After the biggest catchy tune of the year, K-pop artist Rosé is now coming out with a new solo album. And this is what it sounds like...

With “APT.”, the 26-year-old Rosé went through the roof this year. The song was number one globally for weeks. Because Bruno Mars was there, but also because the songline instantly puts you in a good mood. “APT.” (pronounced apateu) means something like “apartment” in Korean and is also the name of a drinking game in Korea.

There are now plenty of instructions online, and Rosé herself explains the rules. But one thing is particularly important: the song was the first release from their new album “rosie”! And a rocket-like solo reboot (after three years!) for the young singer, whose real name is Park Chae-young and who was born in New Zealand in 1997 but grew up in Melbourne. Hence her fluent English.

She has always loved singing, but it wasn't until she came first in an audition for Korean agency YG Entertainment in Sydney that her career was all but assured. Four years of training in South Korea followed until she became part of the girl band “Blackpink”. She is still there, even though her first solo album “R” was released in 2021.

After “APT.”, the ballad “Number one Girl” was released as a foretaste of “rosie”. By then it becomes clear: Rosé has an amazing voice. This is also confirmed by the title song that she was allowed to sing for the Apple TV+ series “Pachinko” (Season 2 just released).

It's about a Korean immigrant family in Japan who struggles with many challenges between 1935 and 1989. Their new album will almost certainly not be lacking in ballads, but also in rocky uptempo songs and modern dance pop. A nice, well-rounded overall package.

The K-Pop (Korean pop music) phenomenon has been around since the 1990s. One of the first internationally successful K-pop artists was “Seo Taiji and Boys”, who released their music in 1992. The Revolution: Western styles such as rap, rock and techno were combined with Korean lyrics.

In the years that followed, major entertainment agencies such as SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment followed suit. They began breeding K-pop artists in trainee camps and investing a lot of money in their training. The international breakthrough came in the 2010s with the viral success of PSY's “Gangnam Style” (2012).

Today, K-Pop has a global fan base, from globally popular groups such as BTS, Blackpink, EXO and many others. However, this is not a coincidence: K-pop companies do massive marketing for their artists, for example with teaser campaigns, reality shows, contests, advertising contracts, international tours and, and, and... Also the fans (“fandoms”) ) are a little different: they're big on buying merchandise, organizing streaming parties, and reposting everything about their idols. An incredibly successful market with a lot of money in it. But also talent. And that is undisputed when it comes to Rosé.