SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – Lisa of Blackpink’s solo single “Rockstar,” released on June 28, has sparked a debate between Korean and Thai fans.
Thai fans argue it should be classified as Thai pop due to its music video featuring local dancers and Thai producers, while Korean fans maintain it should be considered K-pop, given Lisa’s training and success with Blackpink in Korea.
Some Korean music critics, meanwhile, argue Lisa’s work as an example of the “localising” strategy that K-pop powerhouses like Hybe, SM Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment are pursuing for future growth.
“Lisa, who debuted as a member of a K-pop girl band and rose to global stardom, is now pioneering a new market in the US mainstream music market as a pop star,” music critic Kim Do-heon said Wednesday.
“Her new single ‘Rockstar,’ shot in Thailand with local staff, marks the beginning of her career as an Asian pop star, which is not common worldwide.”
Popular culture critic Cha Woo-jin said, “Lisa, a K-pop star trained in Korea and originally from Thailand, demonstrates that the ‘globalisation’ or ‘localising’ that K-pop has aspired to can occur in cities outside of Seoul.”
But Lisa’s case is slightly different from the usual “localisation” vision pursued by K-pop agencies, which focuses on discovering talented local youngsters, putting them through a K-pop training process and debuting them in specific regional markets.
In Lisa’s case, “Rockstar” is released through a partnership between her own independent management company, Lloud, and global record label RCA.
Lisa has achieved remarkable success in her home country, leveraging her K-pop experience, and now aims to rank on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US as a new Asian solo artist.
Music critic Lim Hee-yun believes Lisa is an effective example of K-pop localisation.
“The key is to maintain the K-pop style while also appealing to the local audience. Nowadays, the gap between K-pop and American pop genres has significantly narrowed. Although idol bands were popular in the global pop market until the early to mid-2000s, their presence has since diminished, which I believe has a reason,” said Lim on Wednesday.
“Personally, I don’t think multiple members are necessary to enjoy music. For K-pop groups to attract local fans, the elements that excite K-pop fans need to become more mainstream,” he said.
Lisa has kept up with international musical trends by releasing sped-up and slowed-down versions of “Rockstar,” playing with beats-per-minute variations.
With the rise of short-form content on platforms like TikTok, there’s a growing need to pack a lot into videos under a minute long, making sped-up versions of songs particularly popular.
For the new single, Lisa continues to showcase her pop star persona aimed at electronic hip-hop artists, just as she did in her previous hit “Money” released in 2022.
Offering five different versions of her tracks, including sped-up and slowed-down versions, makes it easier for DJs to use them in remixes at clubs and parties.
