Less than a Lover

“Less than a Lover” was released on July 24, 2026 via Odd Atelier and Columbia Records as a standalone digital single — Jennie’s first solo release following her critically acclaimed debut album Ruby (March 2025). Written by Jennie alongside Tyler Spry, Cashmere Cat, Bibi Bourelly, Jelli Dorman, and Deb Never, and produced by Spry and Cashmere Cat, the 2-minute 25-second track is built on lo-fi guitars, vintage electric keyboards, and dreamy layered instrumentation — a significant departure from Jennie’s high-energy, performance-driven prior work. Jennie served as sole songwriter, composer, and co-director of the music video alongside photographer Choeey. The song had been previewed live at Governors Ball (June 7), Roskilde Festival (July 3), Open’er Festival (July 4), and Mad Cool (July 9) before its official release.

“Less than a Lover” debuted at number one on the iTunes Top Songs chart in 27 regions simultaneously, topping charts on QQ Music, NetEase Cloud Music, and KuGou Music in China. Jennie took her first music show win for the track on M Countdown. The song’s promotional campaign — which began with a deliberately mysterious Polaroid of Jennie with an unidentified man, captioned “The summer I chose to pause the love story” — generated intense fan speculation and global media coverage before the release date was even confirmed. Its soft, intimate sound contrasted sharply with her previous work and became a talking point in itself, praised by critics as a sign of Jennie’s full creative autonomy and artistic maturity under her own label Odd Atelier.

Don’t rush
Teaching you, teaching me how to trust, don’t have to be undercover
It’s just us
It’s more beautiful when we open up and get to know each other
When all feels lost, don’t think too much
‘Cause all I need this summer
Is a little bit less than a lover
Need a little bit less than a lover
You get a little bit more than another
Need a little bit less, little less, little less
Need a little bit less than a lover