Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Truthfully, I wasn’t the most optimistic about Ruby when the rollout for JENNIE‘s album started with “Mantra“, which seemed like she was just going to rehash elements of her BLACKPINK sound. However, “Love Hangover” threw a curveball into expectations, and the whole album is surprisingly intriguing as she cobbles together a rather eclectic sound and continues to develop as an artist. “Like JENNIE” is what greets the listener after the intro, and it is basically a perfect album starter even if it could’ve used another minute or two.
Conceptually, the song isn’t anything new for JENNIE, with all of its confidence and braggadocio, but the playful self-referential hook is a lot more effective than most in crafting the desired anthemic nature. Mostly though, it’s the hard-hitting production that sets it apart, with thumping beat, a rubbery bass, and a constant feeling of surging forward that you’d want to listen to even on its own. While the lyrical content can get somewhat generic, I thought the utilization of Korean during her rapid-fire second verse added a uniqueness that makes it a standout verse that perhaps she could’ve/should’ve utilized on “ExtraL” for the sake of contrast.
Arguably “Like JENNIE” is even better as a performance piece, as the music video demonstrates, and perhaps the reason it’s so short is because of the intense choreography. However, mostly it’s just regretful that we don’t get at least another verse/minute out of this song to really let it develop, as it almost seems like it ends just as it might be building into an even bigger frenzy. That limits the ultimate upside of “Like JENNIE”, but it’s hard to see this as anything but a great start to Ruby and a fitting single to drop on album release day. At worst, it’s an energetic workout playlist addition, and at best I’ve found on repeats that its infectious production sears itself into your brain.
