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Blackpink member Jennie’s solo album ‘Ruby’ is all about unabashedly being herself and we’re loving the main character energy!

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Aishwarya Srinivasan
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Ruby

Consisting of 15 songs, Ruby taps into Jennie’s true potential as an artist showcasing her vulnerability, confidence and growth as an artist!

Ever since her debut in 2016, Jennie hasn’t just been a K-pop idol, she has been a phenomenon around the world. Every small action of hers has stirred conversations on social media, and either gained her love or scrutiny. But she isn’t one to get suppressed by all the noise, in fact she emerges stronger each time. From being the brand ambassador to some of the biggest luxury names around the world to her acting debut and touring around the world with her Blackpink girls, she has made a name for herself on the global map. So to add to her list of achievements, she released her first solo album ‘Ruby’ which showcases the range of talent she has to offer through music. The album is named ‘Ruby’ not just because that’s her middle name but also because through the course of making this album, she went on a path of self discovery and fell in love with life again. In her album, we see her face her past self head-on. She talks about falling in love, getting her heart broken, her love for the city of Seoul, what it’s like to be an idol and how the world is obsessed with her!

With a total of 15 tracks, there’s a mix of peppy numbers like ‘Mantra’, and ‘Like Jennie’ and mellow, soulful renditions like ‘Zen’ and ‘Twin’. Jennie has also collaborated with a plethora of well known artists in her albums like ‘Extra L’ with Doechii, ‘Handlebars’ with Dua Lipa and ‘Love Hangover’ with Dominic Fike. While the reactions on social media have been mostly positive and have garnered her praises for the effort she has put into making a BOP album, it also surrounded some controversy!

Also Read: 6 things to expect in 2025 as a BTS fan!

So without any further ado, let’s deep dive into everything that the album means and more!

Intro: Jane with FKJ

The album opens with this track which has a calming tone with smooth saxophone melodies. It starts us slow as the ride ahead only and only gets crazy, as the song followed by this one is the title track ‘Like Jennie’ but more on that ahead!

Start a War

As the title suggests, the song basically talks about how Jennie would literally start a war for the one she loves. We see her introspecting on the same thought throughout the track that has rather layered and intense vocals from the singers.

Handlebars (feat. Dua Lipa)

The song marks the first collaboration between two global popstars Dua Lipa and Jennie. Their harmonized chorus together is fun and has elements of pop and disco. The lyrics explore themes of falling in love with someone and the flirtatious nature around it.

With the IE (way up)

This turns JLO’s Jenny from the block into a club anthem. It talks about empowerment and resilience through its lyrics that talk about making your way up to the top in an industry as crazy as this one!

ExtraL (feat.Doechii)

This one feels like a banger the minute you listen to it! It’s the perfect blend of rap and playful lyricism. Doechii and Jennie’s vibe brings humor and talks about taking over a male dominated world.

Mantra

With lyrics like “Pretty girls don’t do drama, unless we wanna, it’ll be depending on the day”, this one’s for the girls! It highlights the fact that there’s nothing we cannot do. We’re ready to go out there and have a full day and ace whatever we do! From the song to the choreography, all of it has been trending on Reels since last November when it initially came out as a single.

Love Hangover (feat.Dominic Fike)

Love Hangover sounds like a sweet romantic song but if you really look into the lyrics, it’s about how we’ve all been stuck in toxic loops in a relationship. We say we’ll stay away from this one particular person but every time we slide back into our lives, we’re back to doing the same things that hurt us. Jennie along with Dominic Fike explores a similar idea through this song and the music video.

Zen

Jennie goes down a path of self reflection. With a clear perception of herself, she says how nobody can make her doubt herself and she is ready to emerge as a more confident version of her. 

Damn Right (feat. Childish Gambino & Kali Uchis)

In collaboration with Childish Gambino and Kali Uchis, JENNIE serves a chill R&B bop with ‘Damn Right’ from her debut solo album, Ruby. 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.

Filter

‘Filter’ is the 12th track to Jennie’s solo debut album, Ruby. The song is a self-love anthem that addresses the standards put on women, be it regarding beauty or how to be. 

Seoul City

The song is a love letter to the city of Seoul and how she finds love in a place that’s so close to her heart!

Starlight

Starlight begins with delicate piano melodies. It delves into Jennie’s duality, balancing her radiant public image and her personal self who has her own set of struggles.

Twin

The album concludes with Twin which is an acoustic track about a lost friendship. It would highly resonate with people who have ever had a friendship break up with someone who they truly thought they were close to.

And finally! The song that people cannot stop dancing to on Reels aka ‘Like Jennie’

Ever since a short teaser of the album came out, ‘Like Jennie’ instantly became the talk of the town for a plethora of reasons! It blew up on social media through Reels with people making their own version of the choreography to the song. The song screams main character energy and how the world wants to be just like her!

But the song was also in the limelight because it sounded rather similar to Pritam’s Rani intro song from ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’. The hook part of both the songs sound similar as both songs have ‘Jennie’ and ‘Rani’ repeated multiple times over. The matter escalated to the point where Blackpink fans and Alia Bhatt fans started dragging both women down on social media. From racial slurs to trolling their looks, fandoms reached a new low everyday, until the song’s composer, Pritam released a statement clarifying that this isn’t plagiarism. Since both names rhyme and the world of music is so interconnected, co-incidences like these are bound to occur!

This was probably a learning lesson for us all to not judge a book by its cover!

Having said that, here’s how the blinks reacted to Jennie’s solo album!

Have you listened to the album yet? What did you think? 

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