BLACKPINK’s Jennie Kim has signed a solo deal with Columbia Records, marking a significant career development outside of the K-pop group.
On Sunday, her self-founded record label, Oddatelier, announced her partnership with the American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The new label took to X, formerly Twitter, to reveal the news by sharing an image of Jennie in an all-black outfit and captioning the post, “JENNIE x OA x COLUMBIA RECORDS… We are family.”
Oddatelier also confirmed that Jennie will release a new solo single in October, following her 2023 release of “You & Me.”
The news quickly received many positive reactions from fans, who were happy to know Jennie’s plans outside of her group.
“#JENNIE signed to Columbia Records, home to Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles and more,” a fan posted while sharing photos of Jennie alongside famous artists.
Another excited social media user wrote, “POP AND KPOP GROUP LEAD GIRL IS COMING. NO ONE IS SAFE. JENNIE IS COMING.”
Another fan added, “Jennie’s influence is UNBELIEVABLE,” pointing out that Columbia Records’ stocks reportedly rose following the signing announcement.
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The new deal reflects Jennie’s growing global influence as an artist. Debuting with BLACKPINK in 2016, Jennie and members Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa became the highest-charting female Korean artist on the Billboard charts and the first Korean group to headline Coachella.
In addition to her activities in the four-member K-pop group under YG Entertainment, Jennie’s solo projects are also notable, including a collaboration with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp on “One of the Girls,” and an appearance in HBO’s controversial series “The Idol,” in which Jennie made her acting debut, according to Variety.
Coincidentally, on the same day Jennie’s collaboration with Columbia was announced, “The Idol” won an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography for a Scripted Program, becoming a double celebration for fans of the K-pop artist.
In the drama, Jennie plays a backup dancer and singer named Dyanne under the stage name Jennie Ruby Jane. When the show aired, a scene of Dyanne performing a sexy dance with other dancers became a hot topic online.
Speaking about her decision to take on the role, Jennie revealed in an interview on Dua Lipa’s “At Your Service” podcast last year that it was a thoughtful and patient process. “Acting is definitely one of the things I want to explore, but when I do something… I know I need to do it right,” Jennie said.
She also shared that meeting with “The Idol” creator Sam Levinson played a pivotal role in her decision to take on the role, noting that his vision for her character “touched my heart.”
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