K-pop group Blackpink’s Lisa and Jennie go solo at Coachella festival
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Jennie (centre) performs on stage during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 13.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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INDIO, California – Singers Lisa and Jennie of K-pop girl group Blackpink performed for the first time as solo artistes for massive crowds at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 11 and April 13, showcasing their unique hip-hop styles.
Lisa, 28, twerked to the heavy beat of her song, Drop Some Money, in a red outfit under red lights.
Other K-pop performers at Coachella included the seven-member Enhypen, a South Korean boy group who performed on April 12; and XG, an acronym for Xtraordinary Girls, a South Korea-based Japanese girl group, performing on April 13.
Signalling the rising American interest in K-pop in recent years, Blackpink have made history at Coachella twice – in 2019 as the first female-led K-pop group to perform at the festival, and then again in 2023 as the first K-pop headliner.
Starting with hip-hop trio Epik High in 2016, Coachella has been bringing more South Korean acts to the festival scene, including Aespa, DPR (Dream Perfect Regime), Le Sserafim, Ateez and The Rose.
Alter Ego is Lisa’s 2025 debut solo studio album after leaving YG Entertainment in 2023, joining RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music.
Lisa at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The album has 15 tracks that incorporate hip-hop, electropop and trap genres, and includes guest singers Raye, Doja Cat, Tyla, Rosalia, Future and Megan Thee Stallion.
Lisa will continue recording for Interscope as part of Blackpink, along with fellow members Jennie, Rose and Jisoo.
The Thai singer has embarked on an acting career as well – with her first acting role in the Max television series, The White Lotus, in 2025.
Jennie has also opted to pursue her solo music career, releasing her first single Solo in 2018 with YG Entertainment and Interscope.
The 29-year-old made her acting debut in the Max series The Idol in 2023. REUTERS
