Rosie Album Review and Favorite Songs

Photo Source: Spotify

As a huge BLACKPINK fan, watching ROSE’s solo career blossom has been incredibly iconic and exciting to witness. ROSE first announced her full length solo debut album, Rosie, on her Instagram on October 1st 2024. “Rosie,” she shared, “is the name I allow my friends and family to call me. With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me.”

ROSE then released her worldwide hit song “APT” with Bruno Mars on October 17th 2024 with a fun and energetic music video that has gained more than 900 million views on YouTube and 950 million streams on Spotify as of now. “APT” has already broken several global streaming records and it’s only a matter of time until the song reaches the billions. 

Rosie by ROSE was officially released on December 6th 2024 along with the music video for her song “toxic till the end.” The music video tells a story through rose colored glasses of a toxic relationship that was doomed from the start. And that kiss? It was a very bold move for a solo debut in the Kpop genre, where Kpop stars must typically be very secretive about their dating lives, but ROSE carried it out like a superstar.

Her full length album was 100% what I was hoping to hear from ROSE plus more. Building on the intimate sound and concepts from her two solos songs under YG, “On the Ground” and “Gone,” ROSE delivered twelve new songs on Rosie that were well composed and brutally honest about what sounded like a difficult time in her life.

At a time when so many stars strive to stay relevant, I feel like ROSE’s solo debut was so record breaking because of how vulnerable and true to herself she was. Like “number one girl” makes me want to cry because of how much it hits home and “APT” also makes me want to cry because of how happy I am that ROSE is finally happy. I give this album a solid 10/10 because I feel so much closer to ROSE after listening to her album.

All of the songs on Rosie are good, but I’d like to talk about my favorite songs on the album:

#5 - number one girl

Not that ROSE ever had to prove to us that she could really sing, but this ballad was a powerful demonstration of what her vocals and emotions could do. Her song “number one girl” was released with a music video on November 21, 2024, teasing her highly anticipated solo album Rosie with some of the saddest and realest lyrics ever.

“Tell me that you need me, tell me that I'm loved
Tell me that I'm worth it, and that I'm enough
I need it and I don't know why
This late at night…”

#4 - drinks or coffee

I love the light, playful, and flirtatious vibe of “drinks or coffee.” It’s probably one of the most relatable songs for anyone who’s ever seen a cute person at a party, like this song brings me back to college. As one of the more upbeat tracks on the album, it’s a fun song to make a reel with friends, or it’s the perfect song to send your crush to invite them for a drink, or a coffee.

“We don't have to talk
I know that you want me
Gotta keep it nice
We cannot be naughty
We could get drinks
Or we could get coffee…”

#3 - gameboy

The sultry R&B tune mixed with a toxic heartbreak and a clever play on words all attribute to making “gameboy” another smash hit. The word “gameboy” brings up the childhood nostalgia of playing video games on Nintendo, but it also ties into the disappointment of dating a player as a young adult.

“Yeah, you'll always be a gameboy
These days I don't wanna play, boy
Say, say what you wanna say
You're never gonna change
You'll only ever be a heartbreak…”

The bridge for this song is also painfully accurate:

“Shame on me, should've known better
I let you play me, whatever
Some things just ain't meant to be
Kinda like you and me, yeah, yeah
Thought you would love me forever
I should've known you would never
Some things just ain't meant to be
Kinda like you and me, yeah, yeah…”

#2 - toxic till the end

ROSE posted the music video for “toxic till the end” at the same time she released her solo debut album Rosie and I don’t think that the world even knew that it needed this absolute banger about toxic relationships. This was the song that I needed to hear years ago. It’s both electrifying and extremely toxic, and even though I’m in a much better place emotionally, singing this song heals something deep inside of me and I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way.

“Now he's on the screen saying don't leave
You stole that line from me 'cause you're just

Jealous and possessive
So manipulating
Honestly impressive
You had me participating…”

#1 - APT

“APT” by ROSE and Bruno Mars has been at the top of global streaming charts since the song’s release in October 2024, and it has been one of the best music collaborations in Kpop ever. Inspired by ROSE’s favorite drinking game, the duo created a fun Kpop anthem that has become the biggest thing since Gangnam Style. The song has over 900 million views and streams, and it’s only a matter of time before “APT” hits the billions. 

Bruno’s lines in the song are incredibly smooth and I love how the two harmonize so well together. This is different than anything that’s ever been done in Kpop, and as I watched the music video, I teared up during the last chorus because of how happy I was for ROSE. Although I like her in BLACKPINK, I could only imagine how it must’ve felt like to have her image and sound constantly controlled by someone else. She looked so happy and free and beautiful in her "APT” music video and I am all for supporting ROSE’s solo work.

“It's whatever, it's whatever, it's whatever you like
Turn this 아파트 into a club
I'm talking drink, dance, smoke, freak, party all night
건배, 건배, girl, what's up? (Oh-oh-oh)

Don't you want me like I want you, baby?
Don't you need me like I need you now?
Sleep tomorrow, but tonight go crazy
All you gotta do is just meet me at the

아파트, 아파트, 아파트, 아파트
아파트, 아파트, uh, uh-huh, uh-huh…”

Honorary mention - dance all night

One more song that I’d like to mention is “dance all night” because this song is pretty much the new Kpop version of “Girl, put your records on.” It’s another uplifting song about talking to birds and cheering yourself up after a heartbreak. In ROSE’s version, she sings that she would cheer herself up by dancing all night.

“Got out of my bed today, the sunlight was hitting my face
And two little birds came and sat on the edge and asked if I'm doin' okay
And we talked for a while, sat for a while
And one of them asked me if there's anything I would change

And I didn't know what to say

But I, I would dance all night
Not care about the heartache in my life
Oh, and I would not obsess
Over all the little things I don't regret
I'd dance all night…”