advertisement
Pop

‘It’s Like a Movie’: LISA Talks ‘PRESS PLAY’ on ‘The Tonight Show’

The superstar BLACKPINK singer gave a glimpse behind the curtain of her forthcoming collection, "PRESS PLAY," due out Oct. 23.

Lisa at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards held at UBS Arena on September 11, 2024 in Elmont, New York.

Lisa at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards held at UBS Arena on September 11, 2024 in Elmont, New York.

Christopher Polk/Billboard

For her next solo EP, LISA wants BLINKS to soak up the experience, sit back, and relax. Just like at the movies.

The superstar BLACKPINK singer stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a glimpse behind the curtain of her forthcoming collection, PRESS PLAY, due out Oct. 23.


“This EP is about my journey from my roots to where I am right now today,” the Thailand-born artist tells Fallon. “There’s a lot of Thai elements in the songs as well, in the EP. And every single song has their own character, their own vibe and we combine it together. It’s like a movie. So you just press play.

advertisement

The first of six tracks lifted from PRESS PLAY is “SaWaDiKa,” or “Hello” in her mother tongue. “SaWaDiKa” dropped earlier this month and notched more than 70 million views on YouTube in just 24 hours, “crazy” numbers she admits in her late-night interview, which aired Wednesday night, Sept. 16. “SaWaDiKa” crashed the Billboard Hot 100, with a peak position of No. 69.

The full tracklist for PRESS PLAY has yet to be announced, although LISA admitted track four is the next single and begins with the letter T. Thailand perhaps? “It’s a surprise for my fans,” she teases.

Like many of us, LISA had a fallback in case her K-pop career didn’t pan out. Her Plan B, she recounts to Fallon, was to be a dance teacher or to work as a performer, perhaps in a princess costume, at Disneyland.

No need. LISA’s Plan A is very much working out.

Aside from her dynamite pop music career, LISA is the subject of the feature documentary Always Lalisa. Directed by Sue Kim, Always Lalisa will open in global cinemas and IMAX on Oct. 12 before it heads to streaming on YouTube Premium later in the year. Tickets for the screenings will go on sale Sept. 9 via the film’s website.

advertisement

Also, LISA made history as the first K-pop artist to hold a Las Vegas residency, with her four-show VIVA LA LISA run at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, from Nov. 13–14 and Nov. 27–28, 2026. Tickets reportedly sold out in fewer than 10 minutes. She hasn’t yet begun rehearsals, she tells Fallon, “but I’m going to start soon. I can’t wait.”

This is LISA’s year. She graced the stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony where she hit “Goals” alongside Anitta and Rema, becoming the first female K-pop and Thai artist to perform at soccer’s showpiece tournament. She also covered Vanity Fair’s Summer 2026 issue; served on the 2026 Met Gala host committee as the first K-pop artist in that role; presented at the 2026 Golden Globes; made her acting debut in HBO’s The White Lotus; and is confirmed for two Netflix projects, one sees her starring in and executive producing the action film TYGO, the other an untitled romantic comedy currently in development.

Watch LISA’s interview on NBC’s The Tonight Show.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.
advertisement
Dolly Parton at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Christopher Polk/Variety

Dolly Parton at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Country

Weeks After Death, Dolly Parton Posthumously Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award in Video Message: ‘Just Know That I Will Always Love You’

Parton was honored at Wednesday night's (Sept. 16) 2026 Americana Honors & Awards, where Brandi Carlile covered her classic song "Coat of Many Colors."

Three weeks after her death at 80 following a brief battle with cancer, Dolly Parton made a surprise posthumous appearance at Wednesday night’s (Sept. 16) 2026 Americana Awards and Honors at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Before her passing on Aug. 25, Parton recorded a pre-taped message accepting the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The segment was introduced by Emmylou Harris, who talked about the “unthinkable” death of her friend, who she called a “a tiny, extraordinary woman” who made the world a “better, brighter and kinder place.” Harris recalled one of Parton’s many pearls of wisdom (the famously glam country icon, fittingly, actually called them “rhinestones of wisdom”), delivered as a four-part motto: “dream more, learn more, care more, be more.”

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.
keep readingShow less
advertisement