Why people are paying attention now
“SaWaDiKa” is not really a stand-alone single — it's the first song out from PRESS PLAY, the EP LISA has set for October 23. That gives it a different job than most single releases: it's an opening chapter, not the whole story.
LISA puts her music out through her own label, LLOUD Co., working with RCA Records on this release. LISA, JENNIE, and JISOO each run their solo activities through companies of their own — LLOUD, Odd Atelier, and Blissoo. If you assumed BLACKPINK's solo releases all still went through one shared company, that's the part that has changed.
The official video was directed by Bang Jae Yeob and filmed across Bangkok, in her home country of Thailand. Her videos have often leaned on elaborate sets, so shooting around a real city like this changes how the song is being presented.
September turned into a busy month for BLACKPINK's individual releases — JISOO's “CLICK” arrived in the same release week as “SaWaDiKa.” If you are new to the group, that's worth knowing: even when BLACKPINK is not promoting together, its four members are often still releasing music, just on their own separate schedules.