'Paid by her manager?' Fans question as BLACKPINK's Jennie earns highest Pitchfork score for a K-pop soloist

Jennie's latest album, Ruby, released on March 7, 2025, has set a new record on the American music review site Pitchfork, earning a 7.1/10 ¡ª the highest rating ever for a K-pop soloist. This marks Jennie's first full-length studio album since leaving YG Entertainment to pursue her solo career.

Pitchfork, known for its notoriously tough scoring, praised Jennie, noting that her songs effectively capture BLACKPINK's signature tough-girl aesthetic. The review stated: "If Jennie has the most robust individual musical identity of the quartet, it's because her songs have a crucial element the others' lack: They sound good."

Start of fanwars

Following Pitchfork's review, her solo fans flooded social media with celebratory posts, praising the star's record-breaking achievement. However, the reaction wasn't all positive. Many BLACKPINK fans expressed disappointment, criticizing the platform for seemingly discrediting the other members ¡ª Jisoo, Ros¨¦, and Lisa ¡ª while singling out Jennie for praise.

Tensions flared online, with some fans calling the reviewer "rude," especially after he gave Lisa's Alter Ego a 5.2 and Ros¨¦'s Rosie a 5.5.

¡°OMG THIS IS SO UNPROFESSIONAL¡±, yeah and so is releasing a horrible album

¡ª Joshua Minsoo Kim (@misterminsoo) March 7, 2025

The controversy reignited fan wars on Twitter, with comparisons drawn between the members' solo projects. Notably, Jennie's Ruby also surpassed BLACKPINK's highest group score on Pitchfork ¡ª a 6.5 for their album Born Pink.

Fans react

Many users on X (formerly known as Twitter) questioned the authenticity of Jennie's glowing Pitchfork review, speculating whether her alleged manager, Jeremy Erlich, had influenced the score.

Jeremy Erlich, formerly Spotify's Global Head of Music, announced his departure in an internal memo, stating his plans to "embark on [his] own entrepreneurial journey." Erlich joined Spotify in 2019 as Head of Music Strategy, following his time at Interscope Records, where he signed BLACKPINK and served as CFO and EVP of Business Development.

Pitchfork reviewer seems to favor Jennie and will give her a good score after he was revealed to shade Lisa while also admitted his biased view.

Pitchfork review on Blackpink albums so far:
Kill This Love 6.2
Born Pink 6.5
Ros¨¦ - Rosie 5.5
Lisa - Alter Ego 5.2 pic.twitter.com/WeQZTHfcaK

¡ª l4ckpink in your urea (@xttcIeared) March 8, 2025

LMAO, Pitchfork who?? Rated by an unprofessional and biased ugly Korean man who¡¯s shitting on Lisa? No one¡¯s buying that¡ªwe all know who the real ones are! https://t.co/neTkIwQRsO

¡ª al (@XoVixi_) March 12, 2025

jennie's manager, jeremy, paid for the review lmao https://t.co/xMAfp6adt0 pic.twitter.com/D2bC6GwKtn

¡ª ¡î (@lisa317x) March 12, 2025

congrats to Ros¨¦'s NOT PAID, UNBIASED review ??? pic.twitter.com/z3lTZTPJ3m https://t.co/h5c8YcA3xB

¡ª POP STAR ROS? (@yslrozei) March 12, 2025

"Blackpink's jennie receives highest score ever on pitchfork run by 1 korean man in his basement while scratching his balls"

¡ª ROS?THECONQUEROR (@ROSIECONQUERED) March 12, 2025

About Ruby

Jennie released her solo album under her independent label, Odd Atelier and includes collaborations with Childish Gambino, Doechii, Dominic Fike, FKJ, Dua Lipa, and Kali Uchis. Leading up to the release, she dropped several singles that garnered significant attention.

Ruby's 15 tracks: Mantra, Love Hangover (featuring Dominic Fike), ExtraL (featuring Doechii), Like Jennie, Handlebars (featuring Dua Lipa), Damn Right (featuring Kali Uchis and Childish Gambino), ZEN, Starlight, Twin, Seoul City, Start a War, With the IE (Way Up), Reflection, Midnight Rendezvous and Ruby.

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