Hey, it's me, Giggens, and I'm here today to talk about the brand new debut album from Blackpink star LISA, Alter Ego.

Blackpink are easily one of the most famous K-pop groups of all time, combining what fans describe as savage and cute songs or as musically expressive as they are lyrically attention-grabbing. All the members of Blackpink currently have a solo projects out right now, and this project from LISA, Alter Ego, finds her playing with a lot of different musical genres. Because of the genre hopping, she creates these "alter egos" to play inside those genres to create a cohesive album. If you want to buy the physical copy of this album, there's one for each alter ego.

One of the frustrating things about this record is that, digitally, "Born Again" is on the album, but on the physical release, it's not on the album. I guess technically, "Born Again" isn't actually a part of the real tracklist, but for the sake of this video, it's on the tracklist. With that said, "Born Again" features LISA with Doja Cat and Raye, and this song is soaring and powerful. It's an epically performed track. It just oozes cool. The '80s slap bass, the dense production, the sweeping dramatic '80s strings. It just creates this perfect little song about empowerment and moving on and being the best you you can be.

The chorus is a constant one-two punch that lives in your head long after the song is over. I love Ray and Doja Cat's features on here. Lyrically, it's a song about if a guy put in more effort. Now that the relationship's over, she's basically singing about all the great things that this dude's missing out on and how she could have blown his mind. He's just going to have to live that forever. She's feeling renewed by this sense of empowerment and strength and confidence.

This song will easily be one of my top singles of the year. The chemistry between the three of them is palpable, and the energy on this thing is just so much fun to listen to. Like I said before, this song will live in your head. It's just excellent.

"Rockstar" comes up next, and I love the confidence on this one, too. A really buzzy-sounding track with really fin production that allows for LISA to stand out on top of it vocally. She flows seamlessly from one line to another with her rap skills. She's very articulate, very punchy. This is definitely one of those tracks that allows her to play with multiple genres inside one song. At times, it sounds a bit like a hip hop song. At times, it's like a dream pop song. At times, she raps. At times, she sings. Her versatility is really prominent on this track. It's a song about working hard and understanding where you are because of your hard work and also understanding the power of your influence. I love the almost manic feeling this track has until it gets to the choruses where it just slows down and flows into this ambient dream pop world, especially the outro. I like how it slows down, does a half speed feel. This track also does sample Kevin Parker (Tame Impala).

"Elastigirl" follows this one up, and it's an Incredibles reference. But I really enjoy how this song is about… It's either about two things. It's either about being so flexible and so bendable that nothing can actually hit you and impact you, that whatever negativity comes your way, it's going to bounce off you. You're bendable. It doesn't matter what people say, you're going to take your original form. Or it could be just a really flirty, suggestive song. Who knows?

One thing that comes up pretty often on this album is the "La La La La Lisa", which is a callback to her previous single from a couple of years ago. That does come up on this chorus as well. But I like it. It's a fun chorus. It's a catchy song. I dig it.

"Thunder" follows that up next. For me, this is part two of "Rockstar", where she understands her star power and thundering down to Earth, if you will. Everybody talks about a thunderstorm. Everybody anticipates a thunderstorm, and you have this idea of getting ready for it. I feel like she's comparing herself to that power. Her fame is at the forefront of everybody's minds. They're thinking about it like you would think about weather. The really breathy chorus is pretty unique, and I find that really fascinating. It goes down well on the ears, but overall, yeah, it's a cool pop track.

"New Woman" with Rosalia – this is a really great song about comparing yourself to flowers and re-blooming; a rebirth in that re-bloom, the care that goes along with it. The change up in the middle where the baskets are really murky, when that part happens and Rosalia comes in, I love that change up, that shift, that juxtaposition of a little bit faster for LISA, a little bit slower down for Rosalia. Cool combination of worlds colliding on that track. Just a great song about cheering yourself on and taking care of yourself in that process and learning about yourself along the way.

With "F Up The World", I really feel like, personally, she's talking about her own sound on this one. She's talking about going out there and changing things up so dramatically. I don't see it as she's going out there causing chaos or something. I think it's about causing a disruption in the status quo of what's expected of her. I think she has an idea for what Blackpink fans and maybe the music industry at large has an idea of what she wants to do or what she can sound like. I feel like this song, in general, is about waking up one day and be like, You know... I'm going to change everything about what you guys think I can do. At one point in the song, she even says, "If you want the old Lisa, listen to the old shit."

"Rapunzel" comes up next with Megan thee Stalion. This one's just really fun. For me, again, this one's about being so high up in a "tower" you feel like you might be on your own, but it also sounds like a reflects where it's explaining about all the cool things they've achieved and all the hard work they've put in. But maybe that could feel a bit lonely up in the tower, hoping somebody can come up like, Oh, I'll be your friend. The chorus for me almost seems literal where it's like they're seen as money. They're seen as a commodity. They're seen as something you buy where it's like you go out and buy their album, you go out and watch their music videos or buy their concert tickets. That's money. That's going to be a weird concept that you know that when you sign contracts, your art is being consumed in a certain way. That might be a lonely feeling. Maybe you just want to make art for the sake of art and not for the sake of just selling it. I see it as being lonely on top, being alone in that tower, but also being proud of it at the same time. I don't see it as being a sad song.

"Moonlit Floor" follows that one up next. This interpolates "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. While I do appreciate that tribute or that callback to that song, I feel like the song itself has good bones. Why not just write your own chorus? When I hear that bit in the chorus, I just want to hear the original song. If anything, just cover "Kiss Me". When you interpolate songs, for me, it comes across a lot of times like lazy songwriting. It's like, just keep plugging away. You can believe in yourself and you can make something cool. Like I said, the bones of "Moonlit Floor" are good. It's a nice, sweet, catchy song, but they could have blown it out of the water spending another two or three hours coming up with a really great chorus that they wrote. That's how I feel about that one. It's a catchy song, and I like it. When I'm in the mood, it hits me in different ways. But I enjoy it, but it just makes me want to play the original song.

"When I'm With You" features Tyla, and this is another flirty song about blowing someone's mind and just having fun. Nothing really serious here and accepting that. Definitely brings those Y2K vibes, that early 2000s production, the group vocals, and the more vocals are saying the same thing together. It's almost like you believe in it yourself and feel as alone for how you feel.

"Badgrrrl" comes up next, and this is a wild exciting night going out with your friends, driving around, meeting up with people who have fancier cars, and what other journeys you might get into that night. It's fine. The "La la" chorus, again, is cool, but it's one of the weaker tracks on the album, I would say. Same goes for "Lifestyle". It sounds a little bit like an early 2010s pop song, but overall, it's just a flex. I get it. You work hard for what you have, and you're proud of that, but it's not a relatable song, but not all songs have to be. But it comes across as like, All right, we've heard a few of these already on the album. Is this a little bit redundant at this point?

"Chill" follows that one up next. This one reminds me of "Promiscuous" by Nelly Fertado. It's definitely got that early 2000s feel. I like that line, "Can't read my face / just call me Mona Lisa." Basically just telling this dude to slow down. Hey, man, there's a lot going on here. If you want to keep up, it's going to be some work. Chill. Think about what you're doing first, buddy. Chill.

Then the final track on this record, "Dream", is easily my favorite song on the album besides "Born Again". This is a wonderfully heartfelt post-breakup track that lets LISA sing so honestly and sweetly, looking back at a breakup, wishing things had ended differently, and wanting things to be better in the present. The minimal amount of reverb on a song with already minimal instrumentation lets LISA shine, and the song just works for her. I wish the album had three more of these because this works so well for her. Those warm chord changes are just delicious on the ears. The vibe is comfy, it's nostalgic. It's a career highlight, let alone an album highlight. I feel like the more relatable a song is, the more long lasting the impact is. And "Dream" is one of those tracks for sure. It's easily one of the best songs in the album.

Overall, recording a solo album after you've been in one of the most famous groups of all time is terrifying. It's like when the Beatles broke up and they all went their different ways. Some of them had way more success than others. It's a gamble. I think when LISA found herself playing with multiple genres, obviously, there's experimentation there. But I think when she landed on the idea of alter egos, it may have been a bit of a safety net to be like, All right, there's other people in this group with me, this imaginary alter ego group of my different personalities, but maybe this is my version of a band.

As far as any criticism goes, I truly wish that "Born Again" was officially on the tracklist. Something tells me that song came up after the original tracklist was submitted, but without "Born Again" on the tracklist, it becomes a much weaker album. The flexing songs get a little bit repetitive, and they just don't do a whole lot for me. The moments where she's singing more from the heart and more from life lived and the confidence because of that, that hits a more heartfelt chord me.

Overall, the highlights on this LP are strong and worth your time, and the songs that aren't the highlights do a great job. They really just go through and do their own thing. They're fine. It's an album to be proud of for LISA, for sure, because like I said, it takes guts – to be in this big band where you've got three other girls around you, and you can all rely on each other, but when you're on your own, it takes guts. It's definitely something to be proud of.

While it's not perfect, nothing is. She's having fun, she's trying new things and growing as an artist. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. I'm feeling a light 7 on this one.

Giggens. Anthony Fantano. Lisa. Alter Ego. Forever.