Celebrating Lisa Being Authentically Lisa with Her Alter Ego Album

Celebrating Lisa Being Authentically Lisa with Her Alter Ego Album

By. Angelica Garcia

On February 28, 2025, Lisa Manoban of BLACKPINK released her solo studio album, Alter Ego, which got hit with criticism from multiple people who questioned Lisa’s authenticity due to her chosen concept for her album. With all her alter egos, Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni, and Speedi, people were left with the question: is Lisa confused about who she is and the kind of music that suits her best? Who is Lisa? Well, with that, all I have to say is this: Lisa is not confused. Lisa, like every other human, is multidimensional and doesn’t fit into a single box or category when it comes to who she is as a person.

As a matter of fact, Lisa explained who she is with every alter ego and every song in her album. Just as we, humans, have different personality traits, interests, and more, Lisa authentically embodies all the styles and personality traits of her fun alter egos, Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni, and Speedi. First of all, just like Roxi, Vixi, and Kiki, in her songs, “Rockstar,” “Fxck Up the World,” “New Woman,” “Born Again,” and “Rapunzel,” Lisa is edgy, bold, daring, empowered, and wants to be herself and not conform to expectations. Second of all, just like Speedi, in her song, “Lifestyle,” people can get a sense that Lisa likes excitement and thrills. Finally, on top of all of that, Lisa shows her audience that she is a romantic and thinks about love like her alter ego, Sunni, in songs like “Moonlit Floor” and “Dream.”

Because Lisa's songs and alter egos have different vibes to them, some people argued that she should focus on a central vibe, genre, and theme. However, wouldn’t asking that take away from the essence of who Lisa is and what she wanted to share about herself in her album? Also, who are we to ask that of her? We are not a label. Some labels in the K-pop industry and beyond already restrict some of their artists from exploring and reaching their full potential due to their own ideas of what they think can bring them success. But more often than not, the labels’ ideas of success keep artists away from being and achieving more than they could due to the limitations placed upon them. With her solo activities, Lisa has her own label, in which she is able to feel free to express what she wants without other record labels there to hold her back, and that’s exactly what she did for Alter Ego. Furthermore, I believe all the different vibes she portrayed in Alter Ego served to highlight Lisa's genuine love and admiration for various music genres and styles. I mean, who doesn’t like different genres of music?

All in all, Lisa’s alter egos might be too much for some people, but that doesn't change the fact that all her alter egos authentically represent Lisa in some way. When it all comes down to it, Lisa actually did a wonderful job at expressing her different personality traits in her album. It goes to show that Lisa is more than just “the dancer” of BLACKPINK. Besides being a phenomenal dancer, Lisa is a wonderful performer and artist in her own way. Most importantly, we can't forget that, like Lisa, we all have different sides to ourselves. If we find it nice when others embrace what makes us who we are, how about we try to do the same for Lisa and her Alter Ego album? I would like to personally appreciate and celebrate what Lisa shared about herself through her songs in Alter Ego. If I could send a message to Lisa, I would like to say, Lisa, thank you for showing us more of who you are! You are perfectly Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni, and Speedi combined with your fun, creative, catchy, enjoyable songs! Keep being you!