Why weren’t Lisa’s songs used in The White Lotus 3?(Photo Credit –Instagram)
Advertisement
Lisa, who debuted in the acting industry with The White Lotus 3, gained a lot of appreciation for portraying a convincing hotelier, Mook. Even though she is a great singer and rapper in South Korea, her musical talent was not used in the American series. This raised a lot of questions in viewers’ minds and left everyone baffled. Now, the music supervisor of the series has opened up about it and addressed the reason.
For those who don’t know, the third season was set in Thailand’s culture, and BLACKPINK’s Lisa, who is originally a Thai national, also played one of the Thai people in the series. Her musical magic could have attracted more viewers or even increased the popularity of the series, but despite all of these, she only had a limited screen time.
Gabe Hilfer, who was the music supervisor of The White Lotus 3, had a different opinion about using Lisa’s songs in the series. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hilfer said that he wanted to keep the authenticity in the music. He shared, “You’re immersed when you enter The White Lotus, and we want music to be a part of that too.” Even though many Thai artists gave their music to the series, he specifically chose not to involve Lisa’s creation in it.
Talking about it, Gabe Hilfer explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve worked on a lot of things that have musicians as actors, and I kind of feel like you’re crossing a boundary because they’re no longer their fictional character.” He stated that sometimes it can get confusing while listening to a public figure’s music in a series where they are acting in it, and are not able to connect their music with their personality. The music expert said, “It’s just a little meta if you’re hearing their music while you’re seeing them on screen, but they’re not playing themselves.”
He further clarified that the decision was taken after discussing with BLACKPINK’s label and told the outlet, “If she was playing Lisa on vacation at the White Lotus, maybe it would’ve been kind of a fun little wink, but as she is Mook in this and has a different role, I think it would’ve been a little too self-aware or meta.” Gabe Hilfer contacted Thai artists to collaborate with them in the series and picked the appropriate songs that would go perfectly with the theme.
Recalling how everything fell into place, the music supervisor of The White Lotus 3 said that “having a couple of great resources in Bangkok, who were immensely helpful because basically their whole job is working on music licensing with Thai artists.”
Have you watched The White Lotus 3 yet?
For more of the latest Korean updates, stay tuned to Koimoi!
