Music Review: Blackpink K-pop star Rosé's debut solo album 'Rosie' is heartfelt, but slightly sleepy

Audio By Carbonatix

Rosé, the nightingale of the massively popular Korean girl group Blackpink, has flown the nest and launched her first solo album “Rosie.” She’s the first of the awesome foursome to release a full-length solo record, and in English at that. Members Jisoo and Jennie have previously released singles, and Lisa is gearing up for her own studio album in 2025.

Across “Rosie,” titled after Rosé's nickname to communicate a kind of personal intimacy, the singer goes to great lengths to detach herself sonically from her band. Unlike Blackpink’s high energy electro-pop output, Rosé’s solo material is that of a coffee-house dweller with a sideline in romantic drama. But don't expect finger-plucked acoustic guitar balladry exclusively — “Rosie” is reserved in some moments, full of life in others.

The album starts off chipper, with the soaring piano ballad “Number One Girl,” the cool synth-pop track “Two Years,” the dynamic, catchy Bruno Mars collaboration “Apt.,” and the contemporary, Taylor Swift-indebted pop of “Toxic Till the End." But it invariably slows down, preferring fairly stripped back production throughout. She’s got the voice and she’s flaunting it; it’s her prerogative to showcase her range at the expense of a more energetic beat.

Across 12-tracks, the album studies heartache over lost loves (“It’s been two years and you’re still not gone/It doesn’t make sense that I can’t move on,” she sings on “Two Years”), missed chances (“Are we lovers or friends/'Cause it’s as good as it gets” in “Call it the End”) and ambivalence over situationships that probably should've been nipped in the bud but staggered along, strung by the power of lust and not much else. (That one is everywhere — particularly in the dubious boyfriends of “Toxic Till the End” and “Gameboy.”) Who can't relate?

The album is an emotional rollercoaster easy to empathize with, stuffed with songs that articulate the trials and tribulations of early adult years — the search for connection and getting dragged into romances that lead nowhere. But throughout, fans of both Blackpink and Rosé might miss the spirited songs of her group. After all — your 20s are for partying, too — not just heartbreak.

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