With each of the Blackpink members releasing their solo debut albums in rapid succession, from a short window of December 2024 beginning with Rosé through March 2025 and ending with Jennie, much has come of the conversation of how each release has faired against its counterparts. As one of the most talked-about groups in the world, the four members of Blackpink are no strangers to both public scrutiny and praise, and now that each have begun to officially carve out their own paths, it’s nearly impossible not to compare their first forays into the soloist arena against one another. Rosé’s Rosie was a predictable, acoustic-based grower of an album while Lisa’s Alter Ego and Jisoo’s Amortage leaned too generic for their own good, despite the individual personas they had already built for themselves by way of prior single releases.
That leaves Jennie’s Ruby, which, based on the latter two, at first posed the risk of falling down the same rabbit hole of watered-down, routine pop music. While Jennie does lean into some of the pop anonymity embraced by her other three groupmates on their own solo albums, she undoubtedly comes out on top in Ruby, surpassing the others with bolder, more ambitious production and songwriting to match her billowing stardom and status as an “it girl” of her time.
“Like Jennie,” Ruby’s most recent single, makes Jennie’s relationship with her own reputation clear. Here, over a brash, pounding beat, she meets her fame and influence head-on, acknowledging how her own name has become synonymous with “cool” and stardom, while also embracing her status with a brazenly confident rap: “Who wanna rock with Jennie/Keep your hair done, nails done like Jennie.” The track sets the tone for much of the rest of the album, as Jennie takes control of her own narrative and celebrity.
“With the IE (way up)” sees this streak of Jennie meeting her celebrity head-on continue, with the title and track itself making a cheeky reference to another famous “Jenny,” as it references the spelling of her own name and samples Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 hit “Jenny From The Block.” Drawing influences from late-90’s and early-2000’s hip hop, Jennie captures her journey to overcome adversity and scrutiny as both her and her group climbed the charts and ranks of fame with sharp, rebellious lyrics: “Straight line’s a hate crime, villain in a scary coat/Your fuckin’ sea of judgment, watch her, there she floats.” Meanwhile, on “ExtraL” featuring rapper Doechii, Jenie tackles anthemic hip hop of the early 2010s, opting instead for more generic commentary on fame and confidence as she and Doechi rap of “Ridin’ round, foreign cars/Top down, starin’ at the stars.” Although these lyrics call back to common motifs from both Blackpink title tracks and popular hip hop songs of th 2010s, Doechii’s verses and vocal backings add an extra layer of bite to “ExtraL,” helping it stand out from the rest of Ruby.
Ruby’s other tracks with features are especially where the album itself and Jennie shine. “Handlebars” shows off her versatile and blendable vocals, as her and Dua Lipa trade off singing verses about how they’re both quick to fall in love, relating their tendencies to rush to a “Tuesday drunk.” The duo’s vocals fall neatly into place, complementing and completing one another as the track lulls to a sultry beat. The same goes for “Love Hangover,” in which Jennie’s breathy, laid-back vocals meet Dominc Fike’s rap feature right in the middle, ensuring no verse or melody from either ever feel clunky or out of place. Meanwhile, the album leans even further into R&B on “Damn Right,” a sensual Mike WiLL Made-It production featuring Kali Uchis and Childish Gambino. Jennie matches up to the two R&B heavyweights seamlessly, the trio’s vocals all melting into place with each new verse.
Although Ruby originally positioned itself as a potentially earwormy pop album with its first single, “Mantra,” it instead pushes Jennie’s own boundaries as she steps even further outside the “pop princess” persona one might have expected her to build for herself with this release. On standout tracks like “start a war” and “ZEN,” Jennie instead opts for SZA– and Rihanna-like R&B anthems, respectively, proving that the “lazy” vocals netizens often chastise her for are a thing of the past (or, simply were never a thing in the first place). Her impassioned, razor-sharp vocals take both tracks’ catchiness and listenability to new heights, ensuring their melodies stick. Other tracks that follow this suit, like “Filter” and “twin,” are more of a snooze-fest, leaning again too far into the generic “popstar-isms” that oftentimes plague artists of a similar stature.
Still, Ruby is a staggering force to be reckoned with. After years of scrutiny and microscopic examinations of her personal life, Jennie takes control of her own narrative, image, and sound, producing a kaleidoscopic record of her own stardom and prowess as a complete and actualized artist. Ruby doesn’t have the complete rarity of its namesake gemstone, but it does make it clear that it will take a lot — even a miracle — for another star “like Jennie” to come along.
