The Singles Jukebox

Our first time covering JENNIE solo since (checks) uh, “Solo”…

[Video]
[5.77]

Dave Moore: JENNIE avoids last place in the BLACKPINK solo breakout competition only because JISOO has so far distinguished herself as the Ringo also-ran of the bunch. Forgettable montage-pop that would be lucky to score a 10-second sync in one of those Netflix shows with zero reviews and, according to their internal numbers, more weekly viewers than the M*A*S*H finale.
[4]

Mark Sinker: Closest in cyborg-swagger to the main Blackpink project: viz girls rewire the world by being artistically focused and militantly pretty! They care about each other, but not so much about you!! Terrific percussion entry and pan at 0:58, terrific fake laugh at 1:58, everything else a touch under-powered perhaps. 
[8]

Al Varela: My biggest problem with a lot of “K-pop turned American pop” songs is that they go all in on the American pop and rarely leave room for the artists’ K-pop roots. You get none of the flash, none of the bombast, none of the batshit insanity, just a strictly structured formula that leaves its singer with nothing to chew on except generic industry fluff. Imagine my relief when I listened to “Mantra” and all those fears were put to rest. Flashy horns, a strutting hook, and a ton of sass and flair from JENNIE’s performance. You can imagine the choreography in your head as the song blasts you with these triumphant melodies and slithery verses, beaming with life and excitement. Awesome.
[8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Maybe it’s just the synth cowbell, but this reminds me of “Million Dollar Baby” — a delirious swarm of sound, disconnected boasts, and compelling turns of phrase over a pastiche of an imaginary past. (“It’ll be depending on the day” is undeniable.) Unfortunately, Jennie sounds somewhat hemmed in by El Guincho’s too-restrained beat — he saved his better stuff for Camila Cabello, I guess? For all of the thrilling LA specificity of the lyrics, she sounds completely out of place, worldly in the same way that glossy credit card ads and lite travel influencer content are.
[5]

Andrew Karpan: As one of the few defenders of the literal album that El Guincho recently did with Camila Cabello, I found it mildly curious how abrasive those stitched-together drum beats sound on a K-pop solo record: emphasizing the imperfections, like the sound of roadwork construction or a solid bop on the head. 
[4]

Nortey Dowuona: The drum programming is the most exciting part of this song, constantly morphing: gripping in the chorus, lithe in the verse, windswept in the post-chorus, glittery in the outro. As for the mantra, I’m not v pretty, so I can’t say.
[2]

Kayla Beardslee: I’m mystified by about 50% of what fluent English speaker Jennie is singing here, but I like this effortless little bop more every time I listen to it.
[6]

Alfred Soto: I can sing “my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard” over the beat — a plus. JENNIE’s actual hooks are pretty good if not mantra-worthy.
[7]

Taylor Alatorre: The vibe is too smoothly disposable and the delivery too aloof for this to qualify as a “mantra” in even a quasi-reverent sense, a fact the song tries to get around by celebrating its extraneousness: the In-N-Out drive-by as the screenshot that tells the whole story. Even if it’s less a mantra than an affirmation, specifically the Post-It note kind that starts peeling off your laptop after a week, there’s enough charming syntactical oddness here to keep this sticking in my brain longer than I predicted. It took me way too long to figure out what “Bonnies” was meant to be referencing, and I like that about it.
[6]

Jel Bugle: I feel this was from the C-list file of songs — it’s slightly monotonous. I guess it was kinda like an actual mantra, and I liked the bit about pajamas.
[4]

Will Adams: What elevates “Mantra” above standard-issue pretty girl anthems  — say, Britney and Iggy’s take from almost (Jesus) ten years ago — is the locational specificity. You’ve just touched down in LA; of course cold plunges, In-N-Out and stupid-large Land Rovers are on the menu. The hint of self-deprecation adds spice to the otherwise bland sass.
[6]

Katherine St. Asaph: “Mantra” exists as a delivery mechanism for dumb shit, and boasts like “this that flaunt ya” are just as dumb as “boys wanna marry, looking at my derri” or “wipe the floor with all the boys.” It’s not that deep! Except for the bassline. The bassline is deep.
[7]

Ian Mathers: It’s not a competition, but also we have a winner (for now).
[8]