)
Sampling Jennifer Lopez’s iconic Jenny from the Block chorus, with the IE (way up) gives a fresh contemporary twist on the theme of overcoming adversity and embracing self-confidence. The “IE” in the title cleverly references the spelling of “Jenny” with an “IE,” linking it directly to Jennie’s name. I just love how clever it is!
Drawing on an old-school hip-hop vibe, the track captures Jennie’s resilience. Despite judgment and scrutiny, she stands tall with an attitude that can’t be defeated. Cause Jennie knows, at the end of the day… most people don’t actually know her or what actually happened even if people think they saw a snippet of her life, it’s not the full story. In this song Jennie touches upon controversies she has been in in the past few years, which surprised me, since like I said in the intro of this blog, she is a very private person.
When it comes down to the production, I adore the personal touches Jennie made to this track to make certain lyrics stand out.
ExtraL (feat. Doechii)
Filled with confidence in ExtraL, featuring Grammy-winning Tampa rapper Doechii, this empowering hip-hop anthem encourages women to embrace their inner strengths and confidence. The mv even continues to explore the artistic and supernatural themes introduced in Jennie previous single Zen. I am wondering if the supernatural themes will have bigger meaning in the long run, or if this is the way Jennie wants to present her artistry.
Mantra
This song marked Jennie’s first solo project for this new era of the BlackPink members all going their own way for a little while. Immediately when this song came out, I applauded the girl power on this track and that it encourages women to be confident in their true selves.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jennie went deeper into her inspiration for the song and its special meaning for her. The song was inspired by her time recording in Los Angeles. Which is about being positive, being expressive, and being true to who you are. A message for all of the ladies, women, and pretty girls out there to love yourself for who you are. This is your anthem.
Love Hangover by (feat. Dominic Fike)
Love Hangover captures the intoxicating chaos of a love that’s too hard to quit. Jennie’s subtle yet sultry vocals and Fike’s raw verse create a track that explores the messy aftermath of passion. The song uses the metaphor of a hangover to describe the repeated cycle of breaking up, making up, and waking up with no recollection following a drunken night out. This does make it feel a bit weird that this track found its way after Mantra. Then again, the album would maybe have slowed down too much if put after Handlebars, however I would have put it probably there anyway purely for the storyline.
ZEN
The song, the musical attention behind the album! I remember the first time I heard this song. I was in London and I thought it was just a song used to announce her upcoming album. I was wondering if this was an actual song for the album, and yes it is! With Zen Jennie radiates an unbeatable confidence with a clear perception of herself, no one can make her rethink or doubt who she truly is.
Damn Right (feat. Childish Gambino & Kali Uchis)
The mood changes once again with this chill R&B bop. Throughout the song, Jennie and Kali Uchis talk about impressing someone and making them fall for you, while Childish Gambino provides the male perspective for the song highlighting the elegance and uniqueness of this person.
F.T.S.
F.T.S. which stands for both “Fuck that shit” and “Flip the script” Jennie explained, in an interview with Zane Lowe, that this song was born out of a deep conversation she had with her co-writers about how dreams eventually come true if you believe in them hard enough. At the end of the conversation they decided to just say “Fuck that shit,” which eventually eventually became the song.
Flip the script, do something that hasn’t been done before. By the status Jennie has achieved she isn’t bound by certain social rules anymore, so it’s time to take a leap of fate. Changing the norms. F.T.S. ties a lot of other topics sung in other songs on this album. This song is the start of where Jennie the idol and Jennie the person meet on this album. Probably my favourite part of this album even though there are so many bops in the first half of the album as well.
Filter
The song is a self-love anthem that addresses the standards put on women. Jennie sings that she loves herself more “with no filter,” which could mean both a beauty filter and an emotional one. The song is especially relevant in the idol industry where appearance is often prioritised. It even made me think of songs put out by (G)I-dle.
Seoul City
This song moves like a movie. The sensual R&B track, Seoul City, gets more intimate with songwriting, describing a connection with another person in a sultry, almost dreamlike way. While connecting this to her hometown.
Seoul is home to Jennie. The place where she feels the most safe and comfortable, yet also strange. The connection she makes between her partner and the city suggests that she knows this person in a deeper, more intimate way, just like how she knows Seoul, watching it change over the years.
Starlight
In an interview Jennie stated that Starlight was inspired by a conversation she had with her co-writer, Bibi Bourelly. They talked about heavy topics such as their struggles, and bonded by sharing their experiences. The song conveys a message of self-actualisation and discovering one’s true self. It goes pretty deep with lines like: What about the black mystery? Basically talking about: the blackhole in her that she can’t escape. But at the same time she talks about hope and how she brings herself up again.
twin
Described by Jennie herself as “the most personal” track on the album, twin closes off Ruby with a melancholic message to a past relationship she had. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Jennie explained that writing the song gave her a sense of closure about that relationship.
Throughout the song she speaks to this person as if she is writing a letter. She expresses feelings of regret and nostalgia, but also confusion and extreme vulnerability. The confusion is even shown in the way she delivers the lyrics.
Despite the friendship drifting apart, Jennie believes that as they get older, both sides will be able and willing to make things right. I love that this song is about friendship rather than a romantic relationship. A friendship break up can be so hard, even if it is just about drifting apart. It can hit harder than the fall out of a romantic relationship.
Conclusion
Coming back to the title of this essay… Yes, this is a hidden gem of an album, cause even if this album has good traction, there is also so much hidden. Hidden in the sense of there are multiple layers, for casual listeners, Blinks, longtime Jennie fans, but also Jennie’s personal circle of people and herself. You don’t need to understand this album to love it, but you will for sure love this album when you understand it.
I love this album a lot, even while writing this essay I still see new things in the tracks and I am amazed by the overall end product of this album. Everything is very well thought out, from the mv’s to the physical album and everything in between. I can’t wait what this will mean for the future of Jennie, but firstly I cannot wait till the girls of BlackPink come together as four again!
Love,
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