''Me'' is the debut

single album In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

by South Korean singer Jisoo. It was released on March 31, 2023, through

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. It is a pop and trap record that blends

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

, traditional Korean instruments, and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

production. Its lyrics explore romantic affairs, overcoming a relationship, and Jisoo's self-development as a person. Jisoo worked with long-time collaborators 24 and R. Tee. The physical version debuted at number one on the

Circle Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

with 1.03 million copies sold in less than two days, becoming the best-selling album by a female soloist in the chart's history and the first ever to surpass one million sales. It was certified

million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...

by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) in May 2023. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its sophisticated lyrics and production that highlighted Jisoo's unique vocals. "

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

" was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

on the same day the album was released. The song peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and the

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

and became the highest-charting song by a female K-pop soloist on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

and the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Following the release of bandmates Jennie's solo single "

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

" (2018),

Rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

's solo single album '' R'' (2021), and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

's solo single album '' Lalisa'' (2021), attention turned towards Jisoo as the final member of Blackpink to debut as a soloist. During an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', the singer shared that she felt not sure about pursuing a music career outside of the group and was still figuring out the direction it would go in. On January 2, 2023,

confirmed that Jisoo was in the process of recording music for her single album and had completed filming the album's jacket photo shoots. On February 21, her label revealed that filming for her music video was underway in a top-secret location overseas, with the highest production budget they have ever invested into a Blackpink music video.

Composition

''Me'' is pop and trap record that blends

, traditional Korean instruments and Caribbean elements. It is an exploration of Jisoo’s romantic affairs and self-development as a person. It highlight her vocal strengths through "easygoing flows and insatiable lyrics" as she narrates a story about a broken-hearted girl who overcomes and leaves a toxic relationship with "untouchable confidence" through the two tracks. The single album opens with its lead single "

", a mid-tempo

, pop and trap song that incorporates traditional Korean melodies and

elements. It is characterized by a "distinctive"

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

sound, minimal arrangement, poetic lyrics, and "Jisoo's unique vocals." Its lyrics talk about overcoming a toxic relationship, where the protagonist leaves the relationship with "leaving behind nothing but the whiff of flora." In the song the word "Flower" was used as a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

to describe the singer's heartbreak, in line with the lyrics, "Nothing is left but the scent of flower." Eventually the "flowers come to their own and bloom" as the protagonists leave the toxic relationship and come to her own self, with the lyrics “Spring comes and we say bye bye bye." The album's second track “ All Eyes on Me” is an upbeat electro-pop,

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

and EDM song that incorporates

elements. Its lyrics are about a woman who knows her worth and what she deserves, with lyrics: “One is not enough, look into my eyes/ I don't want half, just look at me only/ That's a given, it's not so greedy.”

Conception and title

The name of the single album, ''Me'', is a representation of Jisoo's strong aspirations and confidence, capturing her distinct color and original beauty as a solo artist. It also refers to the Chinese character (美), which means beauty. By giving a double meaning to the title, Jisoo sheds light not only on her unique music style but also on the visual aesthetics of her album. In a Q&A with ''The Korea Times'', Jisoo explained that "Through ''Me'', I want to display my unexplored side without ditching my originality. It is an EP about myself. As I worked on it, I discovered my hidden charms and felt like I was growing up. I took part in its overall production, sharing my ideas about music, the concept, and music video, among other things."

Aesthetics

Jisoo used bold red, black-and-white colors with floral accents in her social media posts and clothing during the promotion of ''Me''. On March 15 and 21, the singer released two visual films for the single album. In the first one, Jisoo is seen wearing a "luxe" zebra print outfit while surrounded by "striking" red flowers, accompanied by traditional-sounding instrumentals. The second video features primarily a black-and-white palette. Jisoo appears in a black crop top and a "satin-finished", wide skirt.

Release and promotion

On March 5, teasers were uploaded to Blackpink’s social media accounts, confirming that Jisoo's solo project would be released on March 31, 2023. The same day, the single album was made available for pre-order in two standard versions alongside Kit and purple vinyl versions. Jisoo directly participated in the design to "increase the value of the collection". On March 8, the album's title was announced to be ''Me'' in a teaser poster featuring a close-up of Jisoo in floral accessories against a green background. A second teaser poster was released on March 12 depicting Jisoo in a white ruffled dress against a black background. On March 15, Jisoo unveiled the first visual teaser for the album with a red aesthetic. On March 19, the name of the album's

was announced to be "Flower". On March 21, Jisoo released the second visual teaser for the album with a black aesthetic. The full tracklist and credits for the album were released on March 27. ''Me'' was released worldwide on March 31 through YG and Interscope in conjunction with the music video for "Flower". In celebration of her comeback, the singer held an online live broadcast an hour before the release to talk about the album and music video. On April 7, Jisoo appeared as the first guest on the second season of Lee Young-ji's show ''Not Much Prepared'' on YouTube. On April 8, Jisoo featured on ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

s Autocomplete Interview series on YouTube, in which she answered the web's most frequently asked questions.

Critical reception

Rhian Daly writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, describing the album as a showcase of two sides of Jisoo's artistry. In particular, Daly found the lead single "Flower" one of the best K-pop songs of the year and praised it for "managing to mix elegance with inventiveness and elements of modern production with more traditional sounding sonics." On the other hand, she thought the B-side track "All Eyes on Me" was lacking musically in comparison to "Flower", though the lyrics "still pack dan alluring quality at times". Writing for ''

'', Tim Chan praised the "finger-snapping production" and Jisoo's confident vocal delivery on "Flower" and characterized "All Eyes on Me" as a "head-nodding pop track." Samantha H. Chung for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

'' labeled "Flower" a "classy, laid-back debut" that was well-suited to Jisoo's "understated charisma", while "All Eyes on Me" was a strong complement that showed "a different side of Jisoo while highlighting her distinctive voice and style."

Accolades

Commercial performance

''Me'' surpassed 510,000 pre-orders in two days and 840,000 pre-orders in a week. In just two weeks, the single album surpassed 950,000 pre-orders, the highest figure ever by a female K-pop solo artist. On March 28, YG Entertainment announced that ''Me'' had exceeded 1.24 million pre-orders in three weeks, making it the first album by a K-pop female soloist to sell one million copies. As of March 30, the single album had surpassed 1.31 million pre-orders. According to Korea's Hanteo Chart, the single album sold 876,249 copies on the first day and 1,172,351 copies on the first week of release, breaking the record previously held by bandmate

's single album '' Lalisa'' for the highest first-week sales among female soloists and making Jisoo the first-ever million-selling female K-pop solo artist. The physical edition debuted at number one on the

with 875,922 copies sold, while the Nemo version debuted at number six with 88,632 copies sold and the Kit version debuted at number seven with 69,520 copies sold, all in less than two days of tracking. The album remained at number one for its second week, becoming the first album by a female soloist to top the chart for multiple weeks. ''Me'' ranked at number 27 on the year-end Circle Album Chart with 1,147,208 copies sold in 2023, while the Nemo version ranked at number 92 with 227,997 copies sold.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

and Tidal. Musicians * Jisoo – vocals,

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

* Teddy – creative director,

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

(all tracks),

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

(track 1) * VVN – lyricist (track 1), composer (all tracks) *

Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...

– lyricist (track 1), composer (track 1) * Vince – lyricist (all tracks) * 24 – composer (all tracks) * R. Tee – composer (track 2) Technical * 24 –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

(all tracks), producer (all tracks) * R. Tee – composer (track 2), producer (track 2) * Youngju Bang – recording engineer (all tracks) * Josh Gudwin – mix engineer (all tracks) * Jason Roberts – mix engineer (all tracks) * Chris Gehringer –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

(all tracks) Design * Hyojin Jeong, Sungmin Yook, Dayeon Kim, Dami Hwang, Heewon Moon (YG), Laundry Office – design * Jaehyun Choe, Bin Seo, Jisu Hong, Jung Lee – visual * Yujin Jung – music marketing * Heejune Kim (Co-Op) – photographer * Minhee Park – stylist * Nakyung Lee, Sichun Kim (Set Calla7) – set * Seonyeong Lee – hair * Myungsun Lee (Woosun) – make up * Eunkyung Park (Unistella) – nail Management *

– executive producer * Sukyung Park, Boin Kwon, Hyojeong Jeon, Jieun Kim – A&R * Yoonjeong Kim, Suji Park, Jeongeun Jeong – publishing * Heonpyo Park – head of artist management group * Byoungyoung Lee, Seho Kim, Saerom Lee, Jonggook Lee, Jeongan Lee – artist management * Bokyung Hwang, Minsuk Yang – chief executive officer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Jisoo 2023 debut albums YG Entertainment single albums Jisoo albums Trap music albums Pop albums by South Korean artists