Blackpink’s Lisa created five alter egos for her debut solo album. But which is most like her?

SINGAPORE – For her debut solo full-length album Alter Ego, K-pop superstar Lisa created five new colourful personas – Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni and Speedi.

Inspired by the songs from the work, the extensions of herself appear in the album art and promotional campaign and have different personalities and styles. Roxi, for example, is a guitar-wielding rock star, while Speedi is a speed-loving race car driver.

So, which one is the real Lisa? They all are, the Thai singer-rapper from K-pop girl group Blackpink tells The Straits Times in an online media conference in mid-February.

“All of them are really close to me. I’m just being a girl. Girls have their moods and are different every day. So, I guess these five are all me.”

But if she had to narrow it down to a single alter ego, she would go for Vixi, whom she says is the main character in the album that drops on Feb 28.

“Vixi’s fearless, and we have a lot in common.”

Lisa, the most-followed K-pop artiste on Instagram (105 million) and the most-followed female K-pop solo artiste on Spotify (11 million), adds: “I want people who listen to this album to feel confident and empowered.”

The biggest challenge in making Alter Ego, says the 27-year-old, was trying to find a middle ground. “I don’t want the songs to be too different from one another,” she adds.

Lisa – whose real name is Lalisa Manobal – released her first solo EP, Lalisa, in 2021. In 2024, she dropped three hit singles from Alter Ego – Rockstar, New Woman and Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me). 

The album, which she spent 1½ years working on, is meant to be a showcase of new styles and “a lot of the colours of Lisa”.

It is released by RCA, the American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, and Lloud, the management company she started in 2024. “I’m just so lucky and happy to have my own creative space and a supportive team,” she says of her role as founder and chief executive of Lloud.

Alter Ego even has its own comic book – a 56-page graphic novel titled Alter-Ego: The Official Comic featuring her five personas. She put it out through Lalisa Comics, a venture with US entertainment and media company Zero Zero Entertainment. She wrote the story, while the art was done by Japanese illustrator Minomiyabi.

During the conference, Lisa touched on her acting debut in the third season of award-winning drama series The White Lotus (2021 to present), which is available on Max.

She has a supporting role as Mook, a staff member of the titular luxury resort in Thailand who shares a budding romance with a security guard (played by Thai actor Tayme Thapthimthong).

She says of her latest career move: “It has been really fun, and it’s super new to me. It’s really great to be part of The White Lotus family.”

The hardest part about working on Alter Ego and filming The White Lotus was all the travelling she had to do. She recorded the album in Phuket, Thailand, Seoul in South Korea, and Miami and Los Angeles in the US, while filming for The White Lotus took place in Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand.

“It’s really tough, but I’m loving what I’m doing right now,” she says. “My schedule last year was so packed.”

A song from Alter Ego, Born Again, featuring American rapper Doja Cat and British singer-songwriter Raye, was used in a trailer for The White Lotus 3.

It is a collaboration that will see Lisa make history as the first K-pop artiste to take the stage at the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. She will appear alongside both her music collaborators on March 2 for a special performance.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars, teased on social media on Feb 25 to expect a “show-stopping celebration of cinema” and an “epic Oscars moment”.

Lisa has been a fan of Doja Cat for a long time, and was very excited when the latter agreed to work together. “I’m so honoured that she said yes. On set, she’s a superstar, but she was so professional and super chill. I love her.”