LISA has delivered yet another banger with “SaWaDiKa.”

“SaWaDiKa” is an upbeat, confident, and energetic rap-based track that is undeniably a LISA song. It has a great beat, a fun vibe, and a music video that might be her best yet, which reminds me of some of my favorite BLACKPINK videos.

The song is decently repetitive, and I have noticed that LISA’s songs often focus on the same subject matter (her being rich and better than other people), but it’s still fun. I’m not looking for poetry from LISA; I’m looking for a danceable beat on tracks like this, and “SaWaDiKa” delivers.

Something I find really cool is how much of this is a celebration of her Thai roots. “SaWaDiKa” is an anglicization of the Thai phrase “?????????,” which is a polite, respectful version of the word “hello” spoken particularly by women. This means that this confident, can’t-be-tamed track’s refrain includes the respectful, feminine version of a Thai greeting, which is both a fun juxtaposition and a reference to her identity as a Thai woman. She also includes many Thailand references in the visuals and promotion, including Bangkok, Thai currency, the Thai language, and even Thai transportation in the lyrics.

Overall, I think that LISA is great at delivering a fun, albeit repetitive, song that works well at a party. I’m sure that it will be a blast for anyone who gets to see it live. I love how LISA is celebrating Thai culture here, and I would love to see more of that from her.

You can watch the music video for “SaWaDiKa” below.

Emma Platt