If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I have been a K-Pop fan for 10 years, so it’s always a blast when idols release solo work. Recently, all of the BlackPink girls – Jennie, Rosé, Lisa and Jisoo – have released music ahead of their upcoming world tour.
Here’s our whistle-stop rundown of Ruby by Jennie.
Intro: JANE with FKJ JENNIE, FKJ
A very vibey start to the album, setting the tone as a somewhat whimsical journey through Jennie’s experiences, immediately cut off with the start of like JENNIE.
10/10, no notes. I love the aggressive and bravado-filled style of this song; it outlines that Jennie knows who she is, and she knows you do too. I’ve seen clips of performances of this song, and it goes harder live than on the album. So much energy and charisma run off Jennie as she performs this song.
Start a war, at first harkens back to the aura of intro: JANE, but the chorus sounds like three other songs I’ve heard before. I love the sentiment of the song but not the execution, as it left me underwhelmed.
Kudos to Jennie for getting Dua to take a break from her endless holiday. This song is really nice and cutesy; it has a nice RnB vibe to it. Real yearning is back, which we love, love, love.
Genius work sampling Jenny From The Block, ‘cause yeah, she’s the best Jennie in the business right now, and she may not be from the block, but she’s defo in your area. You can tell she really thought about what she wanted to say with this album from her careful sampling and the artists she chose to work with and feature.
This song confirmed to me that Jennie is a visionary. Working with Doechii pre-Grammy win shows me that Jennie is a true music listener; this song combines the confidence of like Jennie with Doechii’s sound perfectly. It’s what a feature should be like: two artists working in harmony.
This was the first single from the album. It was a surprisingly good representation of what the whole album would be. It’s also a bop because who doesn’t enjoy a little female empowerment mantra?
Love Hangover (feat. Dominic Fike)
Jennie’s parts of the song are really good. I like the use of the different vocal techniques to denote Jennie’s ever-changing feelings and some of the voice effects that echo her worst thoughts. Dominic Fike’s though… not a hater, I really like some of his songs, but I am not sure he was right for this song, or maybe it was his verse… his voice works with the vibe but the lyrics have me hung up and it’s not a love hangover.
I love that this continues the flow that shows Jennie is confident in who she is and that she is unshakeable. But who can blame her? She’s been proven over and over that she is that girl. I like that this takes a different approach, with a larger sound to the song even though it’s quite empty with a lot of percussion as the base of the backing. I think this song would slap with a live drum band or orchestra.
Damn Right (feat. Childish Gambino & Kali Uchis)
This song is very 2000s RnB. Jennie’s vocals work really well with Kali Uchis and Gambino’s. She’s very adaptable to the sound she’s trying to convey, and it’s really clear that her collaborations were very intentional and add an interesting mix to her overall tracklist. This is the kind of song you would hear playing during a candlelit dinner to set a sultry mood.
This is a really pretty song, with cinematic elements from the big drum sounds. It takes saying “fuck that shit I’m out” and makes it really emotional. I just want to know who hurt her. I’ve now seen footage of her at her Jennie Experience tour, where she looks like she’s about to cry every time she sings this song live. This is the kind of song you put on to have an emotional walk in the rain once you’ve been done wrong by a lover or a friend. It feels like it’s a definite ending to something. May Jennie find peace.
Filter to me sounds like it should be a Raye song with its opening. It chops and changes the flow, which I find incredibly interesting, landing on a UK house vibe for the first chorus. No filter means everything has flown into this song, a lot of different influences and sounds. Around minute two, it reminds me of that Ferrari song by James Hype and Miggy Dela Rosa.
Seoul city has a lo-fi hip-hop vibe from the jump. It was a throwback to hear Mike Will Made It in our lord’s year 2025. But honestly, I love it. There’s an almost sci-fi vibe to the song, like it belongs in Blade Runner 2049. It’s not what I would think of when I hear that it’s a Mike WiLL song, but it does show how diverse his and Jennie’s musical offering can be.
The beginning of Starlight belongs on a K-Drama OST. Although the Zedd ticking did get to me after a little bit. The pre-chorus/ chorus gave me a little bit of old Charli XCX vibes, with 1:17 kicking into what I can only describe as a teen enlightenment moment in a house party of a mid-to-late 2010s coming-of-age movie. The song is a vibe and quite a nostalgic feeling.
This is a beautiful piece. It provides a really raw look into Jennie’s friendships and how hard it can be maintained when you’re in an industry as intense as the K-Pop one. Whilst we may not have the full context, it is a song I can relate to.
All in all, I was quite impressed by this album as a whole. My History with Jennie has been a checkered one. being a vocal critic in my university K-Pop society, as I was not impressed with her first solo venture, Solo, in 2018, but she has thoroughly won me over and shown growth in her solo career.
replay 