Lisa recalls being 'scared' of solo journey

The 29-year-old singer rose to stardom as a member of BLACKPINK, the chart-topping K-pop group, and Lisa has admitted to feeling a little unsure of herself when she began her solo career.

Lisa - who released her debut solo album, Alter Ego, in 2025 - told Variety: "I tried a lot of stuff during BLACKPINK — we’ve been through everything together — but when it comes to the year break, at first I was a little scared because I didn’t know how to start.

"Nobody was telling me what to do and I’m the one who has to choose the road to go down next. At first, it was like, 'What should I do? What should I do?!'

"I tried it step by step and little by little, gained a lot of confidence and learned so much on my own. It’s been such a great journey for me, and I feel like my solo career just started."

Lisa admits that BLACKPINK's relentless touring schedule led to burnout.

But the singer has embraced the challenge of forging her own path as a solo artist.

Lisa - who has also ventured into acting, starring alongside Don Lee and Lee Jin-wook in Tygo, a spin-off in the Extraction franchise - said: "With BLACKPINK, we just work nonstop and go tour, tour.

"The reason why we took a break is because if we do something for a very long time, you [burnout]. It wasn’t only me — we all felt like we needed a break.

"The break could be not doing anything and traveling the world, and that could be me as well, but I chose to break for a few months and then thought, 'I want more! I want to challenge myself.'

"I love to challenge myself all the time and know what I can do on my own, so that’s why this crazy year happened."