Lisa (rapper)
Lalisa Manobal, known mononymously as Lisa, is a Thai rapper, singer, dancer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to prominence as a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 2016 and became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.
In September 2021, Lisa released her debut single album Lalisa, which made her the first female artist to sell 736,000 copies of an album in its first week in South Korea. The music video for its lead single is the most-viewed music video in the first 24 hours on YouTube by a solo artist, while the album's viral second single "Money" became the first song by a K-pop solo artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify; both songs charted in the top ten of the Billboard Global 200. In 2024, Lisa established her own management company named Lloud, signed with RCA Records, and achieved her first number-one single on the Billboard Global Excl. US with "Rockstar", the lead single of her debut studio album Alter Ego. The album debuted in the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and spawned two number-one songs on the Official Thailand Chart, "Born Again" and "Dream".
Outside of music, Lisa made her acting debut in 2025 in the HBO television series The White Lotus. Her accolades include nine Guinness World Records, a Gaon Chart Music Award, a Mnet Asian Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, and three MTV Video Music Awards; she became the first K-pop soloist to win at the latter two award ceremonies. Lisa was honored as a cultural ambassador leader by Thailand's Ministry of Culture and was acknowledged by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for her contributions to spreading Thai culture globally. She is the most-followed K-pop artist on Instagram and has been recognized for her role in fashion as a global ambassador for Celine, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton and Nike.
Life and career
1997–2010: Early life and education
Lisa was born Pranpriya Manobal on March 27, 1997, in Buriram province, Thailand, and later legally changed her name to Lalisa, meaning "the one being praised", at the advice of a fortune teller for prosperity. An only child, she was raised by her Thai buddhist mother, Chitthip Brüschweiler, and her Swiss stepfather, chef Marco Brüschweiler. Lisa completed secondary education at Praphamontree School I and II. She is multilingual; along with her native Thai, she speaks fluent Korean and English, as well as basic Japanese and Chinese.After enrolling in dance classes at the age of four, she began competing regularly in contests, including in To Be Number One, and joined the eleven-member dance crew We Zaa Cool alongside BamBam of Got7. In September 2009, the crew entered the LG Entertainment Million Dream Sanan World competition broadcast on Channel 9 and won the Special Team Award. Lisa also participated as a school representative in the singing contest Top 3 Good Morals of Thailand, hosted by the Moral Promotion Center in early 2009, finishing as the runner-up.
2012–2015: Pre-debut activities
In 2010 at age 13, Lisa auditioned to join the South Korean record label YG Entertainment in Thailand. She grew interested in K-pop as a child thanks to artists such as BigBang and 2NE1 and aspired to follow a similar path. Among 4,000 applicants, she was the only one to qualify, which prompted then CEO Yang Hyun-suk into offering Lisa a chance to become a YG Entertainment trainee. At her audition, Lisa also impressed one of the judges, Danny Im of 1TYM, who later praised her on-stage confidence and off-stage attitude.In 2011, Lisa moved to South Korea to begin her formal training. She officially joined the label as its first non-ethnic Korean trainee on April 11. In November 2013, she appeared in the music video for labelmate Taeyang's single "Ringa Linga" as a backup dancer alongside members of labelmates and boy bands iKon and Winner. In March 2015, Lisa undertook her first modelling job for the streetwear brand Nona9on, followed by South Korean cosmetics brand Moonshot in 2016.
2016–2023: Debut with Blackpink and ''Lalisa''
In August 2016, Lisa debuted as one of four members of South Korean girl group Blackpink, the first non-ethnically Korean artist under the label. The group's debut single album Square One featured lead singles "Whistle", which topped all South Korean charts upon debut, and "Boombayah". In 2018, Blackpink signed with Interscope Records in a global partnership with YG Entertainment.Lisa became a permanent cast member on the Korea Army Academy edition of the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation military variety program Real Man 300 from September 21, 2018, onward. Her first role on a television program since her debut, it earned her the unofficial Character of the Year award at the 2018 MBC Entertainment Awards. On November 5, 2018, Lisa unveiled her YouTube channel, Lilifilm Official, focusing on travelling, lifestyle, and dance. As of July 2019, she has over 1.3 million subscribers and received a YouTube Gold Play Button. One of her dance performance videos went viral in 2020 as a result of a meme derived from the video; celebrities such as Dolly Parton, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Luke Evans, and Lil Nas X participated in the trend. In March 2020, Lisa served as the dance mentor on iQIYI's Chinese girl group survival program Youth With You Season 2. In February 2021, she returned as dance mentor in the show's third season for boy groups.
On April 19, 2021, YG Entertainment revealed to The Korea Herald that Lisa would be the third member of Blackpink to debut as a soloist, with the official schedule to be announced later. On July 12, through Star News, the label revealed that filming for her music video was underway. Lisa's debut single album Lalisa and its lead single of the same name were released on September 10, 2021. The music video for "Lalisa" became the most-viewed video by a soloist in 24 hours with 73.6 million views, breaking the record held by Taylor Swift's "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie, for which she earned two Guinness World Records. The song debuted at number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Billboard Global 200, becoming Lisa's first top-ten song on the latter. The album sold 736,221 copies in South Korea in its first week, setting the record for the highest first-week sales among female artists domestically and making Lisa the first female soloist to surpass the 500,000-copy mark in one week.
The album's B-side track "Money" received an exclusive dance performance video that was released to YouTube on September 24. The song witnessed a surge in popularity after it became viral on social media, and began to rise in the international charts. As a result, Interscope Records sent the song to US contemporary hit radio on November 9, 2021, as the album's second single. The single peaked at number ten on the Billboard Global 200, becoming Lisa's second top-ten hit after "Lalisa". In the US, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90, earning Lisa her second career solo entry, and became the first song by a female K-pop soloist to chart for multiple weeks on the chart at the time. "Money" peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and charted for eight weeks, becoming the longest-charting female K-pop soloist song in the country at the time as well.
Lisa collaborated with French record producer DJ Snake, Puerto Rican singer Ozuna, and American rapper Megan Thee Stallion on the moombahton and Latin trap song "SG". The single was released on October 22, 2021, and featured songwriting and composition credits by Lisa. A music video starring the four artists in Miami was directed by Colin Tilley and released simultaneously with the single. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Global 200. In the US, it peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and became Lisa's first number-one song on the Latin Airplay chart. On August 28, 2022, Lisa won the MTV Video Music Award for Best K-Pop for "Lalisa" and became the first K-pop solo artist to win an MTV Video Music Award. On November 13, she won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best K-Pop and became the first solo K-pop artist in history to win an MTV Europe Music Award as well. Lisa was awarded two Guinness World Records in 2023 for the achievements, in addition to a third for becoming the most followed K-pop artist on Instagram.
Lisa featured on BigBang member Taeyang's song "Shoong!", an album track from his second extended play Down to Earth, which was released on April 25, 2023. She also appeared in the song's performance video, in which Taeyang and Lisa performed the song's choreography together. Lisa was awarded two further Guinness World Records in May for the fastest solo female K-pop artist to reach 1 billion streams and the first album by a solo K-pop artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify with Lalisa. With this, she became the K-pop soloist with the most Guinness World Records in history, winning seven as compared to former record-holder Psy's five.
In September 2023, Lisa headlined five performances for the Parisian cabaret Crazy Horse. She performed several solo scenes and appeared with the troupe for original numbers from the cabaret's repertoire, including "But I Am a Good Girl" and "Crisis? What Crisis?" The same month, she earned her eighth Guinness World Record for the first K-pop track by a solo artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify with "Money". To celebrate the achievement, Lisa appeared on the fourth episode of Spotify's Billions Club series on November 15, in which she received a plate-shaped plaque in Paris and cooked a Thai dish for the plate.
On November 22, 2023, Lisa was invested by King Charles III as an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire alongside her bandmates during a special investiture at Buckingham Palace which was also attended by South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol. On December 5, YG Entertainment announced that Lisa along with the other members of Blackpink had renewed their contracts for group activities and that the members' individual contracts were still under discussion. YG Entertainment subsequently confirmed on December 29 that Lisa and the other Blackpink members agreed not to proceed with a contract with the label for individual activities.