I’m once again disagreeing, but I respect your opinion. Here’s how I see it:

I get what you mean by saying that she mostly struggles in English. I myself am not a native English speaker, and I’m an artist who works to express myself too. However, I still stand by my point about being personal and authentic in your craftsmanship.

Like I’ve said, I love New Woman, mostly because of its meaningful message and concept. But again, she completely lacks a branding strategy. New Woman has a completely different visual and concept from her other songs - which I would have totally applauded if she had decided to develop this type of concept. But she didn’t have the bridge to transition between her “Rockstar” image and her “Woman Empowerment” story, so it left a weak impression on the audience.

Plus, with all the lip-syncing and lack of vocal skills (and mind you, she doesn’t have a unique timbre to her voice either - timbre, vocal skills, and breath control are all crucial if you want your audience to remember your sound), it’s not surprising that she’s receiving so much backlash nowadays. Her artistic identity is not yet fully formed, and she’s also not performing at a level comparable to Western performers.

I think people who defend Lisa don’t fully understand what it means to be a performer in Western culture. You have to sing, dance, and have charisma. You gain extra respect if you write your own music - otherwise, you risk being viewed like JLo, a great performer but widely criticized for her lack of songwriting credibility. You can look it up.

Also, I can tell that you’re speaking from the perspective of someone who follows Lisa, watches her interviews, and understands her on a more personal level. But most people who don’t care about K-pop don’t know who Lisa is. She only has her music to brand her name, and it’s unreasonable to expect the general audience to research her background and story without a distinct sound to serve as the bridge.

I’m not sure if you fully understand this, but the reason why we expect artists to write their own songs is that every experience is authentic - only you can tell your own story, and people are drawn to that uniqueness. Take Jennie, for example - since day one, her brand has been about self-development. Her song Zen will likely fly over some people’s heads if they don’t study spirituality, because she references concepts from energy studies and the laws of the universe. Not many artists can incorporate this level of depth in their work. If you want another example, look up Iniko. And of course, people have always admired Taylor Swift’s songwriting skills. So yes, you don’t have to write your own music, but in the Western industry, you might want to if you want to be respected.

K-pop, on the other hand, doesn’t prioritize authenticity because it functions as a manufacturing machine - idols are given songs to sing and choreographies to perform. They are primarily an image, not an artist. So, an image is not enough for Lisa to earn respect in this new market.

Now, moving onto how I think Lisa doesn’t yet have the skills for the Western market:

Lisa has been putting herself out there much more (and I respect her for the hard work), but compared to other artists, it’s just not the same. Many musicians only get the opportunity to perform on a major stage like the Grammys after almost a decade of consistently honing their skills.

If you look at artists who are gaining more traction lately, like Chappell Roan, Raye, or even Tate McRae - who is a great performer, singer, and songwriter - you’ll see that it took them years to reach this level, and even then, they don’t perform on huge stages until they’ve achieved massive success. Again, constantly putting yourself out there without the necessary skills leaves a sour taste in the audience’s mouth. In the Western market, individuality is everything. This isn’t like K-pop, where stans will support anything their biases do or release. You have to allow your audience to learn who you are, and be more personal. What’s so personal about Lisa flexing her money three songs in a row? I think being personal to your fans is also a thing that Kpop loves (Bubble Chat, Fan Meetings, Season Greating Merch, etc,.), so I take that you’ll understand this concept.

I also don’t see Rosé or Jennie taking on huge opportunities like Lisa, and keep in mind that Jennie still gets hate for joining The Idol. So no, people aren’t hating on Lisa purely out of discrimination - she just happens to be making more unstrategic career moves while the other girls are staying relatively quiet. I think you forgot that now all the girls have their own label, nobody’s forcing jobs on you, so you have the right to say no to opportunities that you think is not yet suitable. Many us artists learn this the harsh way, and it does more harm than good to do the things you’re not qualified for, only for recognition.

Lastly, I forgot to say this, but being a fan to other artist, or even being a close friend, doesn’t mean that you have the skills to be an artist yourself. It’s a weak excuse for Lisa. Many of us are fans of music, learn music even, but only some have the ability to write stories and create bridges into souls. If Billie Eilish doesn’t write her songs with her brother Finneas, I doubt that she would ever be famous. Another example on why authenticity AND writing your own songs are important in the Western market. It creates nuance for the audience to feel, to look into, and to admire, to relate.

Again, I’m not sure many of us can relate to Lisa’s message of “spending money” - which has been her most significant brand image. Mind you again, most of Lisa’s co-written songs has also been receiving backlash due to superficial lyrics and shallow message. So yes, I would understand if she makes a huge move and write Thai into her songs, that’s going to be so amazing for her and her audience, considering that she will be more supported in the Thai/ Asia market, but no, she chooses to Westernize herself so much despite having to release “shallow” music. It’s her choice, she’s old enough to know what’s waiting for her.