BLACKPINK’s Jisoo Wins First Place on M! Countdown with “Earthquake” and Expands into Acting

On February 27, during Mnet’s “M! Countdown,” BLACKPINK’s Jisoo took first place with her latest song “Earthquake.” The program featured a variety of long-awaited performances and debut stages, and Jisoo’s emotional victory moment was met with enthusiastic cheers from fans. Jisoo has been active as a singer, dancer, and rapper as a member of BLACKPINK since 2016, establishing herself as a global K-POP superstar. Beyond her musical career, she has achieved additional success as a solo artist and is an influential figure with over 100 million Instagram followers. Jisoo’s recent scope of activities is expanding beyond music into the field of acting. In Season 3 of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus,” she portrayed Mook, an employee working at the White Lotus Hotel in Thailand. Playing a role that involves directly interacting with guests as the resort’s health specialist, she has been gaining acting experience. Jisoo’s debut as an actress represented a different challenge from her work in music, but her performances in the two episodes that have aired so far have received positive reviews. In this series created by showrunner Mike White, she works alongside Walton Goggins, who plays Rick, and Amy Lu Wood, who plays Chelsea. In Episode 2, Gai Thok, the resort security officer portrayed by Thai actor Tim Saptimong, even showed emotion toward Jisoo’s character. Her fellow actors also expressed satisfaction with collaborating with her. Amy Lu Wood recalled in an Elle interview, “To be honest, I didn’t understand the level of fame Lisa had. I had no idea because she was very humble and calm.” She added, “Then when I went to the airport to fly to another part of Thailand, Lisa’s posters were everywhere. So I said, ‘Guys, that’s Lisa!’ and people replied, ‘Yes, Aimee. She’s basically like Beyoncé.’” Saptimong, whose native language is not Thai, told Variety that he was able to deliver his lines more naturally on set with Jisoo’s help. Jisoo is a 27-year-old multi-talented Thai-born artist who has worked hard since childhood and is an influential figure with over 100 million Instagram followers and a highly loyal fan base. In addition to her musical activities, she has appeared in dozens of music videos and performed in front of thousands of audiences worldwide. Now, by entering the world of television through “The White Lotus,” her range of activities is becoming even broader.