BLACKPINK’s Jisoo is officially teasing her long-awaited comeback — and it looks like she might not be alone this time.
On October 6 KST, the global pop star took to social media to announce that “a duet is near,” hinting at a mysterious collaboration titled “EYES CLOSED.”
This marks her first solo release since February, and the brief post was all it took to send fans into full detective mode, trying to figure out who her partner could be.
The teaser image shows Jisoo standing in focus while the blurred silhouette of a man appears behind her. Though no name was revealed, fans were quick to throw out guesses — and one name in particular has everyone buzzing: Zayn Malik. Many pointed out that the shadowed figure looks strikingly similar to the former One Direction member, from his profile to his signature hairstyle.
Adding fuel to the rumors, The Korea Herald reported that, according to an industry insider, Jisoo’s duet partner is indeed the former One Direction member. The source claimed, “Jisoo is releasing a new ballad duet with Zayn sometime this month.” If true, this would mark Jisoo’s first international collaboration since her solo debut — and Zayn’s first time teaming up with a K-pop artist.
Their rumored partnership doesn’t seem too far-fetched, either. Back in July, Malik was spotted attending BLACKPINK’s concert in New York with his daughter, Khai. He later shared a sweet message on Instagram thanking the group, writing, “@BLACKPINKOFFICIAL THANK YOU 🙂 ME & KHAI LOVED IT.” Since then, fans have speculated that the two artists may have connected behind the scenes.
More recently, Zayn hinted in a livestream that he is working on “something pretty sick” with another artist before releasing his next solo track. “New music coming out soon as well with another cool collaborator,” and added, “I’ll be featured on something pretty sick, so that’s coming out first.” His comment now has fans convinced he was referring to Jisoo.
If the rumors are true, “Eyes Closed” could be one of the biggest East-meets-West collabs of the year. The track will also mark Jisoo’s first musical release since her massively successful solo EP “Amortage” in February. That four-track project, led by the hit single “Earthquake,” debuted at No. 1 on South Korea’s Circle Album Chart and topped Billboard’s World Albums Sales Chart in the U.S.
As of now, neither Jisoo’s label, Blissoo, nor Zayn’s team has confirmed the collaboration — but with both artists dropping cryptic hints, fans are counting down the days for official news.