Lisa’s ‘SaWaDiKa’ brings Hua Lamphong into the global spotlight
Lisa’s new ‘SaWaDiKa’ video reached 1.93 million views in two hours, featuring Hua Lamphong, Muay Thai, tuk-tuks and fashion to spotlight Thai soft power.
- Thai K-pop star Lisa's new single, ‘SaWaDiKa’, features Bangkok's historic Hua Lamphong railway station as the main setting for its music video.
- The video gained over 1.9 million views within two hours of its release, bringing the station to the attention of a large global audience.
- The choice of Hua Lamphong as a backdrop is central to the song's theme of promoting Thai identity and culture on an international stage.
- This follows Lisa's previous hit, 'ROCKSTAR', which similarly put the spotlight on another Bangkok location, Yaowarat.
Thai K-pop star Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal made a strong start with her new single “SaWaDiKa”, whose official music video reached one million views within its first 60 minutes and garnered 1,931,085 views within two hours of its release on the LLOUD Official YouTube channel on Friday (September 4).
The track places Thai identity at the heart of Lisa’s latest solo project, combining familiar cultural references with contemporary music, fashion and visual production. It also forms part of her new EP, “PRESS PLAY”.
This time, Lisa shifts the Bangkok setting from Yaowarat, which featured prominently in her previous hit “ROCKSTAR”, to the historic Hua Lamphong railway station.
The “SaWaDiKa” video incorporates Muay Thai, tuk-tuks and fashion that blends Thai influences with modern styling, giving traditional and recognisable elements a contemporary global presentation.
The title itself reinforces the Thai concept. “SaWaDiKa” is a stylised rendering of the Thai greeting “sawasdee ka”, turning an everyday expression familiar to Thai people into the name and central concept of a song aimed at an international audience.
The video also showcases fashion by Thai designers, with outfits from well-known Thai fashion houses highlighting local craftsmanship and Thai textiles for a global fashion audience.
The lyrics weave in Thai references, including “Bangkok” and the phrase “geng mak”, meaning “very good”, as well as a reference to baht flowing into a bank account. Together, these elements reinforce the song’s links to Thailand and its potential to generate wider interest in the country.
The combination of Thai language, locations, cultural imagery and fashion makes the video another example of Lisa placing her Thai roots prominently within her international work, while presenting those elements through a modern pop aesthetic.
The release follows the success of “ROCKSTAR”, whose music video placed Bangkok’s Yaowarat Road at the centre of its visual identity. Released in Thailand on June 28, 2024, the video amassed 32.4 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours, setting a formidable benchmark for Lisa’s subsequent solo releases.
