Max's The Idolboasts a stacked cast: pop stars Abel Tesfaye (AKA The Weeknd) and Troye Sivan, Schitt's Creek'sDan Levy, model Hari Nef, and more. But the real star, it seems, had one of the smallest speaking roles in the series' first episode. Her name is Jennie Kim, but you may know her better as the mononymous Jennie of Korean girl group Blackpink.
SEE ALSO:HBO's new 'The Idol' preview teases a whole lot more sex, drugs, and violenceCredited as Jennie Ruby Jane, the 27-year-old global superstar plays Dyanne, the dancer bestie of main character Jocelyn (Lily Rose-Depp), and she's been the major draw for the series so far, especially online. A video of her dance scene from the opening episode has racked up more than 2 million views, twice the viewership of the episode itself (913,000, according to Variety).
But while the internet seems to be loving Jennie, its feelings for The Idolaren't so warm. The show has been mired in controversy that boiled over after a Rolling Stoneexposé detailed its messy creation, and its first episode has been widely panned.
Can Jennie's popularity save the show from itself? Here's why her draw is so powerful.
Jennie is arguably the most famous person in the entire cast andcrew of The Idol. She is the 48th most-followed person on Instagram, with more than 79 million followers. Her band, Blackpink, is known the world over and grossed $78 million on tour in 2022, the highest ever for a female group.
The band's fans, known as Blinks, are incredibly loyal, and given that The Idol marks Jennie's acting debut (she also gave an impressive performance in a perfume commercial last year), Blinks have shown up to support her. The New York Timesspoke to one superfan who said they'd unsubscribe to Max if Jennie was cut from the show. And it's no secret that both Max and The Idolneed all the subscribers they can get.
One of Blackpink's marketing hallmarks is leaving fans wanting more. The group has been together for seven years but have just two albums and roughly 40 songs to their name.
SEE ALSO:Blackpink's 'Carpool Karaoke' is fun as hellThe members are high-fashion favorites, often papped out and about at global brand events and fashion weeks, and Jennie most recently designed a capsule collection for Calvin Klein. The group rarely livestreams, tweets, or communicates via fan apps like other Korean idols, choosing instead to post on their individual Instagram accounts. This restrained content strategy means that Blinks are voracious consumers of any new Blackpink content, and The Idol benefits from their eagerness to show their support.
The role also represents a new kind of opportunity for Jennie outside of music, and fans want to see her shine.
Art imitates life, but The Idolis a whole other level. Jennie, a real-life pop star, playing the dancer of Jocelyn, a fake pop star? The premise of the showis so damn meta that fans and non-fans alike have to be curious about how Jennie will be used in future episodes.
SEE ALSO:'The Idol' review: 'Euphoria' creator's controversial new show shocks and awesIn the pilot, her character stands in for Jocelyn to show the pop star how to emote on stage. Fans says she killed it, and Jennie even noted in a post-episode breakdown that learning the choreography was easy because "thankfully, I do this all the time, so it came naturally to me." Who's to say Jennie won't eventually replace Jocelyn and steal the whole show?
In The Idol'sfirst episode, Jennie's character Dyanne is acting as a stand-in for Jocelyn, who leverages sex appeal as part of her personal brand. With the help of a stage full of dancers, Jennie executes Jocelyn's sultry, borderline scandalous choreography, and puts on an impressive performance unlike what we've seen from the IRL idol. However, some more conservative Korean fans of Blackpink weren't so thrilled with how sexy things got, sharing their dismay on local message boards.
Controversial or not, for Jennie, and the show, there's no such thing as bad publicity. As Jocelyn's team says when a sexually explicit photo of her is leaked to Reddit: "She's coming out of it more famous than when she came in." And so will Jennie.
The best ways to watch 'The Idol':
TopicsHBOK-Pop
(责任编辑：綜合)
Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic goldBomb squad called into airport, finds cute rabbit insteadWorld Cup manager wins the heart of the internet, becomes glorious memeGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai says company will appeal record fine from EU rulingHere's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takesNate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape
Nate Parker is getting a crash course in male privilege after, in his own words, not thinking about
...[详细]Man breaks into escape room, then can't actually escape
No one wants to call for help in an escape room, especially if you've just broken into one.Authoriti
...[详细]New Apple Watch will have a larger screen, better heart rate detection
A bigger screen, but with the same physical dimensions? What is this witchcraft?! 。Apple expert Ming-
...[详细]Families Belong Together marches: Photos of all the best protest signs
On Saturday, people around the U.S. gathered for Families Belong Together marches in solidarity with
...[详细]Give your kitchen sponge a rest on this adorable bed
Our kitchen sponges do a lot of work. Don't they deserve a good night's rest?"Sure," said design stu
...[详细]What's coming to Hulu in August 2018
WithInsecureSeason 3 as its only binge-worthy newcomer, Hulu has definitely seen better months for T
...[详细]McDonald's is ditching plastic straws in Australia too
Australians, you'll be sipping your thickshake through a paper straw at McDonald's pretty soon &mdas
...[详细]'Making a Murderer' case will not be heard by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal for a conviction that was the center of the Netfli
...[详细]This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
LONDON -- We are living through the golden age of celebrity relationships. Gone are the days of tort
...[详细]'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' cuts lesbian backstory
Summer movie fans, it is my somber duty to inform you: we have been robbed. In a recent interview wi
...[详细]Uber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enough
While Trump embarrassed himself in the UK, Obama released his summer reading list
