LISA has released PRESS PLAY, a six-track EP that arrived on October 23, 2026, through LLOUD and RCA Records. The project is led by the focus track “Tarantino”, which dropped the same day with an action-packed music video, Bandwagon reports.
The EP follows the BLACKPINK star’s 2025 debut album Alter Ego, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, according to Glamsham. It also lands just weeks before she opens her first Las Vegas residency.
Here is everything we know about the EP, the new video and what comes next.
PRESS PLAY Tracklist: Six Songs, Six Scenes
The EP runs as follows, per Complex, which cited the official Spotify pre-release listing:
- SaWaDiKa
- V12
- Cobra
- Tarantino
- Cut U Off
- Sweat
No featured artists are listed. LISA carries all six songs on her own.
LISA had kept the order close to her chest. During a September appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she called the tracklist “a surprise for my fans”, Billboard reported. The only hint was that track four, the next single, started with the letter T.
That turned out to be “Tarantino.” LLOUD’s official YouTube channel also posted lyric videos for “SaWaDiKa,” “V12,” “Cobra,” “Cut U Off” and “Sweat” on release day, along with a 32-minute listening party.
Inside the Tarantino Music Video
The “Tarantino” video premiered on LISA’s official VEVO channel on October 23 and runs 3 minutes and 37 seconds. Glamsham reports that it was directed by James Mackel.
LISA plays a stylish agent inside a hotel, with a flight to catch and a mission to finish. She fights her way past hotel villains in choreographed sequences of punches and kicks. A dance break with the hotel’s chambermaids and bellboys follows, before another brawl with the kitchen staff.
The goal is to deliver a message to her favorite director, Quentin Tarantino, Bandwagon notes. A red letter slipped under a door is the final clue, and its contents are never revealed. Fans will recognize the red envelope from LISA’s October 14 Instagram post that first announced the single, which we used as this article’s featured image.
There is a gaming cameo too. LISA helped design a limited-edition LISA DualSense controller with PlayStation, and she signs one for a fan in the video, Glamsham reports.
The single was first teased on October 14, when LLOUD posted “Tarantino. Out Oct 23.” with links to pre-order and pre-save the EP, Complex reported. An official MV teaser followed on October 21.
SaWaDiKa: The Lead Single That Set the Tone
Lead single “SaWaDiKa” came out on September 3 and opens the EP. Its title comes from “sawasdee ka”, a common Thai greeting used by women, Thai Examiner explains.
The music video was shot in Bangkok and features tuk-tuks, Muay Thai and nightlife imagery. Locations include Rong Mueang Road near Hua Lamphong station, Soi Chaloem Khet 1, Soi Ngam Duphli and the Dib Bangkok art museum. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, which named LISA its Amazing Thailand Ambassador in January, has even promoted a one-day Bangkok route through four of those spots.
The video drew 70.8 million views in its first 24 hours and passed 100 million in about two days, according to Thai Examiner.
On the charts, “SaWaDiKa” debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 23 on the Billboard Global 200. Thai Examiner notes it was her seventh solo entry on the Hot 100, and it debuted above the No. 70 peak of her earlier hit “Rockstar”.
Production on the song came from Thom Bridges and Ojivolta, with vocal production by Kuk Harrell, Complex reports. LISA shares writing credit.
A Personal EP Rooted in Thailand
LISA has described PRESS PLAY as her most personal work. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon, she said, “This EP is about my journey from my roots to where I am right now today.” She added, “There’s a lot of Thai elements in the songs as well, in the EP.”
Time Out Bangkok frames the record as a look back at her path from her hometown of Buriram to arena tours.
The cinematic title is deliberate. “Every single song has their own character, their own vibe and we combine it together,” LISA told Fallon. “It’s like a movie. So you just press play.”
She shared a similar idea in a September interview with Audacy, recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel New York. There she said the songs each have “their own character, their own story.” She also described how fans now greet her in Thai on the street after the single’s release, saying “hello sawadika LISA.”
Asked about acting, she told Audacy, “acting is still new to me” and “I learn every day on set.” Performing feels different: “I know what I’m good at, so it’s more comfortable to be honest.”
From the VMAs Stage to the Big Screen
The EP rollout has been packed. At the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, LISA won Best Pop for “Dream”, beating nominees from Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, Dork reports. It was her fourth VMA win.
She then gave “SaWaDiKa” its awards-show debut. After an introduction from Tyla, she performed in a dark red leotard against red-lit visuals of the Bangkok skyline. For the second verse she drove a life-sized tuk-tuk across the stage, and she ended the set posed on its roof.
On screen, the documentary Always Lalisa, directed by Sue Kim, opened in cinemas and IMAX worldwide on October 12, Billboard reported. It will later stream on YouTube Premium. Bandwagon says the film follows her solo career around Alter Ego, the launch of LLOUD and her solo Coachella debut.
How Fans Are Reacting
Korean fans got the first listen. A day before release, LISA held a PRESS PLAY listening party in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, themed around a vintage Hollywood theater. The full EP was played there for the first time, Sports Kyunghyang reports, and the event drew an enthusiastic response from fans.
Online, the “Tarantino” video passed 3.4 million views within its first few hours on YouTube. The comment section quickly turned into a streaming rally. The most-liked comment, with more than 13000 likes when we checked, set a goal of 200 million views, “more than Sawadika.” Other fans urged BLINKs and Lilies to shift their focus to Spotify as well.
LISA didn’t just give us a music video, she gave us a whole MOVIE in 3 minutes.
YouTube comment on the “Tarantino” music video
Many viewers echoed the film theme LISA described. “Felt like I watched a movie, didn’t want it to end!” one fan wrote. Another singled out the kitchen fight: “Never in my life did I imagine seeing Lisa fighting with chefs with a knife and a letter.”
The action scenes also revived talk of her screen career. “Who else is waiting for actress Lisa comeback?” drew close to 1000 likes. That lines up with what LISA told Audacy about acting still being new to her.
These comments reflect early, highly engaged fans rather than a full critical consensus. We will update this story as chart and streaming results come in.
What’s Next: VIVA LA LISA in Las Vegas
Next up is VIVA LA LISA, her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The shows run November 12, 13 and 14, then November 27, 28 and 29, per Complex. Two dates were added after the first four sold out in under ten minutes.
LISA told Fallon in September that she had not yet started rehearsals, “but I’m going to start soon. I can’t wait.”
PRESS PLAY is available now on all streaming platforms. Featured image: LISA via Instagram (@lalalalisa_m).
