Jennie is the main rapper and lead vocalist of BLACKPINK, a four-member girl group under YG Entertainment.
Jennie Profile
Given names
Kim Jennie
Born
16 January 1996 (28 years old)
Bundang Cha Hospital, Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Hometown
Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Nationality
Republic of Korea
Height / Blood type / Foot size
163cm / Type B / 235mm
Family
Mother (born 1973)
Pet dog
Kuma (born 2015, ♂, chocolate Pomeranian)
Education
Seoul Cheongdam Elementary School (transferred)
Waikowhai Intermediate School (Graduated)
ACG Parnell College (transferred)
Cheongdam Middle School (Graduated)
Cheongdam High School (Dropped out)
Agency
OA (Individual Activity)
YG Entertainment (group activity)
Group Affiliation
BLACKPINK
Position
Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist
Debut
8 August 2016 BLACKPINK
Digital Single SQUARE ONE
(+2782 days from debut date, 7th anniversary) (Group)
12 November 2018 1st single SOLO
(+1956 days since debut, 5th anniversary) (Solo)
Nicknames
Jenduk-i, Jen-nang-i, Jen-mandu, Cowardly Jennie, etc.
Decorations
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Before debut
Pre-debut
She was born on 16 January 1996 in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and attended Cheongdam Elementary School in Seoul before studying abroad in Auckland, New Zealand for five years from the third grade to learn English. The story behind her decision to study abroad is that she went on a trip to Australia and New Zealand when she was 8 years old, and during the trip to New Zealand, her mother asked her, “Jennie, do you like it here?” and she answered “yes” to both questions, so she went to study abroad the following year. She arrived at the age of nine, knowing nothing, cried on the first day, and then settled right in. Studying abroad in New Zealand, she says that the New Zealand style of education, which emphasises independence and self-determination, helped her a lot and broadened her perspective on the world.
Childhood
Shortly after she started studying abroad, she appeared in an MBC special documentary on English as an early international student in New Zealand. She was shown chopping onions, playing games with her New Zealand friends, and teaching them how to play Ssesssesse, a Korean game. According to her friends, Jennie even taught Korean to the New Zealand students.
While studying in Auckland, her mother arranged for her to move to the United States at the age of 13 or 14 to continue her studies at a school in Florida. After travelling to Florida with her family, she said she suddenly realised that she didn’t know what she wanted to do and didn’t want to stay in the U.S. She confessed to her mother that she wanted to do something related to music and returned to Korea.
Since she was in New Zealand, she loved K-pop and knew that she wanted to join YG, especially if she wanted to be an entertainer in the future. She returned to Korea at the age of 14 (second year of junior high school) with the dream of becoming a singer. She auditioned for YG in August 2010, and spent five years and 11 months as a trainee, starting at the age of 14.
When she first joined YG as a trainee, she practised a lot, usually covering pop songs with rap mixed in, but at the time, she was the only trainee who could speak English, so she was given the role of rapping.
You can see her vocal and rap skills as a trainee in videos posted on YG’s YouTube channel before her debut.
In 2012, she appeared as the female lead in G-DRAGON’s music video for “That XX”. You can see how young she was at the age of 16.
In 2013, she appeared on music broadcasts, featuring IU’s “Special”, Seungri’s “GG Be”, and G-Dragon’s “Black”.
It is also said that when Lee Hae Yi was so happy to receive a feature part, he asked the company who it was, and they replied, “There is someone really great who will be coming out soon.”
After Debut
BLACKPINK Activities
I’m the girl you’ve been hearing about, Jennie.
<boom-baya>
On 8 August 2016, at the age of 20, she debuted with BLACKPINK’s debut single SQUARE ONE and began her career with the group. Even before her debut, she was mentioned in various communities as YG’s secret weapon trainee, and as a result, she received even more attention upon her debut. She lived up to expectations and gained attention for her excellent rapping skills, charming appearance, and extraordinary lyrics, such as “Even if you don’t try too hard, all men have nosebleeds.
She has the ability to handle various concepts, is a stage master, and has been called a natural idol. If we were to pick one member of BLACKPINK who is a multi-talented performer, it would be Jennie. She has solid skills in rap, vocals, and dance. She has honed her skills over the course of six years as a trainee, and her facial expressions and movements on stage stand out thanks to her natural height.
Solo Career
On 12 November 2018 at 18:00, she became the first BLACKPINK member to make a solo debut with the release of her first single, SOLO. Upon its release, the single broke numerous records and made waves in the music industry, broadcasting and fashion industry, both domestically and internationally. She became the first K-POP solo artist to surpass 300 million streams on Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform, and continues to break YouTube’s record for most views at the fastest rate.
On 6 October 2023 at 13:00, BLACKPINK released the special single You & Me. It was premiered on BLACKPINK’s second world tour, the BORN PINK WORLD TOUR, and was a surprise announcement to BLINK’s overwhelming support.
Position
She is the main rapper and lead vocalist in the group. She also has strong fundamentals in rap vocals and dance, so she can fit into any position.
Vocalist
Although she is the main rapper, her vocals are quite stable, so she actually has more vocal parts than rapping. She uses a clean, low-toned voice and her own vocal technique to enhance the mood of the song. Especially in concert, her natural sass shines through, as she deliberately scratches her voice and slips her pronunciation.
Jennie Rapp is the master introducer of most of BLACKPINK’s songs. Not only is she responsible for the introductions of their own songs, but also their covers, such as “So Hot” and “Sure Thing”. Not only that, but she also sings most of the choruses. Her easygoing, relaxed tone carries the weight of the song. She is often given the chorus part almost equally with Rose, making it a dual-core system for the main vocal, but while Rose’s strength is her unique voice and high tone, Jennie’s strength is her light voice and mid-to-low tone, so they harmonise well together.
Although her low and mid-range are considered her strengths, she was able to hit the high notes reliably in the songs “Don’t Know What To Do” and “No Way,” and in the two songs “Ice Cream” and “Bet You Wanna,” she scratched her vocals in the high-pitched parts and controlled the pitch and strength of the notes freely, demonstrating her unique tone and excellent vocal skills.
Jennie’s stats are particularly impressive at concerts and festivals, where she has a lot of freedom to compose her performances, as opposed to more formal settings like music broadcasts and award shows. Jennie’s powerful vocal performance is especially evident in live concert clips.
In fact, reviews have said that she sounds incredibly powerful coming from such a small frame. Check out this video of her performance of “Boom Boom” at Coachella.
On 17 July 2021, Soompi, the largest Hallyu news site in the United States, named him one of the “9 K-pop rappers who can sing like a mainstream vocalist”.
She has the most parts of any member of the group, as she is capable of both rapping and singing.
Rap
She is the main rapper of BLACKPINK. Starting with her debut songs “Bom Baya” and “Whistle”, she was praised for her brilliant rapping in “Tudu Tudu” and “Forever Young”, and her rap parts with Lisa in “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down” were also very well received. Her precise diction, which is based on the good fundamentals she has built up over the years as a student, makes her raps stand out.
Dance
Lisa, the main dancer, and Rose, the lead dancer, dance well. They have a clear control of strength and weakness, and express the point choreography with power. She has a good sense of rhythm, flexibility and control.
She has a low level of physical fitness and tends to tire easily, but she has a good command of powerful movements and is able to translate them into her own style with natural, hip gestures and facial expressions.
Lisa, the main dancer, and Rose, the lead dancer, dance well. They have a clear control of strength and weakness, and express the point choreography with power. She has a good sense of rhythm, flexibility and control.
She has a low level of physical fitness and tends to tire easily, but she has a good command of powerful movements and is able to translate them into her own style with natural, hip gestures and facial expressions.
