The K-pop industry is intense. After the audition for a K-pop label, auditionees get sent halfway across the world at a young age for a training program to be the next big thing. Training hours to become a K-pop star usually starts very early in the day and ends very late at night. The training could take weeks, months, or years before the company decides whether or not the members are ready to debut. Some trainees never make it. However, when the remaining trainees finally debut and become global superstars, all the hard work and dedication is worth it.
K-pop company labels produce all the music that their idols release. The companies also choreograph dances to the songs that the idols perform. These aspects of the performance bring millions of fans around the world together to support the idols. This adds the extra pressure to pick the perfect individuals to be the next idols in K-pop. Sometimes the company’s obsession with the idols’ public image and the hate from the internet can make it hard for the idols to enjoy their work. However, the hours they dedicate towards their passion of singing and dancing make up for the harsh treatment.
One of the biggest stars to come out of that system is Rosé. After training for four years with one of K-pop’s largest agencies, YG Entertainment, she eventually debuted as a member of the global sensation group Blackpink on June 22, 2016. Rosé endured all of the struggles and hard work to achieve her dream of becoming an idol, and eventually became a star example of the K-pop industry. At age 27, she released her first full-length solo album, Rosie, on December 6th, 2024 under the American record label Atlantic Records, showcasing her unique singing qualities and undeniable talent. With her recognizable cursive singing and ability to hit high notes as a soprano, while still hitting every dance move perfectly with a smile, one can agree that her talent is undeniable. She is still a member of Blackpink after the group renewed their contract with YG Entertainment in 2023. But after years of singing the songs written for Blackpink and performing as Rosé, writing her own songs for this solo album has made her think about where she came from, who she is as a person, and her identity outside of Blackpink — focusing on what made her “Rosie” and not “Rosé.”
Early life and training days
Rosé was born as “Roseanne Chaeyoung Park” in Auckland, New Zealand on February 11th, 1997. She and her family moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2004. While growing up there, she enjoyed playing various instruments and writing her own music every day until midnight. She would watch K-pop idols on YouTube, aspiring to become a talented star like them one day. When she turned 14 years old, her father heard that YG Entertainment was scouting for talent in Australia, and encouraged her to audition for their training program. To her surprise, they called her family back and announced she was accepted for their K-pop training program. They asked that she pack her bags and move to South Korea.
From the first seconds of her long and intense training journey, Rosé faced numerous hardships. “Living the dream” like the K-pop idols she would see on social media wasn’t as easy as it seemed. She wasn’t used to being away from home.
The hours spent on singing, dance, and language lessons lasted longer than the average work day. A typical day would have all the trainees waking up at 9:30 A.M. and having all their lessons end at 2 A.M. It was easy for Rosé to feel lonely, considering these were not ideal working conditions for a 15 year old. However, Rosé never let the feelings of separation and burnout stop her from becoming the type of idol she looked up to her whole life.
“I think a big part of that was because I had traveled so far for it,” Rosé mentioned in a New York Times interview when asked what motivated her to work harder. “If I failed, then I would have to fly all the way back to Australia and all my friends who asked me: ‘Where are you going? I don’t understand what you’re doing.’ I didn’t want to have to explain to them this whole process of me failing and flying back. And so I could not let that happen.”
And she didn’t.
Nine girls were lined up for Blackpink’s training program. Only four of them debuted. Rosé was one of those four.
Blackpink
Despite all of the rigorous training and successfully making it into Blackpink, Rosé’s path to stardom was just beginning. Blackpink released their debut single album, Square One, on August 8th, 2016, consisting of tracks “Boombayah” and “Whistle.” Both songs charted at number one and two on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart within 19 days of their release, making Blackpink the fastest artists in the world to achieve this. This is a tremendous achievement and it was only the beginning.
Blackpink released their second single album, Square Two. on November 1st, 2016. The album, consisting of hits like “Playing with Fire” and “Stay.” “Playing with Fire” was Blackpink’s second single to reach number one on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and the first K-pop girl group song to chart on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. They have earned several rookie awards at major Korean year-end music award shows, including the Asia Artist Awards, Melon Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Gaon Chart Music Awards — all in the span of five months after debuting. Additionally, Billboard named Blackpink one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016 because of their rapid success.
During their eight years of activity in the music industry, Blackpink has released two studio albums, three extended plays, one reissue, one compilation album, four live albums, five single albums, twelve singles, and four promotional singles. They have collaborated with numerous musical artists such as Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, and Selena Gomez. Within a few years of debuting as a group, Blackpink already gained a massive fanbase under the name of “Blinks” (a portmanteau of the words “black” and “pink”), and performed a number of shows throughout Japan in 2018 and at Coachella in 2019.
Solo projects
Around two years after their debut, it was time for the girls to release their own solo projects, leading Rosé to be the first of the four to release a full length solo album.
Two and a half years after the release of her fellow Blackpink member Jennie’s first single solo, Rosé released her first solo album, R, on March 12th, 2021. R included two songs: On the Ground and Gone. The album set the record for the highest first-week sales by a Korean female soloist, with 448,089 copies sold. With 41.6 million views within 24 hours of the music video release for On the Ground, she broke the record for the Most Viewed Music Video by a Korean soloist in 24 hours. The song itself also led Rosé to receive her first-ever music show win as a soloist on the South Korean cable music program Show Champion, and went on to win five more for the single. The second song from R was just as successful, peaking at number six on the Gaon Digital Chart and number five on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100.
K-pop idols like Rosé are put under enormous amounts of pressure by their companies and the media to be perfect — to be a literal idol for individuals around the world. What many people do not realize is that while K-pop idols appear to the media as though they are “living their dream” and are full of confidence, they are real people with real lives and real struggles. Sometimes it was hard for Rosé to balance the extreme pressure from her public life — where she felt most uncomfortable — with her private life — where she felt most comfortable.
“I’m always just trying my best to be my best version, but I felt a little lost and like I was never good enough. I was a bit cranky against the world,” Rosé mentioned in an interview with the New York Times. “I like to present myself as a very positive girl who doesn’t think about negative things, who’s very bright-minded. But when [the online hate] actually did get to me, it felt pretty, pretty bad. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I am going through this.’ I never thought I would. I would see things online, and I’d always think, I wonder why they let that get to them? When it did, I was shocked.”
Luckily, Rosé found an outlet to express all of her worries and thoughts. After about one year of recording music, Rosé announced on October 1st, 2024 that her first full length album Rosie would be released under The Black Label and Atlantic Records by December 6th, 2024. “I have poured my blood and tears into this album,” she wrote on Instagram. “I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine.”
Rosé released the single “APT” featuring Bruno Mars on October 18th, 2024, teasing her new album. The song went viral for its catchy production, broad cross-cultural appeal, and role in promoting Korean culture worldwide. The song went on to win nine first-place awards on South Korean music programs, initiating an incredible head-start to Rosé’s first solo album.
Finally, on December 6th, 2024, all 12 tracks from Rosie were released. The album allowed Rosé to open up about her life and connect with her loyal fans in a personal way. The album elaborates on feelings of exuberance from her loved ones, pressure from netizens, and a private relationship that inspires her to pursue what she loves: music. The title of the album, Rosie, is a nickname that is used by close friends and family in her life, indicating her vulnerability towards her listeners.
“I do want to make sure that that’s very well addressed…” Rosé begins when asked about sharing personal experiences with fans in a New York Times article. “The fact that it’s not about the story of who Rosie has been with or whatever. It’s really more about the art.”
But after years of singing the songs written for Blackpink and performing as Rosé, writing her own songs for this solo album has made her think about where she came from, who she is as a person, and her identity outside of Blackpink — focusing on what made her “Rosie” and not “Rosé.”