Ruby

The record

Ruby is Jennie’s first album, released on 7 March 2025 with 15 tracks. The title track is ‘like JENNIE’, and the running order carries the earlier singles ‘Mantra’, ‘Love Hangover’ and ‘ExtraL’. Dua Lipa, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, Dominic Fike and Doechii feature.

Its album introduction describes a record built to show her range across genres and concepts as a solo artist. Munhwa Ilbo reported that Jennie produced the album herself.

Reviews

Writing five days after release, IZM’s Jung Ki-yeop said that the songs’ distinct pull “does not lose its shine even taken as a set”, and closed by calling the record a bright artistic product made by an artist working on her own terms.

Clash published on the day of release. Maria Letícia L. Gomes scored it 9/10 and wrote that “At its best, ‘Ruby’ is an exhilarating listen that proves Jennie is capable of much more than she’s been given credit for.” NME’s Crystal Bell wrote the same day that “She asserts herself not just as a global star, but as a fully realised artist, shaping her sound and vision with an intentionality that signals real growth.”

Rolling Stone’s Maura Johnston put it this way: “On the quick-moving Ruby — which packs 15 tracks into just over 40 minutes — Jennie leans heavily into the ideas that dominated R&B-leaning pop in the ’00s and ’10s, sometimes updating them in intriguing fashion.” Pitchfork’s review, by Joshua Minsoo Kim, is summed up in its own standfirst: she “powers her solo debut with versatility and charm, translating the group’s tough-girl sound into a blistering new style.”

Among the tracks

Diplo built the beat for the title track ‘like JENNIE’. IZM read the track as the stage that shows her rapping — her speciality — at its best, and NME called it “the kind of song only she could pull off – a declaration of dominance wrapped in effortless cool.”

Two outlets singled out ‘ZEN’. IZM named it the end point and the highlight of the album’s reading of Jennie, and NME wrote: “Stripped of its sonic chaos, ‘Zen’ is deceptively simple – but Jennie’s charisma and the track’s off-kilter catchiness make it a highlight.”

Of ‘Handlebars’, with Dua Lipa, Clash wrote that “It’s the kind of track that’s easy to put on repeat, making it a definite highlight.” The same outlet ended on the closing track ‘twin’: “The song’s message is bittersweet, and it’s a fitting way to end ‘Ruby’ – quiet, thoughtful, and deeply personal.”

IZM reviewed the two pre-release singles separately before the album came out. Lim Sun-hee wrote that the mantra of ‘Mantra’ — a true word that ferments realisation and will — expands through Jennie’s hand into an anthem for women of this age, and Son Min-hyun wrote of ‘Love Hangover’ that where ‘Mantra’ is centred on its confident message, this song’s strength is the variety of its arrangement and melody.

Numbers

YTN reported that on the chart Billboard published on 16 March 2025 local time, Ruby entered the Billboard 200 at number seven — Jennie’s highest placing as a soloist. The same report gave the album the year’s highest first-week sales among K-pop female solo artists at 661,130 copies, and third place on the UK’s Official Albums Chart. Three songs entered the Official Singles Chart together: ‘like JENNIE’ at 36, ‘Handlebars’ at 41 and ‘ExtraL’ at 66.

At the 23rd Korean Music Awards, held on 26 February 2026, Ruby won best K-pop album and ‘like JENNIE’ won best K-pop song. Munhwa Ilbo reported that Jennie was nominated in five categories at that ceremony.