BLACKPINK's Jisoo dropped a new solo extended play (EP), AMORTAGE, this Valentine's Day. It has been almost two years since Jisoo released ME in March of 2023. Many BLINKS [BLACKPINK's fandom name] have been anticipating another solo release from their beloved lead vocalist of BLACKPINK.

AMORTAGE features four tracks titled "earthquake," "Your Love," "TEARS," and "Hugs & Kisses." "earthquake" is the lead single for this extended play. I have listed my thoughts and reactions to each of the songs below.

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"earthquake" — 4/5

"earthquake" is very catchy and has an easily memorable melody. The bridge with the "da-da, da-ra-ra-ra, da-ra, da-ra-ra-ra" reminds me of Jisoo's "FLOWER" from her previous single. When I first listened to this song, I really liked the instrumentals of this song. However, I think that this song could have more of a variety of lyrics, especially in the chorus and the bridge where the instrumentals are what make the song unique.

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"Your Love" — 5/5

This song is my favorite song off of the entire extended play. The lyrics are very poetic and well written. For example, in the chorus, Jisoo sings, "your love," every new line.

I really liked how that sounded and made the chorus appealing to the ear. The song's usage of similes to compare to "your love" is also very effective. "Your Love" also uses dreamy instrumentals and a comforting beat which is what made this song my favorite out of AMORTAGE. Jisoo's voice is super calming and smooth, complementing the lyrics in this song.

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"Tears" — 3/5

In "Tears," Jisoo sings about getting over a heartbreak and leaving her past behind. She sings in Korean, "Today are my last tears to forget you," reflecting the refreshing beat of the song. The lyrics take a bit of a hard right turning to the aftermath of falling in love with someone. This song is also very catchy and has an upbeat feel, reminding me of the usage of guitar and drums in "FREAK" by Yuqi.

"Hugs & Kisses" — 5/5

I also really liked "Hugs & Kisses" with its upbeat rhythms and confident lyrics. A perfect follow up to "Tears," Jisoo continues to sing, "'Cause I'm tired of you using me like a safety net // I'm not buying your excuses, don't even waste your breath, oh, yeah // Funny you're wanting me back, I'm moving on // Matter of fact I'm through, that's on you." I loved these iconic lyrics and immediately added "Hugs & Kisses" to my playlists. Jisoo's songs never disappoint!

The Music Video

I loved the concept of the music video. It starts off with Jisoo receiving a message from someone that says, "Hey beautiful :) // How is your day going?" But, her surroundings start rumbling and her phone gets yanked from her hand. Jisoo appears in a investigation scene where the investigator asks, "What are your true feelings for him?" before she replies to the message, which shortly the song begins. I thought that this introduction was very clever and worked extremely well with the lyrics of "earthquake."

The middle of the music video mostly just concurred with the lyrics that Jisoo sings her song. The storyline is also quite simple: trying to reply to the text that Jisoo receives at the beginning of the music video. In general, the music video for "earthquake" has a nice concept and I liked how the visual part was acted to supplement the audio. You can check out the music video for "earthquake" in the video below, which has garnered over 20 million views already.

Overall Review

Overall, I would rate AMORTAGE a four out of five stars. I was very happy to see that Jisoo had wrote the lyrics for all of these songs, showcasing her talent as producer. The lyrics are all very well-written and had lovely connotation and meaning in them. I was expecting to have some variety in the tempo of the songs, but all tracks on the extended play had a similar bass beat in the background.

While I did like those instrumentals, I think Jisoo's extended play could have benefited from one slow song that would showcase her beautiful vocals. But overall, I really liked AMORTAGE and I encourage all readers to listen to it!