Jennie has just released “Less than a Lover,” an alternative pop ballad that turns the uncertainty of a seasonal romance into a warm, unhurried track. The song steps away from the explosive energy and choreography that shaped her earlier solo hits. Jennie instead leans into a softer sound where lazy guitar riffs, vintage electric keyboards and controlled vocals lead the arrangement.
MUSIC
The lyrics examine the grey area between friendship and romance. Jennie presents two people who share attraction and emotional closeness while avoiding the expectations of a relationship with clear terms. She makes that position clear with the line, “I just want a summer kind of thing,” which sets the terms of the connection from the beginning.
The chorus develops that idea by placing the relationship somewhere beyond friendship yet short of a full romance. The phrasing captures a connection that resists a fixed label. Both people recognize the pull between them, yet they keep the experience temporary, light and seasonal.
The official music video uses locations in Spain to extend the same mood through a cinematic story. Muted tones and intimate framing guide the visual direction, while Jennie takes the role of narrator and director within the story.
From there, the visual follows sunny road trips, coastal highways and quiet moments beside a pool. These scenes create the feeling of a vintage romance film and support the song’s slow pace.
Jennie presents summer romance as something brief, magnetic and intentionally incomplete. The song and video share the same relaxed pace, following a connection that lives between friendship and love without asking it to become anything more.
