On Feb. 28, BLACKPINK member LISA released “Alter Ego,” her first full-length album apart from her group. The Thai rapper and singer has been making music with BLACKPINK since 2016, starting her solo career in 2021. Although the group has not disbanded, their most recent song was released in 2023. All members of the group have spent the time working on their solo careers, including LISA. With many popular singles like “MONEY” and “LALISA,” her first full album was highly anticipated. The 42-minute album follows five of LISA’s alter egos, each showing different sides of LISA.

The album begins with a song pre-released on Feb. 6, “Born Again (feat. Doja Cat & RAYE).” Although commonly known for her rapping, LISA showcases her excellent vocals in this song. The song is a very catchy earworm, with a satisfying mix of talent between the three artists. However, Doja Cat’s rap, as great as it is, feels unnecessary with the rest of the song. Unfortunately, the current trend in music is to insert a rap into nearly every song, even if it doesn’t fit at all. Luckily, Doja Cat’s way of rapping doesn’t make it unbearable, it simply just doesn’t belong.

I give “Born Again (feat. Doja Cat & RAYE)” a 9/10.

The next song, “Rockstar,” is LISA’s most popular solo song. Released on June 27, 2024, the song has surpassed 366 million streams. The song is well deserving of all the people listening to it. It’s fun, exciting and cool, truly encapsulating LISA’s biggest personality traits. There’s an interesting switch-up that goes from fast raps to a slow melody. With extremely catchy lyrics, it’s hard to get this excellent song out of my head.

I give “Rockstar” a 10/10.

Unfortunately, the next song falls short compared to the two before it. “Elastigirl” is mainly rap focused, which is completely fine as LISA is clearly skilled at it. However, the instrumental is strange and feels like it would play for someone running through a jungle and breaking glass, totally not fitting for lyrics about resiliency. Giving tribute to the superhero Elastigirl is an interesting concept, so it’s a shame the instrumental is unbearably distracting.

I give “Elastigirl” a 3/10.

“Thunder” is another strange song, although it’s a lot more bearable than “Elastigirl.” The chorus instrumental is very simple, but after the disaster that was the last song, the plain beat is welcomed. After the chorus, the instrumental is a bit more out there, but it’s still a major improvement from the previous song. The chorus feels reminiscent of the trends during the 2010s, with a great refrain to go with it.

I give “Thunder” a 6/10.

The second collaboration song out of many, “New Woman (feat. Rosalía)” was released on Aug. 15, 2024. LISA is very good at performing catchy choruses, proven by this song and many others. Rosalía’s bridge is very good with her unique voice, but just like Doja Cat, her verse doesn’t feel fitting. It’s not even different in a fun, switch-up way like “Rockstar.” It just feels jarring.

I give “New Woman (feat. Rosalía)” a 5/10.

“FUTW (feat. Future)” comes next with yet another odd feature. Although Future’s verse fits with the already aggressive and bold song, it just doesn’t flow well. It’s almost as if all of these collaborations are just thrown in just for further reach, so there’s not much effort put into their parts. The chorus itself is fun, but the cringeworthy lyrics make it difficult to enjoy.

I give “FUTW (feat. Future)” a 4/10.

“Rapunzel (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)” unfortunately isn’t much better. The chorus is very mundane and gets boring pretty quickly. The pre-chorus is a lot more enjoyable, so I wish the chorus was more like it. Megan Thee Stallion sounds great, but it feels like she’s fighting the instrumental with her vastly different pace to it. There’s an awkward pause towards the end that finalizes the song as one of the worst on the album.

I give “Rapunzel (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)” a 2/10.

Thankfully, “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” comes in to save the album. It’s a perfect mix of fun and relaxing throughout the song. There’s no harsh or unnecessary collabs, proving that LISA’s songs work best when they’re just focusing on her. Although, if her agency needed her to have a feature on this song, Ariana Grande would work great.

I give “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” a 9/10.

There’s not much to say about “When I’m With You (feat. Tyla).” It’s decent enough, but a tad bit boring. The collaboration with Tyla is fitting, one of the best features on the album. However, the song is just so incredibly plain.

I give “When I’m With You (feat. Tyla)” a 4/10.

While “BADGRRRL” has another plain and repetitive post chorus, the chorus itself is enjoyable. It’s a great display of LISA’s rapping skills, with no collab to overshadow them. Like the previous one, there’s nothing extraordinary about it, but it’s an improvement from some of the other songs.

I give “BADGRRRL” a 4/10.

“Lifestyle” brings back the excitement into the album. It features another great rap that works perfectly into the song. This pumped-up song showcases the hype feeling that wasn’t delivered in songs like “FUTW (Feat. Future).”

I give “Lifestyle” a 7/10.

Next, “Chill” continues the streak of good songs. One of the best instrumentals on the album, it’s a great mix of being unique and enjoyable to listen to. Definitely a chorus that’ll get stuck in the listener’s head, and luckily, it’s a very tolerable one. Once again, this song proves that LISA’s songs without unfitting raps sound the best.

I give “Chill” a 9/10.

“Dream” is a mix of relaxing and boring. It’s certainly not as plain as “When I’m With You (feat. Tyla),” but there’s still nothing special. It’s like a worse version of “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me).” There are some parts that are indeed pleasant to listen to, but the chorus is so agonizingly grating it’s unbearable.

I give “Dream” a 3/10.

The next song on the album is “FUTW (Vixi Solo Version), the exact same song as the previous version but without the Future collaboration. A better collab would have been Doja Cat, rather than having her on “Born Again (feat. Doja Cat & RAYE).” It does sound better without Future and the song has grown on me since listening to the previous version. However, the same complaints about lyricism still apply.

I give “FUTW (Vixi Solo Version)” a 4/10.

Ending out the album is “Rapunzel (Kiki Solo Version).” Like the previous song, this one is the exact same as its other counterpart but without the collaboration. It’s hardly noticeable that Megan Thee Stallion isn’t there, but it’s still obvious that the song flows more smoothly. Still, it’s an unfortunate song to leave the album on, as the same complaints still apply.

I give “Rapunzel (Kiki Solo Version)” a 3/10.

LISA is a very talented vocalist, rapper and performer, so it’s a major shame that her first full-length album doesn’t reflect this. LISA has all of the abilities to make an excellent album, it’s just the production that hinders her ability to excel. “Alter Ego” is a display of bad lyrics and instrumentals mixed with unnecessary raps and collabs. Not all of the songs are terrible, but a majority of them are very disappointing. Hopefully, LISA’s next solo project showcases her talent more effectively.

I give “Alter Ego” a 3/10.