BLACKPINK’s Jennie is the best thing about The Idol, but her health is in trouble
On Sunday 11 June 2023, BLACKPINK star Jennie Kim was forced to leave the stage after her health deteriorated to such a point that she was no longer able to perform. Footage, which began rapidly circulating online, showed the singer stumble offstage midway through the performance and be whisked backstage.
While there’s been no concrete update on what exactly might be wrong with Jennie, fans were sure to spread their love online and wish the singer a speedy recovery.
For anyone who may have spent the last three or so years under a rock, BLACKPINK are one of the biggest girl groups in the entire world—yes, even bigger than the iconic Sugababes. Originally from South Korea, the four-piece power group has become a staple headliner and touring act. They also single-handedly saved this year’s Coachella after Frank Ocean pulled a sickie and bailed on weekend two.
And while we’re on the subject of saving things, I think I speak for the entirety of gen Z when I say that Jennie’s role in Sam Levinson’s The Idol is just about the only redeemable aspect of the series—and that’s saying a lot considering only two episodes have been released.
Playing Dyanne, dancer and stupidly fit bestie of Lily Rose Depp’s character Jocelyn, Jennie manages to steal the spotlight every chance she gets. It would be one thing if all she did was dominate the choreographed moments, which of course she does. But it’s her entire onscreen presence that the internet simply cannot get enough of.
@evrtngk Only watching for jenniee #blackpink #jenniekim #idol #edit #foryou #fyp #kpopxanime_edit #edit #foru #hbomax #edit
♬ Rodeo (Remix) - Lah Pat & Flo Milli
Oh, and did I mention that this is Jennie’s acting debut? Yep, she’s never done this before. The singer is evidently a phenomenal performer, but she’s also full of depth and emotional bandwidth. Without dumping too much on Depp’s performance, it only takes a few scrolls on TikTok to figure out who it is everyone’s obsessed with, and it’s not Jocelyn or The Weeknd—although not sure it’d be normal to be too obsessed with Abel Tesfaye’s character Tedros who’s quite literally described as “rapey”).
The Idol’s has had some pretty scathing reviews so far. It’s been labelled problematic, uncomfortable, and straight up boring. It’s not only that the entire show feels more like a sick Levinson fantasy than real art, it’s also just a poor attempt at actually capturing female sexuality and struggle—it doesn’t feel authentic and daring, it feels cringe and difficult to stomach.
But could Jennie save the sinking ship? Her standout performance has got people excited for what’s to come over the next few episodes. And for those of us who no longer have access to our parents’ Sky boxes, just do what I’m doing, use TikTok as your own personal streaming service and soak up all the talent Miss Jennie has to offer.
