Jennie Wins Two Awards at KMA, Solidifying Her Status as a Solo Artist

Jennie of BLACKPINK demonstrated her musical talent as a solo artist. On the 26th, she received two awards at the 23rd Korean Music Awards (KMA), winning “Best K-Pop Album” for her first solo studio album *Ruby* and “Best K-Pop Song” for its title track “like JENNIE.” *Ruby* features a total of 15 tracks across various genres, including the title track “like JENNIE,” with Jennie personally handling album production to reflect her identity and musical potential. Through songs and concepts spanning multiple genres, Jennie showcased her musical capabilities as a solo artist, setting new records and achieving historic milestones on global charts. The single music video for “Zen,” released on January 25th, attracted attention due to its large-scale production and visual impact. The video uploaded to YouTube has already accumulated over 3 million views and 700,000 likes, sparking discussion in Korean online communities as well. A post related to “Zen” on the popular community TheQoo received over 32,000 views and hundreds of comments. The music video was directed by Jo Ki-seok, renowned for directing videos such as Red Velvet’s “Chill Kill” and LE SSERAFIM’s “Unforgivable.” While Jo Ki-seok’s visual style was evident, Jennie also expressed her affection for Korean roots through collaboration with a Korean photographer who incorporated elements of traditional Korean culture. Prior to these awards, Jennie had already shown her strong presence by being nominated in five categories—“Artist of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” “Best K-Pop Album,” “Song of the Year,” and “Best K-Pop Song”—on the KMA nomination list. The Korean Music Awards is a domestic music award ceremony that began in 2004, with winners determined by a selection committee composed of music critics, music industry journalists, and broadcasting producers. By proving herself to be an artist who balances musical excellence with popularity, Jennie has solidified her unique position in the K-pop scene. Attention is now focused on Jennie’s future endeavors as she continues to build her own musical world as a solo artist.