JENNIE has revealed that Rihanna remains the artist she admires most, praising the global superstar’s influence on music, fashion, and pop culture in a new interview with Cosmopolitan. The comments arrive just days after the BLACKPINK member made history as the first female Korean and K-pop solo artist to headline Lollapalooza Chicago.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan, JENNIE reflected on the artists who continue to inspire her career, singling out Rihanna above everyone else. “Rihanna will always be my biggest dream in terms of how much influence she has over pop culture and also music culture and art itself. She’s so inspiring for me,” she said.
The admiration comes at a fitting moment in JENNIE’s career. Over the past year, she has steadily expanded beyond music, taking greater creative control over her work while strengthening her presence across fashion, visual art, and live performance—areas where Rihanna has long been regarded as a defining figure.
JENNIE capped off an extraordinary weekend on Saturday, <a href="https://comicvibe.com/chicken-farm-codes-august-2026/” title=”Chicken Farm codes (August 2026)”>August 1, by becoming the first female Korean and K-pop solo artist to headline Lollapalooza Chicago. Performing on the Bud Light Stage, she delivered a polished hour-long production featuring hits from her acclaimed debut solo album Ruby alongside the live festival debut of several unreleased tracks from her next chapter.
Among the biggest highlights was “Less Than a Lover,” the lead single from her upcoming second studio album. Released just days before the festival, the song debuted at No. 34 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart with 2.261 million streams before quickly building momentum worldwide. It also topped the iTunes chart in at least 27 countries, became the best-selling digital single in China, climbed to No. 2 on Melon’s Hot 100 in South Korea, and earned the biggest first-day YouTube debut by a K-pop soloist in 2026 with 5.7 million views.
Unlike previous releases, “Less Than a Lover” showcases JENNIE’s growing artistic independence. She is credited as the song’s sole songwriter and composer while also directing the music video herself through her independent label, Odd Atelier. The single follows the success of Ruby, which debuted inside the top 10 in 19 countries, surpassed 660,000 first-week sales in South Korea, and produced five Billboard Hot 100 entries.
JENNIE first teased the new era during performances at Governors Ball, Roskilde Festival, and Open’er Festivalbefore officially launching the campaign. Her Lollapalooza set also introduced additional unreleased songs, signaling that more music is on the horizon.
