The Idol’s latest soundtrack is a mid-tempo synth-led song performed by The Weeknd and his co-stars Lily-Rose Depp and Blackpink’s Jennie. The single, “One Of The Girls,” appeared on this week’s episode of the HBO series.
Keeping with the toxicity of the series, Jennie opens the song, singing, “Lock me up and throw away the key / He knows how to get the best out of me / I’m no force for the world to see / Trade my whole life just to be.”
Throughout the song, we are introduced to two different personalities: one of them is willing to do anything for fame and one of them is happy to exploit that weakness in the other. “Tell nobody I control you / I broke you just to own you / They can’t tell that I love you / ‘Cause you’re loyal, baby / I love when you’re submissive,” The Weeknd, who plays the manipulative manager in the show, sings.
“One of the Girls” feels like a complement track to “Popular” – a song about a girl who would sell her soul to be popular. The latter soundtrack marked The Weeknd’s first collaboration with Playboi Carti and Madonna, and just like “One Of The Girls,” it addresses the haunting need to be popular, so much so one can “beg” and “kill” for it.
“One Of The Girls” is Jennie’s first non-Blackpink effort following her 2018 single, “Solo.” In the show, she plays Dyann, a backup dancer for Depp’s pop star protagonist, Jocelyn. The song was first announced on The Weeknd’s Instagram Live on April 10, 2023, originally titled “One Of The Girls (Tough Love).” The first preview of the song happened at JENNIE’s Calvin Klein Capsule collection pop-up event in Seoul, South Korea, on May 10, 2023.
The Weeknd had formerly shared his decision to release the songs from the show’s soundtrack weekly, saying, “I’m too hyped. Instead, I wanna drop new music from the show every week with each episode. I’m excited for you guys to hear what we’ve been cooking and all these incredible artists that are a part of this show.”
And keeping to his promise, there has indeed been one song a week to keep us going. So far, we have gotten “Popular,” “Double Fantasy,” “World Class Sinner/I’m A Freak,” and “Family.” Each of these tracks has been dropped to coincide with each episode as it airs on Sunday nights.
Since debuting at Cannes, The Idol has been subject to many controversies, including rumors of a toxic work environment, which Depp herself dispelled, and of course, criticism for its over-sexualization, which people felt was badly complemented by an empty plot.
