Some may not know her by name, but you’ve most likely heard about ‘Blackpink’. Each of the members stands out individually, and Rosé is certainly no exception. As one of the main vocalists in the group, Rosé has always impressed fans with her unique sound. From pre-debut, she has been singing and even released two songs, where she immediately found her style. As someone who listens to “Gone” and “On the Ground” often, I was excited for this album.
On Dec 6, Rosé released an album consisting of twelve songs. In my opinion, I don’t think that I have ever seen such a perfect lineup of songs before.
The songs in “Rosie” include “number one girl”, “3am”, “two years”, “toxic till the end”, “drinks or coffee”, “APT.”, “gameboy”, “stay a little longer”, “not the same”, “call it the end”, “too bad for us” and “ dance all night”.
The more popular songs, “APT.” and “number one girl” were released as singles before the album came out. Her track, “APT.” was a collaboration with Bruno Mars and became an instant hit. Among smaller awards, the song won the Global Sensation Award at the MAMA Awards. “number one girl” is such an emotional song about being accepted by someone you love and would recommend it when you feel like crying.
It’s hard to say what songs in this album are my favorite because most of them make the list. But if I had to choose just a few (Except “APT.” and “number one girl”) I would choose, “toxic till the end”, “3am”, “two years”, “drinks or coffee” and “stay a little longer”.
Every single track on this album is formatted similarly; They have a catchy chorus that repeat throughout the song. I personally don’t hate this, but it does get a little annoying, hearing what sounds the same over and over again. Despite this, the songs are very catchy, and hard to forget, so maybe it’s not so bad. Most of these songs are about different types of relationships someone might find themselves in. For example, “toxic till the end”, “Gameboy”, “3am” and “not the same” are all about not being in a good relationship. In these tracks, it shows love being taken for granted, ignoring red flags because you love them, or giving a lot of chances to someone who just keeps messing up.
Out of all the tracks, “toxic till the end” rose in popularity, and understandably so. The song has such a nostalgic sound that builds up instantly when the song starts. One of my favorite songs on the album, “stay a little longer”, is a good representation of Rosé’s powerful vocals and lyrics. The lines, “I’m fragile, I’m speechless, don’t leave me in pieces”, really shows how heartbreaking of a song this is. I really like “two years” for almost the same reason as “stay a little longer”, her wordplay is really nice. “3am” is the perfect song to listen to when you want to ignore all the bad things about your partner, but other than that it is just good.
Despite most of the tracks sounding very sad, there are two with a happier tone. The first of these would be “drinks or coffee”, which is generally about falling in love with someone you didn’t expect. The song itself is pretty repetitive, but it is overall, very good. The second track would be “dance all night”, where Rosé sings about forgetting her worries and instead, just dancing the night away.
When it comes to “not the same”, “call it the end”, and “too bad for us”, I am very conflicted. I like them all equally, but they are also songs that didn’t stand out too much. They aren’t terrible at all, but the songs are only perfect as background music, just to vibe to.
Based off of all the songs Rosé has released, I can see her going very far as a musical artist. Her lyrical game is criminally underrated, and how much emotion she puts into her music is rare for artists in general. Out of all albums released this year in K-pop, I would definitely put this in the top 10. I’m excited to see how she grows as a solo artist, and also within her group.