BLACKPINK’s Jennie to Headline Netflix’s Animated Feature ‘Steps’ with New Single “Someone to Hold”

Global pop icon and BLACKPINK member Jennie is expanding her formidable musical footprint into the realm of animation, signing on to headline the official soundtrack for Netflix’s highly anticipated upcoming animated comedy-adventure, Steps. Netflix officially unveiled the star-studded soundtrack details on Thursday, confirming that Jennie will lead the musical rollout with an original track titled "Someone to Hold."

The announcement, paired with the official film trailer released Thursday morning, offers audiences their very first taste of Jennie’s upbeat contribution, seamlessly blending the singer’s high-energy pop sensibilities with a fresh cinematic universe. Steps and its accompanying full-length soundtrack album are scheduled for a simultaneous global release on November 20, setting the stage for one of the streaming giant’s most musically driven family offerings of the year.

Main Facts: A Star-Studded Musical and Cinematic Collaboration

The upcoming Netflix project Steps reimagines the classic Cinderella fairy tale by shifting the narrative spotlight away from the titular princess and onto her famously misunderstood stepsisters. Alongside its bold comedic premise, the film boasts a powerhouse creative roster behind both its narrative and sonic architecture.

The entire four-song soundtrack for Steps has been written and produced by prolific, Grammy-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter, whose extensive pop catalog includes hits for artists like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Dua Lipa. Tranter’s vision for the Steps soundscape centers heavily on dance music, incorporating diverse vocal performances from a mix of global music stars and award-winning actors.

Jennie (“Someone to Hold”): The BLACKPINK superstar leads the soundtrack with an infectious track described as vintage-inspired, danceable pop joy. This marks Jennie’s very first original contribution to an animated feature film.
Amanda Seyfried (“Smile and a Song”): The Academy Award nominee pulls double duty, both voicing Cinderella in the film and lending her vocals to an old-school musical theater banger.
Rose Gray (“Meet Me on the Dance Floor”): Rising pop sensation Gray delivers an electro-dance-pop villain anthem tailored for the movie’s high-stakes conflicts.
Emei (“The Understudy”): Singer-songwriter Emei rounds out the vocal lineup with an empowering underdog anthem.

Complementing the vocal tracks is an original score composed by critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers, known for his work on Bridgerton, King Richard, and Green Book.

Chronology: The Journey to Steps and Its Musical Rollout

The path to the November 20 release of Steps has been carefully orchestrated by Netflix’s animation division, building anticipation through strategic reveals over the past several months.

Development and Voice Casting: Long before musical details were finalized, Netflix assembled a heavyweight voice cast for the revisionist fairy tale. Comedic powerhouses Ali Wong and Stephanie Hsu signed on to voice the central stepsister duo, Lilith and Margot, while Bette Midler took on the role of the Fairy Godmother. Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried was cast as Cinderella, and Nikki Glaser joined as the primary antagonist, Priscilla.
Songwriting and Production Phase: Prolific songwriter Justin Tranter was brought on board to craft a cohesive musical world for the animated feature. Working alongside Kris Bowers, Tranter conceptualized a dance-centric soundtrack that would mirror the chaotic, fast-paced energy of the film’s narrative.
The Casting of Jennie: Eager to bridge the gap between global pop culture and animation, producers enlisted BLACKPINK’s Jennie to spearhead the soundtrack. The collaboration marks a significant milestone in Jennie’s burgeoning solo career outside of her group commitments with BLACKPINK.
The Official Trailer and Announcement (Thursday): Netflix officially broke the news of the soundtrack details on Thursday morning, simultaneously dropping the film’s official trailer. The preview gave fans their very first snippet of Jennie’s "Someone to Hold," instantly driving global engagement across social media platforms.
Upcoming Release (November 20): Steps and its companion soundtrack album will premiere globally on Netflix, bringing the reimagined fairy tale and its dance-infused musical numbers to households worldwide.

Supporting Data: Breaking Down the Soundscapes of Steps

While animated films frequently rely on traditional orchestral scores or standard pop placements, Steps takes a curated approach under Justin Tranter’s direction. Tranter designed the soundtrack to be deeply character-driven, matching specific sub-genres of dance music to the psychological and narrative arcs of the film’s key players.

Genre Breakdown of the Steps Soundtrack:

Vintage Dance Pop: Represented by Jennie’s lead single, "Someone to Hold." Tranter characterized this track as "pure danceable joy," capturing the buoyant optimism and high-energy pacing required to introduce the film’s core themes.
Electro Dance Pop (Villain Anthem): Rose Gray’s "Meet Me on the Dance Floor" utilizes dark, pulsing electronic basslines and dramatic theatrical styling to elevate the tension brought by the film’s antagonists.
Underdog Anthem: Emei’s "The Understudy" leans into contemporary pop-rock structures designed to resonate with younger audiences navigating themes of self-doubt and personal empowerment.
Old-School Musical Theater Banger: Amanda Seyfried’s "Smile and a Song" bridges the gap between classic Broadway sensibilities and modern cinematic composition, offering a nostalgic nod to traditional fairy tale adaptations before subverting them.

Narrative Architecture: The Plot of Steps

The film’s official logline subverts expectations right from the inciting incident:

“Think you know Cinderella’s ‘evil’ stepsisters? Think again. Tired of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Ali Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother (Bette Midler)’s magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball with her sister Margot (Stephanie Hsu), breaking the Cinderella story as we know it and dooming the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), a villainous schemer who swoops in and snatches the throne. Now, Lilith must team up with Cinderella (Amanda Seyfried) to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen and escape the Screaming Woods on an epic quest to save the kingdom, but most importantly, their relationship.”

This plot allows for rapid genre shifts—from royal court satire to action-adventure fantasy—which Bowers’ score and Tranter’s dance-heavy soundtrack are designed to punctuate frame-by-frame.

Official Responses and Statements

The creative team behind Steps has expressed immense enthusiasm regarding the cross-pollination of top-tier pop artistry and traditional animation storytelling.

In her official statement released by Netflix, Jennie shared her excitement about entering the animation space for the very first time:

"I am so excited to join the Steps family and it was really fun making my first song for an animated film. I love how much heart and personality the characters have, and I’m so happy I got to be a little part of their world. I hope you enjoy ‘Steps’ and ‘Someone to Hold’ as much as I do and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it."

Justin Tranter expanded on the overarching sonic vision for the project, emphasizing how the unique narrative framework of Steps allowed for incredible stylistic flexibility among the contributing artists:

"The story in Steps lends itself beautifully to a variety of voices and sonics, and the main throughline in the soundtrack is dance music. We wanted every song to feel like an extension of the character’s emotional state, whether it’s the pure danceable joy of Jennie’s track, the underdog power of Emei’s ‘The Understudy,’ Rose Gray’s electro villain anthem, or Amanda Seyfried nailing that classic musical theater energy."

Implications: Jennie’s Crossover Appeal and Netflix’s Animation Strategy

The inclusion of Jennie in Steps highlights several shifting paradigms within the entertainment industry, particularly regarding how streaming services market family entertainment to global audiences.

1. The Power of K-Pop Crossovers in Western Animation

Jennie’s participation demonstrates the continued blurring of geographical boundaries in pop culture. As a core member of BLACKPINK—one of the most successful musical acts in history—Jennie commands a massive, highly engaged international fanbase. By securing her for the lead single of an animated feature, Netflix is effectively guaranteeing instantaneous global visibility among demographics that might otherwise bypass traditional family comedies. This strategy mirrors a broader industry trend of integrating K-Pop superstars into major Western film and television projects to capture lucrative digital engagement and streaming numbers.

2. Netflix’s Evolving Musical Strategy for Animation

In recent years, Netflix has increasingly relied on high-profile, pop-centric soundtracks to elevate its original animated features. By enlisting a hitmaker of Justin Tranter’s caliber alongside established vocalists like Amanda Seyfried and rising indie-pop stars like Rose Gray and Emei, Netflix is positioning the Steps soundtrack to perform independently on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The music is not merely functional background noise for the animation; it is engineered to be a standalone commercial product that drives long-tail interest back to the streaming platform.

3. Subverting Classic Fairy Tales for Modern Audiences

From a narrative standpoint, Steps continues Hollywood’s lucrative appetite for deconstructing classic fairy tales—a trend popularized by franchises like Shrek and Wicked. By shifting the narrative focus from the idealized protagonist (Cinderella) to the traditionally marginalized "villains" (the stepsisters), the film aligns itself with contemporary cultural dialogues surrounding perspective, empathy, and female solidarity. The vibrant, high-energy dance soundtrack serves as the cultural heartbeat of this subversion, ensuring the film feels modern, fast-paced, and effortlessly marketable to Gen Z and millennial parents alike.

As the release date of November 20 approaches, anticipation continues to build across both animation and music circles. With a star-studded voice cast, a witty feminist revision of a timeless classic, and a dance-floor-ready soundtrack spearheaded by Jennie and Justin Tranter, Steps is poised to be one of Netflix’s standout multi-media events of the year.