K-Town
LISA has been hitting the ground running ever since BLACKPINK went on hiatus more than a year ago, allowing all four girls to pursue their own solo projects. For the 27-year-old singer-rapper, that’s meant releasing a string of singles, polishing up a debut album, delivering show-stopping performances and making her acting debut in Mike White’s White Lotus.
But one of those feathers in her cap stands out from the rest, LISA revealed in a new cover story interview with V magazine. “I’m proud of every single thing,” she told the publication. “But if I really, really have to pick a favorite, I would say the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
LISA was one of a few A-list artists who performed on the catwalk in October as part of an all-women lineup rounded out by Cher and Tyla. The New York City showcase marked the highly anticipated return of the lingerie brand’s annual televised fashion show after six years.
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The interview comes just over a month ahead of the K-pop star’s upcoming debut album, Alter Ego, which will drop Feb. 28. LISA has steadily been getting fans ready for the project by releasing singles “Rockstar,” “New Woman” featuring Rosalia and “Moonlit Floor,” the first of which reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The musician has also been gearing up for the release of White Lotus‘ third season, in which she stars as an employee of the show’s fictional hotel chain location in Thailand. Little else is known about her character, but while speaking to V, LISA said that she was “all over the place” when figuring out how to navigate acting for the first time.
“This was my first acting gig, so when I started, I had to prepare so many things,” she told the publication. “It’s a whole new world to me … But on the first day of the shoot, everybody was so supportive.”
“Thai people are proud,” she added of the third season’s location. “I love Thai culture. Some people already know how incredible it is, but I feel like [this show] is a chance to let the world know more about Thailand and its beauty.”
See LISA on the cover of V below.
JISOO of BLACKPINK is about to make Valentine’s Day even sweeter for BLINKs. On Monday (Jan. 13), the K-pop star shared a cryptic teaser video on her socials hinting that a mystery project is arriving this February, with many fans believing it’s a sign that she’s gearing up to make a solo musical comeback.
In the six-second clip, the needle of what appears to be a lie detector is sent into overdrive while scratching frantic wavelength patterns onto graph paper.
“FEBRUARY 14,” reads the end screen.
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In her caption, JISOO simply added, “2025.02.14 COMING SOON.”
Billboard has reached out to BLACKPINK’s team for comment.
Though the singer-actress didn’t specify what she has in store for fans next month, most BLINKs have taken the teaser to mean that JISOO is joining her BLACKPINK bandmates LISA, JENNIE and ROSÉ in embarking on a solo era amid the girl group’s ongoing hiatus. JISOO first made her solo debut in 2023, releasing singles “FLOWER” and “All Eyes on Me.”
“SOMETHING IS UP,” one person excitedly tweeted. “JISOO SOLO FEB14”
“I’M BACK AND DEFINITELY SEATED,” wrote another fan, adding the hashtag, “#JISOOSoloComeback”
The ladies of BLACKPINK last dropped an album in September 2022, with Born Pink debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. After embarking on a world tour in support of the LP, the bandmates dispersed to focus on solo projects, with ROSÉ and LISA both turning in albums and JENNIE dropping a single titled “Mantra” in October.
Meanwhile, JISOO has been focusing on acting, starring in the upcoming series Newtopia alongside Park Jeong-min. BLACKPINK is expected to reunite at some point in 2025, but for now, the four stars are cheering each other on as they grow independently. “Everyone took their own journey [during] this time, and I’m excited to share that with the girls,” JENNIE told Billboard in her recent cover story, while LISA said in her November cover story, “We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project … This is what we all wanted to do, so I just wanted to say that I really do love [the other girls’] songs.”
And in the comments of JISOO’s new trailer, ROSÉ showed her excitement for her bandmate’s next move. “wait whaat in the…..😱😱😱😭❤️❤️❤️,” the “APT” singer wrote on Instagram.
See JISOO’s teaser below.
In October 2021, when Primary Wave first acquired a stake in Bing Crosby’s estate, the members of the new guard sat down together and came up with two objectives.
“One is: we want to make Bing the king of Christmas and holidays, every season, every year,” senior marketing manager Jack LeVine recalls to Billboard of the late pop icon, who delivered the definitive 20th century renditions of “White Christmas” and other seasonal staples. “And two is: just exciting, educating and engaging global and young audiences around Bing and his catalog.”
Nearly 7,000 miles away, the person who would turn out to be key to both goals was in the midst of an era-defining career explosion as part of South Korean boy band BTS, which brought renewed global attention to K-pop in 2021 with a breathtaking run of sunny dance singles – most prominently the 10-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Butter” — dazzling audiences with sleek visuals and snappy group choreography and enjoying the support of an ever-expanding, relentlessly passionate fanbase dubbed ARMY. But while the performer known as V was, to the world, one of seven young men at the helm of the year’s most polished, cutting-edge wave of contemporary pop dominance, the artist who grew up Kim Tae-hyung was, in his personal life, a reverent fan of a much different genre: jazz.
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And his favorite performer? Bing Crosby.
You could call it kismet, then, that three years later, V can now consider his hero a duet partner, their voices coming together over generations and lifetimes on a revamped version of “White Christmas” — fashioned out of an extremely rare recording found in Crosby’s extensive personal archives, voice-isolating technology and redone instrumentals — that dropped Friday (Dec. 6). But the project is actually the result of years of Primary Wave brainstorming, coordinating and consulting with Crosby’s daughter Mary and son Harry on how to not just preserve the iconic star’s legacy, but push it forward in a way that changes with the times.
There are many, scattered moments in the story of how the new “White Christmas” came together that could be considered the starting point, from V’s numerous posts about loving Bing over the years to Primary Wave’s discovery of the recording, a necessarily intimate 1950s radio performance that had only been released on limited physical products in the past — and could be perfect for recreating the magic of Crosby and David Bowie’s 1977 era-bridging “Little Drummer Boy” duet, with the help of a new modern star. But it’s the moment that those two worlds came together that proved to be the most fateful: when Primary Wave’s Sarah Nekich, digital and audience engagement, was scrolling X in her free time and came across a vlog posted by V in July 2022 in which he sang Crosby’s “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” in his car. At that point, months had gone by since the estate had considered the duet idea, stalled without a clear choice as to who was fit to join the late legend on the track. But now?
“It was just too perfect,” Nekich remembers of seeing V’s video. “He just had a beautiful jazz-like voice that sounds very similar to a young Bing Crosby. It was a no-brainer: These two are meant to be on a song together.”
The rest of the team – including Harry and Mary Crosby – were similarly impressed, and Primary Wave quickly reached out to V’s camp at HYBE x Geffen, who “were really receptive,” says Levine. The estate went to work on fleshing out a proper sketch of what the duet would actually sound like with V in the mix, tapping experienced jazz and classic pop producer Gregg Field to oversee the music, while Nekich — having already reposted V’s cover of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” on Bing’s channels, and getting rocked by a tidal wave of ARMY engagement in response – continued interacting with BTS fans on social media to maintain momentum.
“The fact that V was such a huge fan was so heartening to us,” recalls Mary Crosby. “Until he came along, there wasn’t the right person. Because of V, Dad is going to be reaching an entirely different audience.”
The pieces were coming together, but making them connect would take more time than anticipated — especially as other projects repeatedly pushed the duet lower and lower on the to-do list. “The challenge with Christmas is no one is thinking about it in January or February,” Levine explains, laughing.
In late 2022, however, something lit a fire under the enterprise. “The BTS solo members announced that they were enlisting [in the South Korean military],” the executive continues. “There was a new sense of urgency. We were racing against a deadline that we had no visibility into.”
If Field had been able to take his time constructing the song before, he definitely couldn’t anymore. The producer – who’s previously worked with John Williams and Herbie Hancock – assembled the track using all-new instrumental arrangements by Rob Mounsey, recording rhythm section backings in Los Angeles and the orchestra and choir parts in Europe. Doing everything fresh was essential to making the finished product palatable to “2024 ears,” Field says, as was the process of separating Crosby’s vocal from the radio recording through iZotope’s Music Rebalance technology, revitalizing it to sound “like it was recorded yesterday” — sort of the musical equivalent to restoring aged paintings or worn-down buildings.
“That’s a perfect analogy,” Field tells Billboard of the process. “It’s getting all of the years of crud away from it and exposing what’s there.”
The last piece of the puzzle was V’s contribution, which he recorded remotely just before shipping off in December 2023 for 18 months to complete his mandatory service. His raw talent blew Field away. Says the producer, “The musical decisions [V] made – he understood who he was singing with.”
When the mix was finally complete early this year, all Primary Wave had to do was keep the collaboration a secret until finally announcing it in November, to the absolute delight of V’s biggest champions. Nekich reports that Crosby’s accounts have been absolutely flooded with heartfelt messages from ARMY ever since, with the late crooner’s following on X doubling “almost overnight” and his engagements skyrocketing by 300,000% within two weeks of the reveal.
Many of their comments, Nekich says, express genuine pride and happiness for V, who shared in a statement at the time of the announcement, “I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to have sung along … with the voice of someone I consider an idol.”
For Mary, the project represents everything that was important to her father in his lifetime. “If you look at what Dad did in terms of technology, bringing voice on tape … he was always ahead of the game and always incredibly interested in musical experiments,” she reflects. “This collaboration with V is kind of a continuation of that. Many people [from Bing’s era] would’ve not been able to wrap their head around this, but I think Dad would have.”
As for whether her father, who died in 1977, would’ve chosen to do the duet with V if he were alive today, Mary says, “Dad would’ve jumped at the chance.”
“He tried everything and sang with everybody,” the actress adds. “That sparked him. There are so many popular singers that list Bing Crosby as an influence, but Dad was always 100% ready to be musically influenced by someone else.”
With the track finally out in the world after three years of build-up, Primary Wave has officially made good on the goals they set at the beginning of their relationship with Crosby’s estate. But, galvanized by the breathtaking support of ARMY and the realization that, through technology, more doors are open to them than previously imagined, the team is ready to think even bigger. Nekich hopes the duet becomes a “new Christmas classic” — one that’ll serve as the jumping-off point, not the end of, Crosby’s relationship with V. And, she’d “love to see it go to the top of the Billboard charts this Christmas — we’re shooting for the stars.”
On that note, Levine is also adding an unofficial third objective to the bulletin board. “Respect to the queen,” he tells Billboard, “But I hope we outperform Mariah [Carey] this year.”
Listen to Bing Crosby’s brand-new version of “White Christmas” featuring V of BTS above.
TWICE has officially conquered the Amazon Music Live stage, with the nine-piece K-pop girl group performing “I Got You” after Thursday Night Football on Prime Video Thursday (Nov. 21). Divided up across three platforms on stage, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu stood spread out in front of standing microphones, modeling […]
V is doubling down on holiday releases this year, with the BTS star announcing a new seasonal duet with Park Hyo Shin titled “Winter Ahead” Thursday (Nov. 21). Arriving Nov. 29 ahead of V’s highly anticipated “White Christmas” collaboration with Bing Crosby, “Winter Ahead” is described in a release as a jazz-pop collaboration inspired by […]
Attention, ROSÉ stans — your No. 1 girl has a new solo single on the way.
As announced Tuesday (Nov. 19), the 27-year-old musician is dropping a song titled “Number One Girl” this Friday (Nov. 22). Sharing what appears to be the track’s cover art — a photo of ROSÉ staring wistfully off to the side while modeling a shirt with the song’s title printed on it — the BLACKPINK star wrote on Instagram, “this one’s for my number ones. ❤️”
“Number One Girl” will follow ROSÉ’s chart-topping duet with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” which has spent four weeks and counting at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200. Released in October, the track also debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the New Zealand native’s first top 10 solo hit.
Prior to “APT.,” ROSÉ announced her debut solo album, rosie, with a heartfelt post on Instagram. “I have poured my blood and tears into this album,” she wrote Oct. 1, two months ahead of the 12-track project’s Dec. 6 release date. “I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine. Rosie – is the name I allow my friends and family to call me. With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me.”
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At the time, ROSÉ also may have subtly teased the title of her new single by specifically thanking her “number ones” for their support. She did the same during her recent appearance on Hot Ones, closing the show by saying, “love you, number ones.”
The star isn’t the only member of BLACKPINK who’s been rolling out a solo era this year. LISA has also shared a slew of independent singles — “Rockstar,” “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” and Rosalía duet “New Woman” — and announced her own solo album, Alter Ego, on the same day ROSÉ shared the news about “Number One Girl.”
The foursome — which also includes JENNIE and JISOO — is expected to reunite for full-band activities in 2025. But in the meantime, ROSÉ says she’s pursuing her solo efforts with advice from none other than Taylor Swift in mind.
“As soon as she met me, she’s like, ‘Spill, let me help you out,’” ROSÉ recalled of meeting the “Karma” artist recently. “I’m really grateful for her, because I was at a moment where I was drowning a little. She is literally the coolest, and she’s such a girl’s girl. She was telling me – ‘make sure to take care of this, this and this’ – like, logistics. She was trying to protect me.”
See ROSÉ’s “Number One Girl” announcement below.
BLINKs already know LISA — now get ready to meet her alter ego. After weeks of teasing, the BLACKPINK star has finally announced that her debut solo album is on its way, and it’s coming in just a few months.
On Tuesday (Nov. 19) — a date fans have been impatiently counting down to alongside a cryptic timer on LISA’s website — the 27-year-old performer shared that her first-ever LP independent from her famous girl group is titled Alter Ego and slated to arrive Feb. 28. She also unveiled the project’s cover art, which features a sleek photo of a hooded LISA showing off her spiky black nails and staring down the camera.
On her LLOUD YouTube channel, the Thai singer-rapper further hyped up fans by dropping a three-minute album trailer, which expands on the teaser she dropped a few days prior to the announcement. With her eyes changing colors through the landscapes, the video finds LISA traveling from a black rock structure to a cyberpunk outer-space catwalk, an enchanted garden, a green laser-beam motorcycle track and a volcanic red runway.
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According to the press release, the five locations represent the five characters LISA emulates on the LP, “each representing a unique personality.” “They are represented by the five points on a star, which has become a key emblem in the campaign,” the description adds.
Alter Ego will follow a run of three LISA singles in 2024, beginning with “Rockstar” — which reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and followed by “New Woman” with Rosalía and “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me).” The star has been prepping the album for months for a release ahead of BLACKPINK’s planned reunion in 2025, and in her Billboard cover story, she opened up about her perfectionism when it came to the project.
“I’m trying to figure it out, the tracklist and everything, what I can change in there,” she told Billboard. “Everything’s there. I think they’re going to be shocked at how capable I am [at] doing so many things.”
The star also gushed about her BLACKPINK bandmates ROSÉ — who has simultaneously been forging her own solo music era this year — JENNIE and JISOO in her cover story. “We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” LISA said. “So we want to support and say, ‘You did really well!’ Like, JENNIE and Rosie just released their own songs, and we’re on texts, we’re on FaceTime. They’re like family.”
Watch the Alter Ego teaser and see the album cover below.
ROSÉ of BLACKPINK is gearing up to release her first-ever solo album Dec. 6, but before she takes the leap, the 27-year-old K-pop star says she got a little advice from one of the most successful pop soloists to ever do it: Taylor Swift.
Just a couple weeks ahead of the arrival of Rosie — ROSÉ’s 12-track debut LP independent from her famous girl group — the performer opened up about the bond she forged with the 34-year-old “Anti-Hero” singer while at a New York City hangout in a cover story interview with I-D published Monday (Nov. 18). “I told her I’m such a huge fan, and I just had some questions,” she recalled of introducing herself to Swift. “As soon as she met me, she’s like, ‘Spill, let me help you out.’”
The “APT.” singer added that Swift “was so ready to help me” and even passed along her number as the two conversed during the gathering, which was hosted by producer Jack Antonoff at Electric Lady Studios. “Who does that? Like, you’re Taylor Swift!” ROSÉ gushed in retrospect.
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“I’m really grateful for her, because I was at a moment where I was drowning a little,” the K-pop star added. “She is literally the coolest, and she’s such a girl’s girl. She was telling me – ‘make sure to take care of this, this and this’ – like, logistics. She was trying to protect me. Me becoming solo, being independent, it’s not an easy thing. There are a lot of things I should be careful with, and she gave me a rundown on all the things I have to look out for. That was the coolest part – she’s killed it in the game, and she was kind enough to walk me through.”
The interview isn’t the first time ROSÉ has expressed her admiration for the 14-time Grammy winner, whose Eras Tour show she caught in Tokyo in February. Afterward, the girl group member shared a five-minute video of herself singing along to Swift’s performance of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” and wrote on TikTok, “Best 10 minutes in tokyo.”
More than a year prior to that, Swift proved that she’s a BLINK by using BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” in a TikTok video while on her way to the 2022 VMAs, where the “Karma” artist would later announce her 10th studio album, Midnights. That night, the show’s cameras also captured Swift dancing along to the same track as it played over the speakers.
See ROSÉ’s I-D cover and photos from the shoot below.
BLINKs are counting down the days until BLACKPINK reunites in 2025 — and so is LISA.
In her Billboard cover story published Thursday (Nov. 14), the 27-year-old K-pop superstar gushed about her plans with groupmates ROSÉ, JENNIE and JISOO to launch back into full-band activities next year after spending the past year and a half focusing on solo projects. “I can’t wait,” she excitedly told writer Nolan Feeney of the planned comeback.
“We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” she continued. “So we want to support and say, ‘You did really well!’ Like, JENNIE and Rosie just released their own songs, and we’re on texts, we’re on FaceTime. They’re like family. I’m just so happy that they’re releasing something. This is what we all wanted to do, so I just wanted to say that I really do love their songs.”
Following the July 2023 conclusion of the group’s Born Pink World Tour — which supported Billboard 200-topping album Born Pink — LISA has spent the past couple of months releasing independent singles such as Billboard Hot 100 hits “Rockstar” and “New Woman” with Rosalía. Meanwhile, ROSÉ has been gearing up to release a solo album, rosie; JENNIE filmed The Weeknd’s The Idol last year and dropped a new single titled “Mantra” in October; and JISOO has been focusing on acting in Korean TV and film projects.
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Their individual paths, however, will once again intertwine at some point in 2025, with YG Entertainment announcing as much earlier this year. The company also promised that the comeback would be paired with another world tour — but that’s where they might’ve lost LISA, who seemed a bit uncertain while speaking to Billboard.
“That’s what they say?” she said — appearing slightly skeptical — of YG’s tour news. LLOUD’s Alice Kang added, “I don’t know … We’ll have to wait and see what YG confirms.”
LISA’s cover story comes a little more than a month since her last single, “New Woman,” dropped in October. On Tuesday (Nov. 12), she posted a mysterious teaser video set to “Rockstar,” with a cryptic countdown appearing on her website around the same time.
Fans were immediately hopeful that the latter was ticking down to an announcement related to her upcoming album, about which the Thai singer-rapper tells Billboard, “I’m trying to figure it out, the tracklist and everything, what I can change in there.”
“Everything’s there,” she adds. “I think they’re going to be shocked at how capable I am [at] doing so many things.”
Something LISA this way comes — but fans aren’t exactly sure what it is yet. That will all change soon, however, according to a mysterious untitled countdown that has appeared on the BLACKPINK star’s solo website. By Billboard‘s math, the clock will finish ticking down on Nov. 19 — the possible release date of new […]