With Lady Gaga’s excellent Abracadabra being rapturously received around the globe, there’s a tantalizing feeling in the air that big shiny choruses and grandiose ideas may just be coming back to pop music. Us K-pop fans know any global trend takes a bit of time to filter down to the industry, but Born Again is only tangentially “K-pop,” anyway. The song is “global pop” in the true sense of the term, bringing together three artists of different nationalities in service of Lisa’s upcoming album Alter Ego. Thus far, her solo music has run the stylistic gamut, but Born Again goes straight for the pop jugular.
The killer trio of Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye trade verses over a lithe synth funk beat that could have easily found place on an album by The Weeknd. The song percolates and surges in all the right places, benefiting greatly each time the vocal arrangement decides to add some spice. Curiously, Lisa’s portions of the song see her exclusively singing, ceding Born Again‘s brief rap verses to her collaborators. At times she feels like a guest in her own song, with Doja Cat absolutely walking away with the track on verse two as she lands the biggest and best punches.
However, this song is bulletproof enough that they could have traded its various segments in many ways and still ended up with a winner. At nearly four minutes, Born Again takes its time to develop a full and satisfying structure, making room for oft-neglected pieces like an intro/outro and bridge. It’s old-fashioned in that way, never seeking to reinvent the wheel but always keeping its focus and sense of momentum. At this rate, it’s clear that YG Entertainment’s A&R team was to blame for BLACKPINK’s increasingly dull material because the group’s solo efforts are showcasing an exciting sense of scope and intention. This is my favorite Lisa single yet.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I.Like.This. Solid pop song, and I like the length because I just listening back to 90’s J-pop recently and I like how time flies in a 4/5 minutes track as it given so much to develop a grand final chorus. Lisa’s vocal still got improvement in my honest opinion, as Raye and Doja really outshine her in a moment that I’ve forgot Lisa is the main character in this song.
9.25/10
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a 4-minute song from a blackpink member and with no moment wasted? how i’ve prayed for times like these.
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I was waiting IMPATIENTLY for this. As soon as I heard this, I thought of you would give this sucha good rating. My only complaint is the “to be born again, baby, to be born again” hook sounds off-beat? Like its chasing the beat.
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Not to sound mean but how come all the good solo material is a feature song?
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I think they did it intentionally, and I like it tbh. It does sound off beat but still in beat (like how am I supposed to describe it hahaha).
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Nono ur right. After hearing it like 5-6 times, it just clicked.
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I’m loving everything her and Jennie are putting out! I feel like they wouldn’t be releasing such diverse and interesting singles if they stayed on YG. Wish I liked Rosé’s debut album as well…
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what is wrong with Rosé’s album?
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there’s nothing objectivity wrong with it. i just didn’t vibed with the music
and she is my bias on bp so i had expectations
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Insane song, great production choices! It definitely feels big, like it wants to capture you with the instrumental. If anything, Lisa feels a little bit like the featured artist in her own song (like you said), but this definitely checks all the boxes. 10/10.
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I love this; I’ve been playing Lady Gaga’s song all week and was wishing Kpop would do something like that. The song is a banger–with a decent length, they all have time to shine–and the video too. I love the Ophelia, Mary Magdalene, Eve/snake/Yggdrasil, and Joan of Arc imagery. On that note, it’s been a great week (musically, bc the rest of the world is awful) for fans of bombastic pop with Catholic vibes.
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bro im so excited for lisas album at this rate i absolutely lovedddd rockstar (even with the corny ass lyrics) and new woman and this type of pop for born again usually isnt my thing but its super solid and feels like itll become a deserved hit
(also thank god doja finally dropped the whole “i dont make pop music anymore it was all a cash grab” thing bc she was made for this kind of song)
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im imagining like a rihanna anti or rosalia motomami type album in this regard
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Ngl, seeing Lisa, Doja and Raye together, I was expecting a badass, Rockstar-esque song, so it’s a pleasant surprise! I liked this one, and I do believe that YG severely limited their potential artistically. I hope Jisoo’s solo is just as great.
(though I also know that Doja did some pop songs and I know Raye from her 21st Century Blues album, especially Escapism, so I half-expected this from them, so you can say I didn’t expect this kinda sound from Lisa :p)
8.75 (8, 9, 9, 9) from me as well.
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this was so good!! Doja is always the standout in everything she’s in, though. love my girl Lisa – she was great, but the difference between her and RAYE. is very apparent.
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I am so split on this. It is a fantastic pop song, don’t get me wrong, but what I am lacking atp is Lisa. So many songs in, I am unsure about what her thing is as a pop artist. What she brings to the table. What’s her vibe? Her identity? She seems to be adapting to whoever she collabs with instead of finding her thing.
I had the same issue with Jungkook’s Golden,a few of the songs sounded a bit too like someone else’s and it came off almost as a (very well-executed, mind you) cover album. It was intentional, as he wanted to try new singing styles according to his own words, but Jungkook is defined enough within his group that I have a better idea of his personality as a singer. I am not sure Blackpink has enough music for me to feel like I have such a strong image of who Lisa is as a soloist.
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I do stand on your point. Lisa did have a lot of charisma, but her vocal performance limited what she can explored on. And be real honest, her solo work such as Moonlit & Rockstar did not impress me, but her collab’s singles like this and new woman, does, and it is not because of Lisa herself. In this moment, I feel that Lisa is trying to join into western’s pop market by pulling much of featuring works instead of standing strong on what she’s good at. But here’s the question, what she’s really good at?
Taking this song as example, I’m sad to say I like every part of song except Lisa. Is Lisa good vocalist? Perhaps, but Raye outshined her. Is Lisa good rapper? Well… Doja Cat is here to stole the light, and I wouldn’t say Lisa is a rapper, instead she’s just a people who can rap. Her dance skill? Yes she nailed it, but it is so hard to bring it on the table without a strong vocal performance. Dua Lipa (oh jeez, I’m bringing in more and more names in) has a strong personality, a great vocal standard, solid discography to prove her status in the Pop Market. Perhaps Lisa need a more stronger marketing team that release suitable material for her, things like indie music style or retro should be a good target for her, as well as Eastern-Mysterious style by infusing her Thai’s culture in her releases.
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Yeah, I feel you on this one… You can vaguely understand Jennie or Rosé’s “vibes” from the few solid tracks we’ve gotten from them so far, but Lisa’s discography, while interesting, is all over the place. Rockstar was fine, New Woman was better, Moonlit Floor was so forgettable I almost forgot to type it here, and this is… well, it’s really great, is what it is! But I can’t really see where it fits in with Lisa’s identity as a soloist, wholly separate from her “badass girl with bangs” from Blackpink image.
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Aren’t Jennie’s songs so far been all over the place too? Mantra, Zen and Love Hangover are way too different from one another for them to be placed in the same project/album
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While Zen and Love Hangover differ in terms of production, I do think they convey a vaguely similar image of Jennie in terms of being a mature soloist. Hopefully Mantra won’t be featured on Ruby; besides genuinely not fitting in, I also dislike the rhythm. Although, that’s just what I think, and I hope Ruby will be a cohesive album. c:
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I think everyone is looking for a kpop track on Lisa’s album. Jennie’s mantra was Kpop like XG or Zen, they are good songs. Lisa and Rosé’s tracks are a little more to be heard by other types of listeners.
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I am absolutely not. In fact I would say Lisa’s songs have been my favourites so far. But I don’t feel like I know what she is going for.
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it’s sure not a bad song but I don’t get LISA’s style. This is a Dua Lipa / Weeknd with a splash of Bruno Mars. It screams international pop but her voice is not particularly appealing so the guests do all the hard work.
I think Jennie is definitely the solo BP biggest surprise, all her new releases have been incredible, unique and still her own voice. Obsessed with Love Hangover.
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The song is good, but it really does make Lisa the feature over raye and doja. She’s the least important part of the song
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wait when she says ice cold at 1:00 , it sound like another song but i just cant figure out which one
help pls!!
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trending…..
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Sounds like a hit! Or at least a minor hit. As others mentioned, firmly in the style of many other recent collaborations. I think in this song Lisa has raised herself up to Doja and Raye’s skillz, and she is better for it here. I don’t think it is a song for the ages, but for the year it is fine.
I am still waiting for Lisa to do what she does best: dance! And release a killer dance track with a killer dance.
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It’s been out less than 24 hours, yet I’m already tired of it. Verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus – it’s too structurally simple, and the endless chorus repetition grates. The raw ingredients are here for something interesting. I’m wondering if there aren’t too many cooks in the kitchen, and less might’ve been more here? (Cut out one of the verse/chorus iterations – certainly not Doja’s! – and replace it with an interesting instrumental break, for example?) This is just how I’m feeling now, and that could change; and who knows, the song could be a monster hit, what do I know?
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I like it. It’s a Gloria Gaynor type of rollerblading bop. Nothing too groundbreaking but well executed. I loved FAYE’s voice. It’s my first time listening to her, and I loved how emotive her voice is.
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This surprised me in a pleasant way, I love Doja and her verse nailed it for me. Though I am not very in on the idea of Lisa singing so much in the song, she’ll most probably not be able to pull it off live.
Also, how the hell did she get Raye to collab?
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raye actually wrote rhe song !!!
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This song could have been a smash but she dilutes herself by doing yet another featuring song. Sis, you paused being in a girlband to go solo, be solo. That song could have been as equally good without Doja and Raye. Imho this shows a lack of confidence in Lisa standing on her own. It’s a miss (as much as I wanted this to be a hit.)
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it could fit right within jessie ware’s ‘what’s your pleasure?’ (and if she added kali uchis we could basically have the ‘lady marmalade’ of this generation; killer trio anyway!)
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This is so lukewarm.
Is she capable of releasing anything that’s not a 6/10?
Haven’t enjoyed a single song outside of money.
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Nick, I’m surprised you didn’t nitpick the lyrics here, because they are so awkward. And that’s when I can understand what anyone is saying, which is nearly impossible because the vocals are so quiet in the mix.
This is a mess and a miss for me.
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I wasn’t expecting much from solo Lisa but I’ve been enjoying all of her new songs. This may be the best so far…Lisa was obviously born to collaborate 👍
(8 – 8.5/10)
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I didn’t see this specified in a previous comment so I’m jumping in to say that this is Raye’s song which her company refused to release and sold it to YG. Lisa picked it up and asked for Raye to be part of it and she also appears on the credits. The original song by Raye is on YouTube (I haven’t looked for it, I read that it is).
I read the above several times in comments, but haven’t verified it, so pls don’t come after me if it’s incorrect.
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“Would’ve showed you what it’s like, every single night”
This part is sooooo similar, did anyone know any other song that have a similar rhythm??
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I don’t like most of Blackpink’s songs or the solo songs from the members because in general their music isn’t my taste but I like this song a lot.
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This song’s great! I can’t wait for the rest of the album in two weeks!
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