The smell of kerosene at the start of Jennie’s set Saturday night at Lollapalooza should’ve been the first clue something was off.
It was just a natural byproduct of using fireballs too early in the show — to give the effect of “burning” a red curtain that eventually dropped to unveil the singer. But in hindsight it felt symbolic of a performance that lacked fire early on.
Hopes were high for Jennie — who was making her festival debut, marking the first time a female solo K-pop star headlined Lolla — but she struggled on her own, comparative to the times she’s been more dynamic with Blackpink.
Though the set had big “Ruby” hits including “Mantra” and “Like Jennie,” with the latter a high point of the set as the singer delivered a high-energy performance that proved why she was tapped as a headliner in the first place, there was perhaps too much space given to new and unreleased music for the masses to fully grab on to in the same way.
Check back tomorrow for the full review.