Jennie’s Solo Era Begins: New Album Ruby and Coachella Highlights
by James Kevin Stott
Update:
- Who Are BLACKPINK?
- What Records Do BLACKPINK Hold?
- Recent BLACKPINK Solo Projects
- Jennie Coachella 2025
- Coachella Setlist Highlights
- Why Did Jennie Open Up ODD ATELIER?
- When Can We Expect To Hear Jennie’s New Song?
- What is Jennie’s Backstory?
- What’s Up Next For BLACKPINK?
- Where to Get BLACKPINK Concert Tickets
- Where to Get Jennie Concert Tickets
Thumbnail: Jennie_Kim_BLACKPINK by PUBG MOBILE:絕地求生M (CC By-3.0 SA)
Who Are BLACKPINK?
BLACKPINK (블랙핑크) is an all-girl, four-member South Korean K-pop group formed through tryouts by YG Entertainment who are recognized as one of the major groups in the second musical generation of **Korean Wave** along with groups like the Wonder Girls, BTS, 2NE1, and BigBang.
The group started forming back in 2010 when multinational entertainment agency YG Entertainment began the long process of holding tryouts with pre-teen and teenage girls with lofty ambitions. The label aimed to have the debut album from BLACKPINK out in 2011 but found assembling this supergroup was more time-consuming than anticipated and announced they would debut in 2012 with seven members.
Not so fast.
After several more years of stiff competition, YG Entertainment said BLACKPINK would be making its debut in July 2016. The first member of the now four-girl group to be revealed, on June 1, 2016, was Jennie (Kim), the main rapper and lead vocalist.
A week later on June 8, 2016, rapper Lisa (Manobal) was the second member of BLACKPINK announced. Of the 4,000 original applicants from Thailand in YG Entertainment’s 2010 auditions, Lisa was the only native to make the group. Then a week later on June 15, 2016, lead vocalist Jisoo (Kim Ji-soo), was revealed as the third member, followed by Rosé (Roseanne Park), a vocalist and main dancer who ranked No. 1 in YG Entertainment's auditions held in Australia in 2012.
Jennie (vocalist, rapper, age 28)
Lisa (dancer, vocalist, rapper, age 27)
Jisoo (vocalist, age 29)
Rosé (vocalist, dancer, age 27)
The two-song single album Square One was released on August 8, 2016, and it reached No. 1 on iTunes album chart rankings just two days after its release, establishing a rookie record for a Korean girl group. The two songs were Whistle and Boombayah and debuted at No. 1 and No. 7 respectively on the Gaon_Digital_Chart.
BLACKPINK followed up that November with the two-song single Square Two with the songs Playing With Fire and Stay. BLACKPINK is the only Korean group to have ever headlined at Coachella (2023).
What Records Do BLACKPINK Hold?
BLACKPINK became the first female pop group to hit No. 1 on the US Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart and BLACKPINK had the No. 1 most subscribed to the site on YouTube as of May 31, 2024, with 93.8 million subscribers. The group joined YouTube on June 29, 2016.
Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé and the group also held (as of April 12, 2023) the honor of having the most-viewed music channel on YouTube with 30,151,716,121 views, another certified Guinness World Record.
The fancy four also once held the record for the most-viewed music video in 24 hours as well as the most-viewed YouTube video in 24 hours, but fellow K-Pop sensations BTS eclipsed that record with their single “Dynamite” and then again with the song “Butter” on May 22, 2021. BLACKPINK was the first Korean female act and group to ever have five music videos with 1 billion views each on YouTube.
The most viewed music video on YouTube ever? None other than “Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfrog which had well over 14 billion views and counting.
As of March 2023 on Spotify, BLACKPINK was the most-streamed female group ever with almost 9 billion streams. The group shattered the record previously held by Little Mix.
Recent BLACKPINK Solo Projects
In the past year, all four BLACKPINK members have branched out into their own solo paths. After their contracts with YG Entertainment ended, three of them launched their own companies. Jennie kicked things off by starting ODD ATELIER, her creative label that’s already made waves with her debut solo album. Jisoo followed with her own brand BLISSOO, and Lisa launched LLOUD, which has been rolling out merch drops and teasing new music.
Meanwhile, in June 2024, Rosé took a slightly different route — she signed with The Black Label, which is a YG subsidiary co-founded by longtime BLACKPINK producer Teddy Park. So while she didn’t go fully independent like the others, she’s still keeping it close to home.
Despite all these solo moves, the group is still together. At the end of 2023, all four members signed a new contract with YG Entertainment for group promotions — meaning we’ll still get albums, tours, and maybe even another world domination era (fingers crossed).
Jennie Coachella 2025
Jennie hit the Coachella 2025 stage solo for the first time, and honestly, she crushed it. Her 50-minute set on Sunday night at the Outdoor Theatre felt like a full-on statement — bold, confident, and completely her own. She came out in this striking red outfit and ran through 13 songs from her debut album Ruby, showing off everything from vocals to choreography to just pure stage energy.
One of the best moments? When she brought out Kali Uchis for “Damn Right” — the crowd totally lost it. There was also this little wardrobe glitch with her leather jacket, but she just laughed it off and kept going like a pro.
What made the night even sweeter was seeing Lisa and Rosé in the audience, cheering her on like proud sisters. You could tell they were genuinely hyped for her, and the hugs afterward were such a soft, emotional moment for fans who’ve followed BLACKPINK since day one.
If anyone still had doubts about Jennie making it on her own, this performance probably shut them down. She didn’t just hold her own — she owned it. Can't wait to see where she goes from here.
Coachella Setlist Highlights
Filter
Mantra
Handlebars
start a war
ZEN
F.T.S.
Damn Right (with Kali Uchis)
Love Hangover
Seoul City
ExtraL
with the IE (way up)
like JENNIE
Starlight
Why Did Jennie Open Up ODD ATELIER?
Like the other members of BLACKPINK, Jennie started this music label in November 2023 to have more creative freedom as a solo artist. The name ODD ATELIER means “a space that aims to create new things that attract attention in a different way from what is usual or expected.”
You can follow Jennie’s ODD ATELIER music label at these Social Media locations:
Website oddatelier.net
Instagram @oddatelier
Twitter @oddatielier
YouTube @oddatelierentofficial
TikTok @oddatelier_official
Jennie Fan Club shop.weverse
When Can We Expect To Hear Jennie’s New Song?
Well, turns out we don’t have to wait anymore, Jennie officially dropped her first solo album Ruby on March 7, 2025, through her own label, ODD ATELIER, in partnership with Columbia Records.
The lead single “Mantra” came out back in October 2024 and totally set the vibe for what was coming. It’s got this cool mix of Miami bass and R&B, and honestly, it just screams confidence. Definitely not the same Jennie we knew from her early BLACKPINK days — and that’s not a bad thing.
Ruby has some wild features too — Childish Gambino, Doechii, Dua Lipa, Dominic Fike, even Kali Uchis. It’s super genre-blendy, jumping from pop to hip-hop to a bit of dreamy R&B. If you haven’t heard it yet, give it a go — it feels personal but still polished.
The album didn’t just make waves, it basically broke records — over 1 million copies sold globally and top ten spots in like 19 countries (yeah, including the US, Germany, and South Korea). In Korea alone, it moved more than 660,000 copies in its first week, which is wild for a female solo artist.
Jennie also said in her Harper’s Bazaar interview that the whole album is mostly in English, and that she wanted to try something new without completely letting go of her BLACKPINK identity. “Blackpink Jennie will always be a part of me, but you’ll also get to experience this new side,” she said. And yeah, you really do.
So if you were waiting on Jennie’s “new song”, it’s already here, and it’s a whole album. And honestly? It’s worth the hype.
What is Jennie’s Backstory?
As mentioned, Jennie Kim was the first named member of BLACKPINK in 2016. Jennie was born on January 16, 1996, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea. Jennie is an only child. When she was 10, Jennie moved to Auckland, New Zealand to study for five years where she first discovered K-pop.
Jennie’s mother initially planned to move Jennie to the US and Florida at age 14 in hopes she could become a teacher or a lawyer. But Jennie’s fears of not finding work while living alone spurred a return to South Korea where she joined the YG Entertainment academy and her family supported the talented teenager’s decision.
The official blog of YG Entertainment introduced Jennie in a photo titled “Who’s that girl?” on April 10, 2012, and soon many were searching the web and the name “Mystery Girl” in an effort to find out who she was.
YG then released a video on YouTube on August 30, 2012, named “YG Trainee - Jennie Kim” with her doing a cover of B.o.B’s Strange Clouds featuring Lil Wayne.
What’s Up Next For BLACKPINK?
YG Entertainment founder and owner Yang Hyun-suk announced the company’s plans for 2025 on YouTube, saying “BLACKPINK will start their comeback and world tour.” So after two years BLACKPINK will be back on the road and new music was confirmed.
Also in Yang’s announcement, tours in 2025 by veterans 2NE1 and rookie group BABYMONSTER and you will be able to find tickets for all three tours here at TicketX.
On August 8, 2024 (8/8), BLACKPINK held a private fan event commemorating the 8th anniversary of the K-pop legends for 88 fans in a prelude to their big return in 2025. The number eight is considered to be the luckiest number in many Asian cultures and has always been associated with wealth.
In their last tour, BLACKPINK set a K-pop girl record by selling 1.8 million tickets, so we can expect a 2025 BLACKPINK World Tour to top the 2 million mark and establish yet another new record.
The last and 66th show on their Born Born World Tour came on September 17, 2023, at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea with the first show coming on October 15, 2022. A film chronicling the tour, Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink], began screening in over 110 countries on July 31, 2024.
YG Entertainment is expected to gradually announce the BLACKPINK tour dates and comeback concert locations in Asia, Europe, and North America in the near future.
Where to Get BLACKPINK Concert Tickets
When BLACKPINK does release its first tour date for 2025, you can find them here on the secondary marketplace at TicketX where buyers get an industry-low 20% flat fee and sellers get absolutely no commission fees. First-time users can also get an additional 10% off their purchases here at TicketX by using this special September promo code.
Where to Get Jennie Concert Tickets
When BLACKPINK does release its first tour date for 2025, you can find them here on the secondary marketplace at TicketX where buyers get an industry-low 20% flat fee and sellers get absolutely no commission fees. First-time users can also get an additional 10% off their purchases here at TicketX by using this special September promo code.
About TicketX
TicketX is America's newest secondary ticket market, which debuted in July 2023. TicketX's mission is to provide the best ticket-selling and ticket-buying experience for American users. Thanks to our solid foundation built by TicketJam, the largest secondary ticket marketplace in Asia, TicketX promises to bring long-term support as well as world-class customer experience to the American audience. By leveraging the expertise and success of TicketJam as well as its Magazine, TicketX is poised to set new standards and redefine expectations in the dynamic world of resale ticket markets within America.
