Lisa has always been a force – sharp, sinuous and utterly magnetic on stage. But on her debut solo album ‘Alter Ego’, the BLACKPINK star doesn’t just step into the spotlight; she multiplies. Lisa introduces five alter egos, each tied to specific songs, aesthetics, album covers and even a comic book tie-in. It’s a flashy, high-concept rollout, but in the process of playing dress-up, Lisa the artist gets lost.
Rather than offering a defining statement of who she is beyond BLACKPINK, ‘Alter Ego’ feels more like a collection of fragmented identities. It makes sense if you consider the album’s origin, when the singer was “trying so many different kinds of music styles” while in the studio and wanted to incorporate all of it. The result is a project that embraces variety but lacks cohesion – less a clear artistic vision and more a showcase of sonic experimentation.
If ‘Alter Ego’ has one unifying theme, it’s excess. Lisa spends much of the album reveling in her wealth and status, flexing designer brands, fast cars and the kind of luxury that few can touch. “That’s just my lifestyle,” she asserts on ‘Lifestyle’, a brash, braggadocious anthem that thunders with heavy bass and unrelenting swagger. But to be fair, this is her reality – Lisa is one of the most famous women in the world, moving through spaces most will never experience.
The problem isn’t that she’s flaunting it; it’s that ‘Alter Ego’ never digs deeper. “Camera in my face / Call me Mona Lisa,” she sings with blasé detachment on ‘Chill’, likening herself to the world’s most famous enigma. But what does it feel like to exist at that level of untouchable stardom? Instead of offering insight, the album coasts on surface-level spectacle, painting a picture of power and privilege but never revealing the person inside it.
The emptiness of ‘Alter Ego’ is best exemplified on ‘Fuck Up The World’, a track that is big, bold and undeniably in-your-face. Lisa sounds completely in her element, delivering her lines (alongside a throwaway verse from Future) with stylish, biting confidence. And yet, for all its rowdy energy, the song ultimately feels like corporate-speak – the kind of hollow disruption-talk you’d expect from a CEO who says they want to “fuck shit up” without a real plan behind it.
But ‘Alter Ego’ isn’t without its high points. When Lisa locks into a sound and a statement, the results can be electrifying. ‘New Woman’, an intoxicating collaboration with Rosalía, is the album’s standout moment – a sleek, pulsating celebration of reinvention. The duo trade verses like two women stepping into their power, shedding the past to embrace their evolved, untouchable selves. The accompanying video, helmed by veteran director Dave Meyers, only amplifies the song’s allure, painting Lisa as a force of nature – fearless and fully in control.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence then that Lisa shines brightest in an ensemble. Having spent years in a group, she seems most at ease when bouncing off another artist’s energy. She teams up with Doja Cat and RAYE for ‘Born Again’, a sultry disco kiss-off to an ex that pulses with a late-night groove and finds Lisa flexing her nimble vocals. The same magic strikes on ‘When I’m With You’, a smooth, effortless duet with Tyla, and ‘Rapunzel’ featuring Megan Thee Stallion, a boastful summertime bop for hot girls and badgrrrls alike.
‘Alter Ego’ may not fully answer the question of who Lisa is as a solo artist, but it’s an ambitious first step toward finding out. The album is eclectic, unapologetic and, at times, a little lost in its own spectacle. If ‘Alter Ego’ is about trying on different personas, perhaps the real Lisa is still emerging. And when she finds her footing, she’ll be unstoppable.
