ROSÉ’s long-awaited first full album “Rosie” has finally been released. The album, which was released December 6, is her first solo album release since the 2021 mini album “R” in 2021. The new album showcases Rose’s lyrical prowess, knack for a catchy hook like in “APT.”, as well as her impressive vocal range. The solo allows her to flex her vocal muscles in a way that she doesn’t always get to as a member of BLACKPINK.
The album opens with “number one girl‘’ the second single, released on November 22. Though the tone and balladic is probably unexpected for first time listeners after the initial release of “APT.”, it’s understandable that she would decide to release this as her second single – it shows who she is and what she is capable of. With lyrics such as “So what’s it going to take for you to want me? / I’d give it all up if you told me that I’d be / the number one girl in your eyes”, it perfectly sets the story that she’s going to tell should you listen to the album in order. The refrain of the song is a particular highlight, with the lyrics “The girl in your eyes” repeated in a high, wispy tone that reflects the longing feeling of the whole song perfectly.
The next two songs, “3am” and “two years” continue to set the scene of the toxic ex, reflecting her mindset. “3am” opens with the lyric “I just saw a red flag / Gonna pretend I didn’t see that.”, before building upon the guitar string melody with some bass and a catchy hook, “I just want it to be you”. The next song, “two years”, is decidedly slower pace, but opens up the recurring theme of trying to move on from her ex, but finding that “this love never dies”. A particular stand out lyric in this song is “I’ll always hate the fact that you ruined everybody after you”, which is an entire universal feeling anyone trying to move on from a relationship could understand encapsulated in a single lyric.
The single released on the same day as the album, “toxic till the end”, sets up the rest of the album by signalling the realisation that the ex in question was toxic. ROSÉ has referred to this ‘ex’ in interviews and playfully announces part way through the song, “Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the ex”.
The album moves on to confident, upbeat “drinks or coffee”, which acts as the perfect bridge to the most upbeat track, “APT.” This single reached no.1 on the UK charts, creating anticipation for this album. The following song is “gameboy”, still up beat, but lyrically melancholic, it refers to someone who acts like a good guy who took her love for granted. From “stay a little longer” with the longing for someone familiar to stay longer, even though they’re not good for you, to “not the same” with the acceptance of the inevitably of change in relationships, to “call it the end” where she is unsure of what to call her relationship anymore, “Do I call you an ex or do I call you my boyfriend? / Call you a lover, do I call you a friend?”.
“too bad for us”, an unusually long song, sounds like acceptance with lyrics like “Now the roses don’t grow here / I guess that love does what it does” reflecting the lack of control. The album wraps up with “Dance All Night”, upbeat but a little melancholic – the lyrics telling the story of what she would change if she could – “I would dance all night, not care about the heartache in my life”.
The album is mostly English, the only Korean being used in “APT.”, the title of which is a play on the Korean drinking game, 아파트, the Korean word for “apartment”. The song is a reminder of her status as one of the most well-known K-pop idols in the world, but also a bridge between her two main languages and identities as an Australian-Korean.
ROSÉ has referred to writing this album as therapy, and it truly does feel that personal. The sounds, lyrics and song order makes “Rosie” sonically cohesive, cathartic listen. She said she named her album “Rosie” because that is what her friends call her, and through listening to this album you’re given a glimpse of such a personal part of her life. Group members JISOO, JENNIE and LISA all took to Instagram stories to publicly congratulate ROSÉ. Given the chart success of her single “APT.” in the UK and her album already sitting at no.2 on the Korean Hanteo daily physical album chart (currently only topped by girl group, TWICE), the album is sure to rise up charts around the world in its first week of release.
