LISA of BLACKPINK has released her first solo EP. Press Play arrived Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, a six-track project led by the single Tarantino, with the music video landing the same day. It is her first release in one year and eight months.
The drop closes one huge stretch for the BLACKPINK star and opens the next one. It lands after her VMA Best Pop win, after a documentary premiere, and less than three weeks before her Las Vegas residency begins. It also comes with a question a lot of listeners are asking: is Tarantino actually a Quentin Tarantino collaboration?
LISA’s Press Play Is Out Now
The EP arrived Friday and is live on all major streaming platforms. It marks a format first for LISA: Alter Ego, which came out in February 2025, was her debut full-length solo album. Press Play is her first EP, and the follow-up she has been building toward all year.
The concept is built around the title. The idea is that you press play and the six tracks unfold like a film, and the rollout has leaned into that pitch at every step, from the action-heavy video to the movie-theater styling of her Seoul listening party.
LISA previewed the full project on Oct. 22 at a listening party in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. The event was staged around a vintage Hollywood theater concept and played every track on the EP for the fans in the room.
Here is the full tracklist:
- SaWaDiKa
- V12
- Cobra
- Tarantino (lead track)
- Cut U Off
- Sweat
Inside the Tarantino Music Video
The video for Tarantino is the centerpiece of the rollout. In it, LISA moves through a hotel on a mission to deliver a letter to her favorite director, Quentin Tarantino, and her forceful action performance carries the whole thing.
She first announced the single on Oct. 14, sharing cover art of herself hiding her face behind a red envelope and a TikTok teaser of the track. In the clip, she sings: “Got my nails really long like the barrel of my gun and my lipstick all over your face,” followed by the hook, “It’s a movie, baby, come and press play.”
To be clear: the song and video are a film-inspired homage, not a collaboration. No involvement from Quentin Tarantino has been announced.
Why This EP Is a Milestone for LISA
LISA has spent the past year building a solo identity that reaches beyond music, and this EP fits that pattern. In September, she won Best Pop at the 2026 MTV VMAs in Los Angeles for Dream, a track from Alter Ego, a win Yonhap described as a first for an Asian solo artist in that category.
The same month, her documentary Always Lalisa, which follows her first solo year away from BLACKPINK, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It reached theaters worldwide on Monday, Oct. 12.
That context matters when reading the EP. The cinematic framing is not a one-off marketing hook, it is the throughline of the entire era. Here is how the story got here:
- February 2025: Alter Ego arrives and peaks at No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
- September 2026: SaWaDiKa is released as the EP’s pre-release single.
- September 2026: LISA wins Best Pop at the 2026 MTV VMAs for Dream and performs SaWaDiKa on the show.
- Oct. 12, 2026: Always Lalisa opens in theaters worldwide.
- Oct. 14, 2026: Tarantino is announced with cover art and a TikTok teaser.
- Oct. 22, 2026: The Seoul listening party previews all six tracks.
- Oct. 23, 2026: Press Play and the Tarantino video are released.
The format shift is part of the story too. Alter Ego was a wide, full-length statement. Press Play is tighter: six tracks, a visual-first rollout, and a lead single built to be watched as much as streamed. Soloists across K-pop have leaned on EPs between full albums to keep their release cadence tight, and LISA’s version of that playbook pairs the music with a US live date instead of the other way around.
SaWaDiKa Already Proved This Era Has Heat
This was not a cold launch. SaWaDiKa arrived in September as the pre-release single and set personal records for LISA almost immediately. It debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest-charting song to date, and at No. 23 on the Billboard Global 200.
The music video, shot in Bangkok, LISA’s hometown, pulled 70.8 million YouTube views within 24 hours of release. That is a new personal record for her and, according to Korean outlet MK, the best YouTube debut of any release in 2026.
She also gave the song its first live performance at the VMAs, which put it in front of a US audience before the EP was even out. By the time Press Play landed, the era already had a hit attached to it.
From the VMAs to Vegas: What Comes Next
The next confirmed step is live. LISA’s Las Vegas residency opens Nov. 12 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. It was originally booked for four nights and was expanded to six, with the announcement citing “incredible fan demand.”
That leaves less than three weeks between the EP’s release and her first US stage dates of the era, which makes the setlist the big open question. A live debut of Tarantino in Vegas would be a natural fit, but nothing has been confirmed.
The chart picture is unresolved too. There is no Billboard 200 debut for Press Play yet, no first-week streaming total, and no indication of whether Tarantino can match the Hot 100 peak of SaWaDiKa. A full solo tour beyond the Vegas dates has not been announced either.
The first real test comes Nov. 12, when LISA takes the Colosseum stage and BLINKs find out which of the six new tracks made the cut.