Lalisa Manoban is her name and she is making it known. On Friday, Sept. 10, Lalisa (Lisa) dropped her highly awaited solo. The drop featured the songs “Lalisa” and “Money” with the primary having an eye-catching music video.
You may recognize Lisa’s name from her 2020 “did it work” meme or her zealous performance at Coachella in 2019. Lisa is the third Blackpink member to release a solo project following the success of Rosé and Jennie. At the time of writing this, Lisa has already broken several records, including boasting a record-shattering 800,000 album pre-orders and over 70 million music video views in 24 hours.
“Lalisa” is a beat-heavy anthem filled with the repetition of Lalisa’s name. And yes it’s one of those songs that you can’t get out of your head and for a good reason. From her killer English rap to her Ariana Grande esque vocal bridge, Lisa lays it all on the table for this track.
The balance of English and Korean works well for the song. Lisa is rapping at superhuman speeds in her non-native language. If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is.
My favorite part is definitely when she showcases her Thai culture. Toward the end, there is a total beat and flow change that portrays Lisa’s heritage and with a line like “being the greatest of all time ain’t fantasy,” it is absolutely perfect. She’s making it known where she came from and embracing where she is now.
You also have to appreciate how amazing the music video is. Lisa showed off her endless new talents: motorcycle riding, ATV riding and even pole dancing. The outfit and set changes were mesmerizing and personalized to Lisa. My favorite scene is when she’s in the desert in a biker outfit doing her choreography.
Lisa had her debut performance of “Lalisa” on Jimmy Fallon Friday and she absolutely killed it. From rapping to singing, she effortlessly balanced switching languages. The energy and confident aura she had was high the entire time and her exciting facial expressions furthered her dominating stage presence. From the live performance, you could really see the strong choreography, in which Lisa took part in choreographing herself along with popular choreographers Kiel Tutin and Leejung Lee. There is even a cute part that spells out her initials “LA.”
The success of “Lalisa” will skyrocket the already popular superstar. Lisa is destined to be a global force and has already proven that she can run in the big leagues. She truly outdid herself and with a track record of going viral as many times as Lisa, that is hard to do.
The next track on the project is titled “Money.” This full English track is set to be a U.S. hip-hop radio hit if given the chance. With its heavy bass, catchy lyrics and balance of rap and singing, the only thing it needs is a music video.
Lisa delivered a solo that showed her growth as an artist from Blackpink’s last release to now. She pushed herself and the outcome couldn’t be better. The name Lalisa will go down in history books. Keep an eye out for this megastar.