Rosé Is 'On The Ground' And Looking Up

By Ashlee Mitchell


It’s finally Rosé’s time to shine, and she’s willing to receive her ferns. The New Zealand-born, 24-year-old singer is a quarter of iconic K-pop girl categorize Blackpink, although she delivers enough for four on her first official solo effort. The main vocalist proves herself more than capable of holding her own with her two-song debut, R, which includes electropop lead single “On the Ground” and guitar-led ballad “Gone.” Both songs are sung entirely in English and give a refreshing new sound and vibe for Rosé as a performer who can stand alone.


As we catch up by means of the Zoom, Rosé’s sweet and friendly tone reveals how she’s fierce in her own right, a “kill ‘em with kindness” kind of girl. Although her bright personality is only one reason she’s managed to steal Blinks’ hearts worldwide. “I’m most excited about how my fans will react, how they are feeling about my whole single,” she says with anticipation. She is the second Blackpink member to debut as a solo artist, following Jennie’s 2018 single “Solo.” Last October, the quartet released its first full studio album, The Album, to rave reviews, a No. 2 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, and plenty of fan propulsion. “This time around I think we really just attempted give attention to new sound along with a truthful and wonderful message that we hope that our Blinks are needing right now.”


Fans were waiting earnestly; she with little effort set a record for most pre-orders for a lady Korean soloist before release and broke Psy’s record for most-viewed Korean soloist music video in 24 hours. These achievements are well deserved, as Rosé has been awaiting this moment almost as eagerly as her fans. “I’ve been preparing my solo for a very, very long time, however I think the initial time I recorded a song associated with my solo was three years ago,” she says, reminiscing on the process. “We’ve had countless songs come in and out, and we’ve recorded this and that, this kind of music, that kind of music, and it’s taken a long journey to get where we are at, nevertheless honestly, I think I just wanted to find a song that introduced me the ideal to the world.”


A big segment of that introduction is the ephemeral “On the Ground” music video, which boasts glamorous outfits and scenery straight from a dream, including plenty of pink, flower fields, and also a staircase to heaven. Rosé calls it “a collage of representations of me” spanning marquees and stages along with blockbuster pyrotechnics. Nevertheless it’s intimately centered on her. “I think the director really attempted to portray a timeline of myself, since the song does have the key [phrase] ‘whole life.’ I’ve worked my whole life, and thus I think he really attempted to exhibit showcase the past and present version of myself, and he wanted to be able to see a collided world in that sense.” As far as Rosé is concerned, it’s already iconic. “Every time I watch it, I still get chills watching some scenes.”


In late January, Rosé debuted her other new track, the emotional “Gone,” early for fans at Blackpink’s virtual concert The Show, garnering over 280,000 live viewers. “I recorded ‘Gone’ like two years back. To be trustworthy, I was very eager to put it out there and give it to my fans,” she explains. “I felt like it could be a very special thing have the ability to sing my own song at my concert since I do know that a lot of my fans were waiting for that moment. Since we were preparing for it and we had just shot the video, we thought, why not give them a sneak peek of the video and sort of perform it for the initial time? And I think it went well.” She sang the song alongside a guitarist while sitting on a swing set, allowing her angelic vocals to steal the show.


Both songs contain introspective, sincere lyrics that capture Rosé’s humble and shy personality in back of her striking star power. Though she and her order often feel bigger than life, she hopes this solo debut serves reintroduction, and also a way to humanize herself for the fans. “I think I just want them to know that I’m no different than anyone else. I have the same thoughts in life, go by way of the same phases, and just like, I’m a lost soul also sometimes.” She speaks softly, choosing her words with care. “I just wanted my fans to sort of learn that I’m just as human as everybody else, and I can relate to a lot of things that everybody may be going through at this time.”


With lyrics like, “All my love is gone and the hate has grown / Standing all alone and I'm searching for something” on “Gone,” it’s apparent Rosé is willing to open up and embrace vulnerability. “On the Ground” provides the ideal contrast, taking a more confident stance, reminding listeners the significance of being true to yourself. Rosé’s soulful delivery of the message makes it resonate even more.


For Rosé, one of the primary pop stars in the world, being true to her fans is likewise critical, and she says she paid attention to their conversations in the lead-up to her solo debut. “That whole process was very interesting, looking at all of the fans’ reactions, seeing them talk about what sort of song they think I plan to be coming out with, what sort of efficiency I could be having, what sort of genre I’d be coming out with,” she says, then laughs. “It was fun to sort of look at that method of how they had waited for my solo, and to also visualize me sort of develop my own fashion of music up until I released it.” Her radiant energy makes it hard not to root for her, and this new chapter is naturally one she’s immensely overjoyed of.


As she reminds me, even with all of the work she did to get to this place, her debut is just the starting. “My homework is currently to explore more as a solo artist,” she says. “I just began, the song has only just come out, I’m sure I have a long journey ahead of me. ... I have a lot of different types of genre songs that I already have archived, so I mean, I guess what my next step is — the world’s the limit.”