One of K-Pop’s real strengths has been its commitment to communal music-making. A slew of groups have shattered the glass ceilings for the peninsula, a united effort that has reinforced the idea of Korea as a prime location for music-making. With a number of those groups on hiatus, K-Pop is tasked with reinventing itself as a platform for solo identity. ROSÉ is part of this wave, and with debut album ‘rosie’ she cements herself as a global pop persona.
One of the key facets about ‘rosie’ is the care taken with its creation. ROSÉ signalling her solo era with 2021’s ‘On The Ground’, and work on the album extends beyond that – she’s waited years to unleash this, making sure each detail is carefully considered.
It’s a record littered with towering pop peaks. Introductory song ‘number one girl’ lingers on her incredible chops, a bravura vocal performance from a true talent. A tender piece of songwriting, she pivots into the rousing ‘3am’ before embracing disco-fied electronics on dancefloor burner ‘two years’.
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A record that moves between darkness and light, ROSÉ is unafraid to fuse the two. ‘toxic till the end’ is a song of escape, one that bursts with energy, while ‘drinks or coffee’ is a flirtatious paean to reflection that reinvents timeless pop tropes from a potent, personal perspective.
Naturally, though, the hits shine through. ‘APT.’ combines ROSÉ with Bruno Mars, and it’s perhaps the best-known moment on here – an unyielding international hit, it illustrates how far the Korean star can take her solo iteration.
But that’s not to say this is a glossy pop document. In fact, some of the most effective moments on ‘rosie’ are also the most affecting – the ballad lyricism of ‘stay a little longer’ or the slight Americana touches on ‘not the same’. Closing with the almighty one-two of punchy ‘too bad for us’ and the ‘dance all night’, ‘rosie’ is a triumph. Constructed amid huge expectation, ROSÉ exceeds the hopes fans had set out – her solo epoch is transformational.
8/10
Words: Robin Murray
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