Lisa, a member of the superstar K-pop girl group Blackpink, has recently released a debut album on Sept. 10 called LALISA. Arcadia High School (AHS) is a predominantly Asian population, so Asian cultures, like K-pop, are majorly relevant. Being in one of the most popular K-pop groups, Blackpink has a huge foothold in the music industry. The release of LALISA has been the talk of the month, so here is a bit more information about it. 

Lalisa Manoban, born in Thailand, is a huge name in the K-pop industry. The 24-year-old is a South Korean-based singer, rapper, and dancer. She auditioned for YG Entertainment, a K-pop industry company, in 2010. Being accepted as a trainee, Lisa moved to South Korea to begin her career, becoming the first non-ethnically Korean trainee. Earlier on, Lisa has also appeared in many music videos as a background dancer. And as Blackpink grew, she branched out onto other categories of entertainment. 

In addition, the Thai superstar also appears in the Chinese girl and boy group survival show Youth With You as a dance mentor. Lisa is the face of many fashions and makeup companies as well. As an ambassador for Celine, Bulgari, and the Korean makeup brand Moonshot, she is an inspiration to many people around the world. Debuting in Blackpink in 2016, Lisa’s captivating dancing abilities, on-stage confidence, and offstage attitude have given her a large fanbase. 

Upon releasing her music video for the song “Lalisa”, she has earned the title of most viewed video as a soloist, racking up 73.6 million views in the first 24 hours. She has already broken two Guinness World Records: most viewed music video in 24 hours and most viewed solo artist music video in 24 hours. “Lalisa” debuted as the number two song on the Billboard Global 200.

“Even though YG didn’t promote Lisa that much, her debut is still going really well. She’s getting a lot of support and fame,” said sophomore Hailey Tam. 

The solo album sold 736,221 copies in Korea in the first week, setting a record amongst female artists. Written and produced by familiar YG partners like Teddy Park and Bekuh Boom, LALISA is a dynamic hip-hop album that is influenced by Thai culture. Her album also contains Lisa’s other hit, “Money”.

“Lisa’s new music is pretty catchy,” said sophomore Denise Cheng. “At first I was eh [about Lisa’s new album], but it grew on me. An absolute banger now.”

To Lisa, LALISA is a way for her to spread her culture, and express who she is. It’s also an opportunity for Lisa to show off her amazing dancing and stage presence. An interview conducted by Billboard provides more insight into Lisa’s thoughts about her solo debut. 

“It’s a good opportunity for me to finally let the world know,” said Lisa in an interview with Billboard. “This is who I am.”