BLACKPINK’s Rosé released her long-awaited album – “Rosie” – this week. The album contains 12 songs, including her two pre-release tracks: “APT” and “number one girl.” Rosé was one of the first members of BLACKPINK to embark on a solo-career on the side, and is now the first out of four to release a full album.
Rosé began her solo career with her single album, “R,” and became the second member, after Jennie, to start going solo. Lisa followed with her single album “LALISA” and Jisoo began her solo career early last year. Aside from Lisa announcing the release of her first album to come out in February, none of the members have released a full album – until now.
Before the full album was released, Rosé was already winning awards for the songs on there. “APT” was released in September, and with the help of Bruno Mars, the song went viral. It’s based off of Rosé’s favorite drinking game, incorporating the main part of the game into the chorus, making it catchy and simple in a good way.
Rosé’s most popular and most-listened to song to date is “APT.” Due to the popularity of both artists, the song went viral – and for good reason. APT is notably the only “happy” song in the album, and it carries that trait very well. Its repetition of the word “APT” makes the song catchy, and the pre-chorus ties everything together. Overall, it’s a very well executed track that deserves its popularity.
Her second pre-release, “number one girl” and the title track of the album, “toxic till the end” go hand in hand. In “number one girl,” Rosé sings about how sometimes a person will never be good enough for their partner, and how that leads to the slightest bit of affection being blown out of proportion. Next, “toxic till the end” continues that narrative by telling a story of two people who keep going back for each other, even though they both know it’ll never work out in a healthy way in the end.
What makes these two tracks so relatable is the fact that these stories can appeal to multiple groups – whether it be people in toxic relationships, friends of people in toxic relationships, or even people who have been in these types of relationships in the past. The real kicker is, someone doesn’t have to be in a romantic relationship to relate to Rosé’s words – her lyrics apply to friendship too.
The rest of the songs on the album all follow the same theme – the loss and mourning that comes with ending a relationship. Whether it be running into an ex multiple years later, breaking no-contact, or just crying over the loss of someone, Rosé has a song for that.
In K-pop, albums rarely live up to the hype that surrounds them before they’re released. While Rosé’s album isn’t K-pop, her original works in the music industry are. The fact that her album is full of quality songs that are all likeable says a lot about her talent. After working so hard and delivering a flawless album, she deserves all the praise she can get.