On March 7, Jennie finally released her highly anticipated debut studio album, RUBY, after more than a year of preparation. Featuring 15 tracks and produced with a top-tier global team, Jennie poured her heart, effort, and finances into this project. RUBY is a deeply personal album, showcasing her unique identity in every song. In its first week, the album received positive feedback from both fans and critics, with its achievements steadily growing each day.
Slow Start on Korean Charts
Ahead of the album’s release, Jennie dropped multiple pre-release singles, including the “ZEN” music video (January 25, without a digital release), “Love Hangover” (January 31), and “ExtraL” featuring Doechii (February 21). While fans enthusiastically supported and streamed these songs, the rapid succession of English-language releases made it challenging for Jennie to dominate South Korean music charts. Both “Love Hangover” and “ExtraL,” despite being officially released on streaming platforms, struggled to reach the top five of domestic charts, raising questions about Jennie’s influence in her home country.
Even on the day of RUBY’s release, Jennie’s title track “Like JENNIE” did not make an immediate impact on Korean charts. Released at midnight KST, the song only debuted at #67 on the MelOn Top 100 chart at 8 AM. Like JENNIE is a hard-hitting hip-hop track with an intense beat and rapid-fire rap verses, making it one of the most personal and confrontational songs on the album. In the lyrics, Jennie boldly addresses her haters with strong, unapologetic statements.
Given its heavy hip-hop influence, fans speculated that “Like JENNIE” might struggle to top the charts in South Korea, especially since G-Dragon had recently made his comeback, achieving a Perfect All-Kill with “Too Bad,” which had held the #1 spot for 200 consecutive hours.
Jennie’s Chart Comeback
However, Jennie is proving her power in the industry by steadily climbing the charts. By March 10, Like JENNIE had entered the top 10 across all iChart ranking platforms. As of 9 AM KST on March 13, the song officially secured a spot in the top five on iChart, ranking #2 on Bugs, #3 on Flo, and #5 on both MelOn and Genie.
Fans are incredibly proud of this achievement, as Jennie has once again cemented her status in the Korean music scene. Every solo title track she has released, including “SOLO,” “You & Me,” “Mantra,” and now “Like JENNIE,” has reached the top five on domestic music charts. Initially predicted to be a niche track, “Like JENNIE” is now widely embraced by Korean audiences, with her Korean rap verse gaining particular praise for showcasing her identity as a K-pop rapper.
RUBY’s Sales Success
Meanwhile, RUBY has already surpassed 650,000 copies sold on Hanteo, making Jennie the highest-selling female solo idol of the year. Despite initial doubts about her domestic popularity, she continues to defy expectations, proving her steady and undeniable influence in South Korea.
Fans are optimistic that once Jennie returns to South Korea and begins official promotions, both “Like JENNIE” and RUBY will rise even higher in the rankings. So far, she has only performed the title track once, on NPOP, with the performance video amassing nearly 3 million views within days. Looking ahead, Jennie is set to hold The Ruby Experience event in Seoul, following successful shows in Los Angeles and New York.
Beyond Korea, Jennie is also achieving new milestones on Spotify. “Like JENNIE” recently entered the top 10 on Spotify Global, with its streaming numbers rising steadily. On March 12, she made history by becoming the most-streamed female K-pop solo artist of all time on Spotify, with a total of 3.609 billion streams across her entire discography.
