JENNIE: The Ruby Interview with Zane Lowe

music is coming out how do you feel

about that excited you know mo mostly

excited and it's been a little crazy

with um the last little push for the

album but every day I'm just like

reminding myself this is the moment that

I've been waiting for just so like enjoy

it as much as I

can taking it all the way to the very

end cuz we kept getting versions of of

Music obviously super underlock and key

and and they make everyone was very

clear not final

not final and it's like 3 days ago

another version not final I'm like y

Jenny's pushing this to the very end

this is fire she's literally in the

studio till 400 in the morning like it's

not

done literally

literally so when how do you feel now it

is was it hard to let it go was it hard

to to say okay it has to go it has to be

finished at some point I think that was

the biggest lesson that I might have

learned off of this album is that

knowing how to stop and um kind of

limiting myself some time to accomplish

something and I'm not used to that kind

of environment so definitely must have

been really nice actually to start a

process and do some real diligence some

real work into what you want to say and

who you want to say it with and success

and and Pace are great but it must have

been really nice to start this and just

know you had some time because I'm also

so used to

just going and

after just keep going um like you said

when I first started working on the

album was like wow I have a whole year

like Le you know I have all the time and

then once I got in the studio for the

first time that's when I was like oh my

God I'm already running out of time and

this is like a year before this I'm so

glad you said that cuz I was thinking

this album covers so much of who you are

for the first time it says so much about

who you are from the fight to the

fragility

from the beginning to the very end you

must have got in there and just being

like how do I make sense of all of this

I was first of all very shocked and I

didn't realize I didn't realize how much

I've been distan from myself throughout

the years so I really got to the

greatest part of this solo project for

me was that I had time with myself and I

never had time for myself um which was

great so you know I really got to dig

deep inside of who I am and what I am

and you know all the self-reflecting

times um and that's how the album that's

that's how the album was made by really

just understanding me better it's real

work that oh so much and the most

difficult like it was nothing was easy

um so many new emotions that I got to

learn and throughout that it it needed

so much energy and I I didn't realize

that to me it was um mostly like what

kind of words do I want to put in what

kind of sound do I want I didn't realize

walking into the studio was more about

what knowing what I want what I really

want all of it as well not just like

working with someone who gets you on the

day M and it's like oh we've got a good

vibe here this is a cool track it's like

no no no no every step on this record

has to tell another part of your story

and you're right I think when people

start working really hard work is a

distraction from self-work mhm so when

it's like who am I actually harder work

mhm in a lot of ways no definitely we

don't get a song like twin without that

and we're we're going to get to that oh

my God yeah it's a real one and I think

you know a lot of people will respond to

the honesty on that but we got to start

somewhere else and um the album's called

Ruby and and it's it's one part of a

longer name that became a part of your

identity if the stor is correct when you

were young and you trying to figure out

who you were tell us the story behind

behind that you were in New Zealand at

the time or this is even earlier than

that this is when I wasn't living in New

Zealand and back then um I guess I I

guess in the back of my mind when I was

like 11 knew that I want to create this

identity for myself like Jenny wasn't

doing Justice for me and I was like I

want a longer name so that's how it was

created what I didn't realize over time

was I almost manifested this throughout

my years like I knew who I wanted to be

at very young age on and then it was

just a matter of what's going to make

you

realize so that's also one of the

reasons why I landed and I picked the

name Ruby for this album but there's

just so much inspiration behind that too

it's not really only

about me representing myself but

um to

me it felt like a new chapter opening

and I wanted to I Really spent my time

referencing many different things about

the album and that's when the play of As

You Like It by Shakespeare came in

instantly when I saw the title as you

like it it just spoke to me so much in a

way I was like wow I don't know what I

like you know on the same subject as

before

so I told myself I'm going to make this

album as I like it I don't care what

anyone else is going to say about it so

that's that's where we began and since I

started I got to drop one on that that's

to now that's profound that's a huge

moment that's a huge moment for you

because you're immediately from what

you're telling me it feels like

divorcing yourself removing any previous

expectations or successes and putting it

really squarely in a very simple phrase

MH does it move me I want to talk about

the manifestation side of it a little

bit more M how old were you when you

moved to New Zealand um I was nine on

your own I was nine on my own so I

recently found out that my mom spent two

months with me in the beginning of my

trip wow and you didn't remember that

she reminded you of that what I how I

remembered it was I went to New Zealand

I was crying for two days and then I

suddenly um

stopped crying on the third day and

enjoyed my life there since then ever

since then that's how I REM remembered

it and my mom told me no no no I was

with you for the first two months and

then the two days were when she left

back to Korea wow isn't it crazy how we

compartmentalize these things and

remember them it's a survival mechanism

I know I was I was very shocked when I

heard this it's a wild story because and

and we're going to play catch up very

quickly but I haven't this is the first

time we've met and and the story is just

so interesting to me that you would make

the decision ultimately when given the

opportunity to live in New Zealand on

your own in order to learn a new

language understand things better is

this all part of the same manifestation

was this part of the plan looking back

on it now that you maybe didn't even

realize that you felt you needed these

building blocks wow which also tells me

how much um my mom has been such a big

supporter of mine she you know from a

young age we traveled a lot and when

when I was nine that's we were traveling

playing around Australia and New Zealand

and just the fact that she wanted me to

have an open eye for the world not just

in Korea is is also very rare in in a

Korean culture so hard as well for any

parent in any culture to say goodbye to

their children at that age it's such a

an important age for the bonding of

parent and children to say I understand

you have a desire to be elsewhere to

learn something new huge that's huge you

know every day I'm so grateful that I

had my mom with me the whole time and

maybe the she named me Jenny in Korean

is a very also rare thing for for a

Korean name it's a Korean rare Korean

name so I'm almost like wait was my mom

a part of this manic with me the whole

entire time and I don't know yeah being

unique is awesome as you grow older and

your identity becomes your own and

you're like hey I'm Jenny that's rare my

story is rare there's all these rare

things about everybody but when you're a

kid and you're trying to sort of find

your place in society in life those

things can sometimes feel a bit

isolating was it hard knowing what you

wanted out of life while your friends

and your peers were just being kids

maybe maybe towards the end and maybe

that's why I knew that's when I needed

to go back to Korea was because I knew

that my life my my school life in New

Zealand isn't what I want in my life at

that point when when I was 14 so I think

I knew the limits pretty pretty early

and and and yeah so I got to make my

decision you know you obviously have an

incredible Inner Strength um and and

there's also a side of you which is

there's a sensitivity to the way that

that your fans and people see you right

it's like this really interesting

Paradox between strength and

vulnerability I feel makes up your music

it's really evident here is that does do

you recognize that is is that is that a

good sort of observation in terms of

your personality that there's this

Fierce side to you but also the side of

you that's kind of sensitive I think

that's one of the things that was a

struggle for me last year was

understanding that balance of reability

and and the braveness that I have um I

kind of now wanted to really give time

and understand what triggers me that way

and what makes me feel both things and

and learning

about um vulnerability is is I think the

closer you understand understand that

emotion the braver you become because

now you know so there's nothing to be uh

afraid of and when you listen back to

this

album do those emotions rise to the

surface still because this album means

so much to you that we will never truly

understand because of the journey you've

been on I don't know like it's it's

interesting cuz now that I'm almost at

the end of my album It's not finished

yeah what are you

doing I'm crazy not final not final

you're killing us out ofio I know I mean

the the fact that that I still see

something that I hear something it's I I

am pretty amazed at myself but you know

that's how dedicated I am that's how

sincere I am and I'm I like to believe

I'm I live with no regrets and I live my

life to the fullest um even when it

comes to any other things in life so I

just want to feel that way once when

it's March 7th you're an adventurer I

mean you can't be 9 years old and travel

on your own to New Zealand and figure

out figure out your way in a foreign

country and try to understand who you

are and who you want to be unless you

have a desire for adventure right you've

seen so much and experienced so much

already what was it like not traveling

and just I mean I'm sure you travel in

the process of making the record but

it's different kind of travel was it how

did it feel to stop well surprisingly I

still managed to be

traveling but um I did spend a lot of

time out here in La for the first time

in my life and um I really got to

experience the city and the people out

here you know I'm I'm learning like it

it it started it off amazingly and then

the more I spend time I'm just being

more attached and there are things that

I like and don't like now so I think it

I can surely say now I have like La is a

space in my heart a home kind of

what was the first song that you feel

began to unlock the identity of this

album and and really made you realize

you know all this work I've done up to

this point is going to

matter it's Zen huge one of my favorites

hands down thank you I love that thank

you I was surprised you it was a Lucy I

was like that's a Smasher and you like

here's the video moving on moving on I

was like well this album me to be

serious cuz that's a killer it I love

that track and I and I and I love the

intensity you've built around that

concept you haven't leaned into what it

like on paper you've created your own

version of almost like fight Zen mhm wow

with Zen there is so much to talk about

but when Zen came along that's that's

when I knew oh my album is Ruby and it's

happening and that was maybe like six

months into spending time at the studio

every day oh my God that's really that's

tough after 6 months wondering like when

am I going to get an answer mhm every

month just got more harder as time went

by I felt more an anxious I felt you

know I felt like something was coming

chasing after me when this is something

that I started so I started you know I

lost myself in in my head and then I met

this amazing writer called BB she played

a very big role um for my album she

really opened up to me and I learned to

open myself up to her and we just had a

great time and and that's when zen zen

came along and it after many

conversations that I had with her about

our true motivation our Inspirations and

our just life we clicked pretty quickly

and and and then yeah and then with the

message and the words in in Zen

is was done in such a delicate way it

was made in such a delicate way but but

to be expressing it in such a

loud yeah Fierce way I think that's kind

of represents who I am yeah that's that

there it is the fight and fragility

again it's that Paradox right it's that

Paradox of those two things I know that

you are a committed curiously spiritual

human I know you're searching for

holistic ways to stay balanced all the

time and uh I want to talk a little bit

about that side of your life because it

seems to me that not just physical

health which is a part of training and

working out and staying fit for the

stage and doing all those things but you

understand the importance of Inner

Health as well when did that sort of

start to become a priority for you I

think it's something that I've always

been curious about and something that

was on my mind telling myself like you

need to learn about this but I just

never had the time and there wasn't

people around me who understand that

world of um our inner inner mental

health and I think that's maybe what it

was kind

of not dragging me but fr frustrating

myself throughout some years and during

pandemic and over covid is when I was

forced to be at home and learn about

myself a little bit and as soon as that

space opened the first thing I wanted to

understand and know about this life was

why do I feel this way what is this

negative feeling where is it coming from

and then from there you know so big

that's the biggest one ever when you get

that feeling and you you're not quite

sure the first thing that you have to

ask yourself at least in my experience

is what is that feeling and where is it

coming from in my life like if I can

pinpoint the moment where I think I can

connect that I have a better

understanding of what's driving it MH so

that's that was the moment um that I

remember distinctly when I started

learning about it and then from then on

it was A Whole New World opened up and

and that's why I'm here feeling strong

and confident and healthy is because of

those times

yeah where are you getting your

information from not just listening to

yourself but are there books that you've

been reading are there podcasts I mean

that that's a lifelong Pursuit trying to

better understand through the teachers

how we can live with more balance I

think back then I didn't even realize

that I needed uh anyone to teach me or

or or give me information on it I was

still at my wondering face so the more I

started talking to people about it and

making friends that understand

who um when I say you know I'm

struggling I'm not sick but I'm

struggling inside how do I fix it like

the more I got to meet more people

around the world and make friends that's

when

I that's when also I realize you know I

grew up in New Zealand I went to school

there so there's still a side of me

where you know I'm just a kid in New

Zealand

and I'm I'm from a uh multi

Multicultural background and you know I

grew up with the black pink girls I'm so

used to um being inspired by different

cultural people and I think I started to

be once I started understanding I became

less shy of a person when I talked to

people and things like that just meeting

people over the years meeting the right

people was what helped me a lot

throughout yeah did you feel like you

had to be the leader when blackpink

began not because you were given that

job or because you even wanted that job

but just because of the life you'd

already lived having lived away on your

own learned to deal with things on your

own up to a certain point did you feel

protective of the band like there was a

role that you just fell into up to these

days black pink don't have like an

official leader which is um not common

for a K-Pop group is I think also back

then there was a side of me where I

thought I know this so well I know what

to do it I know I know how to do it let

me do it let me I got this but yeah I

like I was there's a side of me that

tells me that all the time back in the

training days but um I don't think that

necessarily made me think like for

everyone like I need to lead but just

because I was going um on a clear path

it was easier for rest of the girls to

kind of see maybe where where she's

taking and and luckily they liked it um

but yeah when it came to like roles I

think the four of us compliment each

other so well it's incredible that is

very much at the heart of the success

look songs come and go shows come and go

relationships and chemistry is what

people believe in The Human Experience

and it's clear the four of you have each

other's back hard for me not to hear a

song like start of war and think that

that's part of it like I think the

inspiration behind that song is really

about um reminding the person of someone

that you want to protect and could be

anyone it could be your friend your

family your love it could be anything

that you want to protect for but it the

lyrics of That Song speaks to me so much

because every time in different

situation you think of different people

that you want to protect and it make

makes you feel more full inside this is

such a a great opportunity to talk about

this body of work you know this is a

real sort of uh this is a this is your

personal manifest Manifesto of

everything you've learned up to this

point um and it's been a lot you've

learned an enormous amount already what

was the one thing that that you leared

about yourself during the making of This

Record that was the most valuable to you

in the long term in your life

understanding my value and and believing

in that is for my for me that was the

biggest

learning um

because now I'm not afraid

to challenge myself because I

know I'm I well this is like what I tell

myself this is my Mantra like you know

um the things to tell myself that I love

myself that I'm worth it that I'm so

proud of myself and things like that is

is something that I've never experienced

before and that's my motivation my

biggest motivation is um accomplishing

what I dream of and you know what that's

the most fun part so I want to say yeah

understanding my value was the biggest

lesson perfect so what was driving you

before you came to that conclusion are

you any closer to understanding what was

motivating you even from a young age to

want to reach people and make people

happy but ultimately you knew the work

that was it was going to take and the

mhm do what was what was driving you

that's I I should ask myself what you

know what was it before but over time

um I the more I

realize

about um

myself and the motive that I have for

with music and who I am as an artist and

how I want to change the world in my own

way think like

that I guess was in deep side of my

heart that I I couldn't hear but um I

think that was my motivation and having

done that having done that now for some

time having seen that the the the

success you can have by making people

happy mhm what's that feeling like for

people who don't get to go on stages and

see the reaction that people have when

you're up there and the bigger the marer

first of all like once you're up there

feeling everyone's energy just focusing

on you I think that's just a blessing to

have felt that like you said um but I

didn't realize the meaning

of um I'm influenc influencing them to

be happier and and this positive energy

I didn't real realize the impact of it

impact of it how heavy that was and

that's that's also what I figured it out

was wow I want to do something with this

and now now that I understand the impact

that I can bring let me let me work on

it and use it for a good use for my

heart and yeah you know I'm not sitting

here telling like I'm going to change

the world but to to have the right

motives for it I think is important and

to make your mother proud mhm yeah can

we talk about stylight yes yes well

you're you're you're um picking all the

songs that I love so much well I mean

the whole album is you smashed it but

yeah these are the there were some

moments in this record that really stuck

with me mhm you know Starlight being one

of those oh you were clearly dealing

with some heavy stuff to to to get out

of your system on that M right MH and

and starlight really the black mystery

is is the story behind it you know when

uh this song was also with BB we talked

about the heavy things we talked about

struggles over the years but not just me

we we had we had this Bond

of sharing each other sharing each

other's experiences and being influenced

by it so yeah I shared a little bit

about the years and and what I did and

she instantly knew like you're here she

is first of all she's like my Mo

motivator in life anything she says I'm

just like wow I agree with you and that

you're giving me power to to be a

stronger of myself and she gave you a

safe space to talk about some of those

experiences and there's a part in this

song where I'm saying

but um something about reme wait

remember the night now I remember the

night um that part is it's me telling

myself never to remember this self of

myself you know I'm like let's remember

night that we wrote this song and all

the all the great um ideas that came to

us and the inspiration that came to us

that day like this is what makes us

special it's a lonely song though I mean

it it it there's resolution at the end a

sense of like self-awareness and and

learning um overcoming that I think yes

overcoming a sense of loneliness and it

really made me feel that you really

captured that sense of like and

everybody feels this but that sense of

isolation and not knowing what to do

and there have been moments like even

through all the success where we

don't know what's happening in the

moments in between the black mystery MH

that's I think the song speaks speaks it

all for me how has Soul changed since

you came home because you've been part

of such a an

enormous

transformation on the on the world stage

in terms of how people perceive career

and soul you and your contemporaries

some friends I'm sure who have gone

ahead and done amazing things um but how

have you seen it changed as someone who

was born there it changed really quickly

by the way it changed as soon

as

um as soon as black pink debuted and

from then on

[Music]

um it's

it's it's like my

hometown in a way

where I feel the most safe and

comfortable but also very strange you

know

it's I don't know how much um I want

to get into but I'm like so deep in my

head and I'm like thinking wait I'm

there's a mic in front of me I'm not

talking to a friend you mayy feels so

comfortable that's kind of what I was

hoping for but equally but equally I

respect the fact that you're creating

boundaries for yourself and you don't

have to cross anything yeah I was just

like going through over the boundaries

in my head I'm like wait wait wait wait

you know when I was

there and I loved Soul it had a profound

effect on me soul oh wow did it really

really did Yeah Yeah from the minute I

touched down and drove into the city to

leaving and flying out and looking at it

I remember you know I called my wife I

was like wow we got to come here one day

because it's an incredible place oh wow

um but one of the things I noticed was

that you know you and your

contemporaries are

everywhere M and people can say that up

and down Sunset all they want but they

change that all the time I feel like

there's something with you on a digital

billboard at all times in that city is

that kind of what was going through your

head just now the balance between home

and that yeah there's like nothing to

hate about it it's like you said if you

have the right balance between and since

I have my family and my friends there

that makes me feel less of the person on

the billboard

um it's it's then it's good there is

nothing to hate about it if if anything

I'll be driving by and feeling really

proud um so yeah I'd like to talk about

the writing and producing on this record

of which you contribut an enormous

amount this isn't one of those albums

where you work with people and let them

figure it out you know your fingerprints

are all over this um what did you learn

about yourself as a composer and as a

producer on this record because it has a

very specific Sonic through line

that obviously is you there is still so

so much that I need to learn and spend

time on like really it was the first

year of me in the studio so much looking

at tracks and hearing different sounds

and um exploring different vocals so up

to up to now I'm like so what is it that

you like and I still can't explain it

because I'm always in the studio being

like you know I want to make this a

little bit more uh how how do you

communicate what is it like what is it

it's the way so the people that I can

work with have to kind of understand

this language of my body language of

music I'm like and also the the

different words that we use in the music

world Korean and English is so different

so I'm like um can we make this sound a

little bit you know like the sound when

you tune into the like it's the worst

it's actually the most I don't want to

share is the most embarrassing of the

experience it really is I'm like I know

what it is like I can hear it in my head

I'm learning how to speak that you know

yeah and what's the appropriate reaction

to that moment if you're a collaborator

with you is it to be like I do not

understand be more clear or is it to

crack out laughing which one do you

prefer um I I prefer the Laughing

people cuz once they don't get it then

then it's just silence I'm like you know

you know my U is outside and I'll just

you know what session has been fun and

everything I I'll call you don't call me

I'll call you um FTS that flip that

script um what was going through your

mind when you wrote that one because

it's uh it's a very D it's one of the

most direct songs on the record one of

my favorite songs

obviously um that was a day where cuz we

were doing back to back every day in the

session so every day was just making

different songs and that day I remember

we

it was Carly and BB and I talking about

late at night talking about

[Music]

um how

much work that we've put in into our for

our dreams and the more you scare your

heart um of your

Purity um it's going to your dreams are

going to eventually come true you just

got to believe in it so we were like

talking about this deep life things that

we've learned over years and at the end

we were just like you know what this

yeah like that's what happened you know

what just that sh let's yeah that's

and that became a song we wrote that

really fast too how much fun was it to

sing that the first time you you you did

the demo vocal so good and I still have

fun every single time um I love the

chanting um background vocal that I have

left in the song where we're that cuzz

that's the truth of that song we were

literally talking for hours to come up

with that topic and we just started

singing for and made the song like that

so I hope you take this the right way in

which it's intended and trust me it's

coming from a very pure place of being a

fan of black pink and a fan of this

record and you know I spoke to to to Ros

as well and we had a great conversation

about that it must be great to get to a

point in your life where to a certain

degree the expectation of what is

appropriate inappropriate because you're

trying to build an audience build

things form a relationship with people I

guess my point is that may not have

jumped out the gate during the early

days of black pink oh no definitely for

sure this song is uh evidence of growth

and and time and for that for me and

trust and Trust yeah and trust and and

aital you the chance for you to

establish some dependance MH that isn't

a weird way right your framework that

that that backs you up mhm no instantly

and I'm surprised that all of this

things the changes in my life happened

in just one year of last year but maybe

I tell myself maybe this was the right

timing like it's it was the right time

to start a new new chapter for myself

and build and really try to build the

things that I want from deep down in my

heart you know Ros has done it too I

mean we talked about her album and what

a huge growth that was for her to say

the things I mean that's a heartbreaking

record and she went through some she did

and I was live I heard everything live

so you know I know how sincere she was

about every work that she has made um

yeah I'm so proud of everyone and I'm so

happy for everyone um I'm so I feel so

grateful to be in a group with

um having having this family of yours

that are going to to the same same path

I guess with a stop on the way where you

can come together and take what you've

learned and and I mean that next Black

Pink tour is going to be fuing

crazy I mean you're going to get to step

into each of your individual spaces and

support each other through that I can't

even imagine which I mean I'm sure

you're going to do Zen cuz you love that

I I'm I'm thinking on it I have yeah you

got to be thinking on it I mean decided

twins got to be up there too a but

that's literally how I feel every time I

hear cuz I've never talked with anyone

about this deeply about my album you are

the first person if anything so I'm

having this new reaction to myself twin

is powerful because that's

and this is where that the analysis ends

but I love the thoughts and the feelings

Beyond it but I'll make this statement

it's about someone for sure like you

ain't writing that song cherry picking

emotions like that's a that's a letter

wow you saw right through me yeah well

it's all in the music it's too personal

it's Ashanti on the beach that's that's

a memory that's a memory yeah uh that

yeah that song is a very very special

song to for me maybe the most personal

song um but by the time we were done

with the song uh I read it back and to

me I was like okay people can resonate

to this there's got to be someone that

makes everyone feel this way absolutely

we all have unresolved relationships and

things we yearn I straight up you're

being honest with me I'll be honest with

you I saw someone on Thursday night at a

dinner I was out with some friends he

was just sitting there with his partner

and I was so happy to see him we hadn't

spoken there was oddness between us for

a few years it was emotional we both got

emotional I didn't waste any time I just

pulled it all away and just hugged him

was just like I miss you you know that

song is that yeah you said it in the

perfect way that's how I felt with the

song has it helped you pluck the courage

to be able to take the right steps no

100% I think um being

after being truthful on that song made

me gave me conclusion gave me a clear

thought on how I felt of that

relationship

and and it says it all that there you go

I'm writing my letter to you MH I don't

know if you're doing asnl the season or

what the plan is but that's a real one

like you're an incredible performa

journey everybody knows that and and as

a member of the band or on your own you

know you you own the screen and you own

the stage it's so amazing I'd imagine

for you to be able to play that live and

just do the opposite I'm excited you

brought some friends along I love how

you chose you collaborators really

carefully you got old friends in there

Dominic fight mhm I feel like you guys

had the best kachala weekend ever that

weekend I feel like I kept seeing cuz I

know Dom I kept seeing Dom and you guys

in different parts and it was like you

were just part of the 100,000 people it

wasn't even like you were performing

like is anyone watching these guys're

just literally running around this

Festival having the greatest time what

do you love I mean I've spent time with

D I went to Naples and spent time with

this family we hung out for the whole

day wow it was pretty incredible um so

I've had some deep conversations with

him let's talk about your relationship

with him what you connect on with him

and what you see in him

unfortunately the featuring it wasn't in

person cuz that's what I would have

preferred yeah um it's your friends

right you know him mhm he's he's tell me

Dom is like a free free spirit guy

and every time we talk I have the best

time I laugh yeah it's funny it's really

funny he's

truthful and you know the music part is

everything about it was very

organic um I was just happy that he he

wanted to jump on and when we were

texting he told me how much he

appreciated um the fact that I wanted

him on my album and I was like what are

you talking about I feel the same so

yeah throughout this song I think I've

become a great friend friend of him now

that maybe for a future um in the future

we could really be in a studio working

together and learning about each other

but I feel like that kind of is a is a

is a motivating factor for you like when

you showed up on the Matt champion song

we were just like this is such a touch

like Matt's awesome Brock Hampton's a

great legacy but on paper no one's

expecting Matt Champion Jenny

collaboration it's obviously talk let's

talk about this like what motivates you

to say yes I don't see a reason to say

no is closer to how I can put it Matt

Matt and I started working together on

music like four or five years four years

ago I'm really bad with time by the way

do by the way isn't it amazing how like

hanging out with me and your New Zealand

accent's coming back quite strong now is

it a little bit oh my God yeah four

years

ago I love I should only be talking to

you people for me works for me you know

I'm so sad about how I lost my accent

and it's coming back I'm telling you yes

they're going to really appreciate you

at possible control next time you roll

through they be like I told you Jenny

she would should be back should be back

she didn't

forget yeah you and met from four years

ago oh yeah so we I was clueless back

then I didn't know what working together

with a different artist in a studio

meant what it was and we just hung out

in the studios for days and we came up

with so many songs and some of them that

I'm like holding on to because I want to

put it out one day um he so he he called

it dips in slow motion there's a song

that I like that we did together what's

that one called can you tell us oh yeah

it's called navy blue yeah it's a very

sweet song that I like so you know we we

made we made the song years back and he

wanted to put it out was like finally

you know let's go let's put the amazing

work that we we did together out into

the world yeah yeah yeah amazing um

DOI uh someone I'm sure that you can

identify with not just from terms of as

a fan but also the the amount of work

DOI puts in the work when she shows up

it's like the performances she takes

pride in that

and that is why her having her on my

album means everything it's it's I don't

just love her music she really inspires

me as a human being you know she's

empowering and she's such

a she's so pure in heart with her her

craft and I admire that about her so

yeah and also for you to have someone

around you that is doing what you and

your friends have have been doing that

whole thing about like black pink or BTS

that sense and by the way generationally

New Edition you know um The Supremes

that sense of like we're here to do our

best work our best creative work but but

everyone's like oh man you know so much

effort put into that and they focus on

the effort but it's like no but focus on

the result like it's so much better mhm

so before we shot the video together for

extra L it was the week after the

Grammys and I've just watched her

performance and I

saw the

amazing greatness that she created and

you have no idea how nervous I was for

the next one week of our before our

shoot I'm like oh my God press UPS yeah

like I want I want to give her the same

amount of energy when we shoot together

so yeah that was that I I like just

remember that week of me

being oh my God Like Straw struck and

like I was getting butterflies before I

met her for that but she's so

chilled though right no we had the best

time it was actually so fun I didn't

realize how well we would blend together

like as a performer there was no we

didn't even have to um tell each other

anything like the director would give us

uh information and what we have to do

and we would just be like okay what have

you learned have being not just part of

a group but but moving in lots of

different spaces and collaborating with

people and and wanting to perform at a

high level and use your abilities and

your skills and your gifts but also know

that it's got to be it's got to be a

collaboration it's got to be chem

chemistry has to be right what's crucial

to that for you how do you perform well

with other people and not just at your

own level I think that comes from being

in my group for the past 10 years um and

also over the years in New Zealand um

I've learned

to uh collect information on people

obviously growing up by myself at school

I needed a way to protect myself and I

think it was by um collecting the

information around me so I don't do

anything um that's going to kill the

vibe wow so just observing the room and

fig at how to adapt at all times in

order to just survive really really and

then then on I was in the traine system

for six years that's Survival right

there and that's also what I learned and

over the years of being black pink with

the girls has taught me how to um

understand different people understand

that everyone is different and that's

fine and you just got to learn about

them and or um anything and then just

make it yours and embrace it and and

deal learn how to deal with it on on

your own way

and that's got to be

the

core thought inside of me that helps me

a better collaborator with with other

artists when you think about the young

people who are going through a similar

training experience now that you went

through 10 years ago and I'm sure the

system is better and I'm sure hope it's

better and I hope I hope and I hope

people are figuring out how to

understand the experience in a more

layered way it's not just like put in

the hours show

up do you feel that like what you're

doing what your friends are doing what

Ros is doing what Lisa is doing J is

doing by coming out making your own

music coming back together that this is

an important growth for the K-pop K-pop

industry that that that you're showing

people that there isn't an end that it's

not like hey black Pink's done its thing

next MH no hang on this is a lifelong

career does it feel that way do you have

that in your mind I think that

responsibility is definitely there

inside of me or and all of us it's not

just um the next comeback of music for

us we we really believe that we are

making a cultural move with what we're

doing and we want to leave a great Mark

for for the history in in the best way

possible so um it was important for all

of us to really understand that

responsibility I think that cuzz it's

there's a lot it's it's a lot to be

separated and then come back as a group

and to even agree on something like that

is I I don't know if people understand

but is a very big decision to make um

for all growing up women you know but

yeah we we pull through and and I'm

excited for what's next for black pink

too does your stomach turn a little bit

in a good way when you think about

coming back and doing and and that

moving into that machine

I have faith in me to do it better this

time so interesting what do you think

you you'd like to improve during this

time that you didn't you how would you

like to do better this time I think I

really want to be be present with it um

less you know worrying less concerns and

it's what's more fun than being on a

stage as black pink like let me enjoy

this really just being more present

about everything that's going to go on

is probably um what's going to be

different from before so glad to hear

that fans around the world are going to

just love that I think that will

resonate more than you know from a black

pink point of view in the few times

we've touched on that that will really

resonate with fans um before you say

goodbye a chance to to sort of

communicate a little bit about that

relationship and how do you maintain a

healthy relationship with with your fans

because blackpink fans love black think

Jenny fans love you and yet you also

know who you are away from that you talk

about that on the record there are songs

about that to be honest I think it's

still I treat it really sensitively when

it comes to um my relationship with our

fans and as much as the changes are

going on with the group I think the fans

are also they might also feel confused

and um

not lost

but lost in the way maybe but I think

over throughout showing everyone's music

and um our solo careers and then when

when we show when we're back as black

pink think that hopefully will build

that rebuild that relationship that

everyone might feel confused about

because as long as the four of us love

each other I think there is no reason

for anyone to see us

separately but maybe in the way we might

have that might I I do think that that

might have confused the fans um so yeah

it's it's a

very it's a I I treat this relationship

very delicately well you know all the

worlds of stage men and women are merely

players yes it's a play on

player you're right

that yep that let me be the

player hey it's been really fun hanging

out with you I knew this was going to be

fun I Knew Too you have no idea I was um

I I wanted to have this talk and I just

meet you you know and have this talk

about this album especially with you

because I've been a fan of your

interviews for such a long time so it's

been my honor to come and talk to you

[Music]

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