We knew it from the smorgasbord of teasers. That blonde transformation she swung at Chanel. Or even when she used the meme-worthy ‘a hot new bombshell enters the villa’ sound on her Columbia Records TikTok announcement—only to mean it quite literally. Because indeed, Jennie’s solo era has arrived in the form of ‘Mantra’, and it’s maddeningly sweet.
This might be the first of many, but for starters? It’s certainly a compelling drop for the South Korean starlet who announced her full solo swerve with Odd Atelier late last year. She’s been doing her own thing since then, trying everything from acting stints to runway walks at Jacquemus. In between, she’s been featured on titillating chart-worthy tracks with Zico (Spot!, you were a popping beat) and making fashionable returns to the Met. All whilst preparing for the new music that was to come. So what’s the zeitgeist’s It-girl gotta do? Come up with a whole ‘pretty girl mantra’, of course.
And boy, has the Internet been quick to lap it all up. Fast forward to the afterglow, and here are all the thoughts I had about Jennie’s ‘Mantra’ MV.
- That Rush Hour reference? Now I know why Jennie was doing all that honking in that old school teaser. From the number of sleek rides featured in the MV and her Land Rover Defender nod in her lyrics to well…the way she threw her ass back right outside the Petersen Automotive Museum, I’m fairly certain Jennie’s got a thing for cars.
- Let’s just say that she knew exactly what she was doing with that inflatable pool scene. Bonus points for that Californian sun that cast her a sensual, sun-kissed glow.
- ‘Mantra’ is a power move. With Jennie’s unabashed confidence and hyper-fem lyrics, this is a song by the girls, for the girls. Not only are her crew of writers all female, she also worked with Tanu Muino, a rising female director who’s been racking up her music video credentials as of late.
- In her exact words, pretty girls don’t do drama. Unless of course, they wanna. So what’s a new era track without a bit of shade thrown? Trust Jennie to slip it in when she croons “It’s not that deep/I’m not that drunk/Sometimes, girls just gotta have fun”. Just a little snide remark, at anyone who’s ever called her out for simply having a good time.
- There’s no need to discuss that frothy, rose-accented lingerie ensemble from Abarna Kugathasan’s Kitschy Couture. Nor the menace that Jennie creates in that Jean Paul Gaultier graphic mini. Or even the silver Versace heels she prances around in on the roof. But maybe, just maybe, I’ll need to wax lyrical about that fitted Raga Malak tee and swim shorts look. Paired to those crimson knee-high boots…Jennie feels unstoppable as she whispers those sweet, sweet nothings and drops it down in that stunner of an outfit.
- She was clearly having a hellishly good time whilst preparing for this drop. Maybe it’s the way she got to splay out on the wheels of a colossal truck, flaunt it all on a road in Los Angeles and I don’t know…hint innocently that she’s well aware she can make a girl swing both ways?
- Sometimes, girls just wanna have fun. That’s really the only pretty girl mantra Jennie’s saying we need right now. And the girls who get it, get it.
