ROSÉ is launching her solo era, and she’s bringing one of pop music’s biggest names along for the ride. On Thursday (Oct. 17), the BLACKPINK star and Bruno Mars announced that they’re teaming up on a new single titled “Apt.” — and it’s coming even sooner than you think.
Breaking the news to fans via a post on Instagram, the duo shared the track’s cover image and simply wrote: “💗 APT. ⚡︎ OCT 18 💗,” confirming that the collaboration would drop just one day after the announcement. The chic artwork shows a black-and-white photo of the “Locked Out of Heaven” singer behind a drum set and ROSÉ posing in a leather jacket bleeding through a bright pink foreground, the artists’ names and song title displayed in thick black lettering in the negative space.
“Apt.” will mark the K-pop star’s first release since announcing her December-slated 12-track album rosie Oct. 1, and Mars’ first release since teaming up with Lady Gaga on summer smash “Die With a Smile,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Global 200 chart for seven weeks. When sharing the news of her first-ever LP earlier this month, ROSÉ wrote: “I have poured my blood and tears into this album. I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine … With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me. And yes, it’s a full length album.”
Mars and the “On the Ground” musician first teased that they were working together the day prior to their announcement, when they both shared photos on Instagram from a recent hangout sesh and revealed that ROSÉ had taught Mars a Korean drinking game.
“Soon after, she tried to kiss me, and I was like ‘woah Rosie! what part of the game is this?’” the Silk Sonic band member joked in his caption. “She was like, ‘I ain’t playin games wit you anymore lil boy! Big Rosie bout that BIDNESS!’ Shaken, I replied ‘stop Rosie, I’m scared!’ But other than that, super chill night.”
In response to Mars’ wild version of events, ROSÉ commented, “what’s wrong with uuuu.”
How you like that! BLACKPINK‘s ROSÉ announced that her solo studio album, titled rosie, is set to arrive just in time for the holidays.
“I cannot believe I am finally announcing my first album release to you all,” wrote the K-pop star in an Instagram post featuring the album cover, a closeup of the singer that shows her lying down, blonde curls cascading around her face in waves as she looks at the viewer. In her caption, she goes on to explain that as BLACKPINK wrapped up its yearlong Born Pink World Tour, she found herself at a studio session in L.A., and spent the next year working on music with songwriters and producers, trying to figure out what was next for her.“I fell asleep many nights feeling confused and lost. But with the support of my dear friends and family, my team, and of course my number ones, I am sat here today excited to announce the date of my album release,” shared the global star, revealing that her album will arrive on Dec. 6 via Atlantic Records. “I have poured my blood and tears into this album. I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine. Rosie – 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.”
Before signing off, she confirmed one big piece of information for BLINKs: “And yes, it’s a full length album.”
According to the press release, ROSÉ coproduced and cowrote the album, which includes 12 tracks and is her “most personal and candid” project yet.
Aside from the K-pop supergroup’s world tour and working on her own music, ROSÉ has been busy the past year. Last September, she inspired a Tiffany’s capsule collection that included a locket, earrings and more; attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in February and sang along to all 10 minutes of “All Too Well”; partnered with Puma for a campaign in July and more.
ROSÉ isn’t the only member of BLACKPINK with new music. Bandmate LISA has been releasing new music in the past few weeks, including a collab with Rosalia called “New Woman,” as well as a new track titled “Moonlit Floor,” which she debuted at the Global Citizen Festival in NYC and arrives Oct. 3.
Lisa, a member of the global K-Pop supergroup Blackpink, is Louis Vuitton‘s newest house ambassador, the luxury fashion house announced Tuesday.
The 27-year-old rapper and dancer was a guest at Louis Vuitton’s recent women’s Fall/Winter 2024 show in Paris. She joins other previously named ambassadors such as Saoirse Ronan, Stray Kids’ Felix and BTS’ J-Hope.
Lisa’s “bold sartorial choices notably reflect Nicolas Ghesquière’s own strong womenswear vision marked by individuality and empowerment,” the brand said in a release, adding that Lisa’s achievements speak to Louis Vuitton’s core values.
“I am very excited to welcome Lisa as a House Ambassador,” Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections, said in a statement. “She has a daring spirit and charisma that I find incredibly compelling. She is as bold and creative with her music as she is with her fashion, and it is a privilege to accompany her on this journey.
The ambassador news comes amidst an already busy July for the girl group member. Earlier this month, it was announced that she would be co-headlining the 2024 Global Citizen Festival at New York’s Central Park Great Lawn in September. The concert will be Lisa’s first solo festival performance. As a member of the K-Pop supergroup Blackpink, Lisa and her fellow group members (Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé) headlined the 2023 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival. The four-piece girl group, formed under Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment, was the first K-Pop act to headline the festival.
Lisa recently released her latest solo single, “Rockstar,” at the end of June. The song is the first to come from her recently formed solo partnership with RCA Records. In December 2023, it was announced that Blackpink had renewed their exclusive contracts for group activities with YG Entertainment, however, it was later revealed that all four members decided to part ways with the label for solo activities.
In February, Lisa announced the formation of her new company LLOUD, which she described in an Instagram post as a “platform to showcase my vision in music and entertainment.” In April, RCA Records announced that Lisa and LLOUD were entering a partnership with the record label. According to a release from the label, the deal allows Lisa to release new solo music under RCA Records while maintaining full ownership of all her recordings.
LISA’S “ROCKSTAR” ERA is here. On Tuesday, the Blackpink star’s management company LLOUD announced that Lisa will be releasing her highly-anticipated single “Rockstar” on June 27.
The company announced “Rockstar” on Instagram posting a cartoonish, electric sound, seemingly teasing the new track. Lisa recently made a TikTok account, where she gained a million followers in just over 2 hours, setting a Guinness World Record.
Lisa’s first two videos on the platform, which tease the new era of music, see Lisa posing for the camera in her OOTD, garnering nearly 20 million likes across both posts. She’s already reached 9.5 million followers on the platform.
“Rockstar” will mark the first solo release from Lisa since joining DJ Snake, Ozuna, and Megan Thee Stallion on “SG” back in 2021. She also dropped a pair of singles, “Lalisa” and “Money,” that year. (She performed her solo tracks while Blackpink headlined Coachella last year.)
Lisa signed a solo deal with RCA, which was announced in April. Earlier this month, she teased new music on her social media, writing, “Coming soon: Lisa.”
Following a 2023 that included major solo moves like featuring on Korea’s legend Taeyang’s single “Shoong!,” a residency at Paris’ famous cabaret Crazy Horse, and a slew of new Guinness World Records to her name, including K-pop’s first solo record to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, Lisa is ready to make this year even louder—or, should we say, LLOUD-er.
On February 8, Lisa posted to her 100 million Instagram followers with an account named LLOUD, at the handle @wearelloudd, and declared it “a platform to showcase my vision in music and entertainment” alongside a stunning new shot of her in a black suit and tie accessorized with bold rings and a colored French manicure. Lisa asked fans to “join me on this exciting journey to push through new boundaries together.”
Lisa also shared a link to LLOUD’s website, which included its official social media accounts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, as well as the following mission statement:
THE FUSION OF SOUND & INNOVATION
At LLOUD, our passion as an artist management company is to create experiences that transcend genres and connect generations. Our core lies in relentless innovation and a commitment to authenticity. We’re not just pushing boundaries; we’re redefining them, crafting chart-topping and genre-defying music. Embrace the beginning of the LLOUD era with us.
Indeed, Lisa’s career so far can be defined as both “chart-toping” and “genre-defying.” Not only has the Thai singer-rapper broke chart records with Blackpink—becoming the first female group to top the Billboard 200 since 2008 and score K-pop’s highest-charting girl group single—but with her solo work as well on tracks like her debut single “Lalisa” going to No. 1 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart as well as “SG” with DJ Snake, Ozuna and Megan Thee Stallion that was No. 1 on the Latin Airplay radio chart.
BLACKPINK’s Jisoo reportedly decided to undertake solo activities under the management of her brother’s agency.
According to an exclusive media report on January 2nd, Jisoo has signed on with her brother’s agency Blissoo. Blissoo is a spinoff entertainment startup under Biomom, Inc., where Jisoo’s brother is the CEO. Blissoo recently posted an ad looking for experienced hires with Jisoo’s picture.
Blackpink — the four-piece K-pop act comprised of Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rose – are no longer working with YG Entertainment for their solo endeavors, the company announced in a press release on Friday.
The group will remain signed to YG Entertainment as an entity but the four women will pursue their solo careers outside of the agency. “We will do our utmost to support Blackpink’s activities, and we will cheer on the members’ individual activities with warm hearts,” read YG’s statement translated to English from Korean (via Soompi).
In a previous press statement regarding the group’s renewed contract, the company said that Blackpink plans a new album and a world tour and would “continue to do its best to shine even brighter in the global music market as an artist representing not only our company but also K-pop. […] And we send our unwavering support and faith to [fans].”
Blackpink was formed under YG in 2016, but as the quartet hit new levels of recognition and popularity worldwide there was speculation that their deal would need to be substantially renegotiated in the artists’ favor. Blackpink’s recent world tour included 66 performances in 34 cities and was watched by 2.1 million spectators, YG has reported.
Individually, all the members of Blackpink have expanded their presence in the global entertainment industry with solo musical projects. The most recent was Jisoo’s debut solo single bundle “Me,” while Jennie, who released her solo project back in 2018, freshly launched a new label and company called Odd Atelier (OA), and, earlier this year, made her acting debut in HBO’s “The Idol.”
The members of Blackpink suddenly seem like they’re almost angling for the title of Queens of Christmas, as the holiday season has seen a flurry of three big announcements or releases — including Lisa choosing Christmas Eve to drop her cover of a Britney Spears holiday perennial, “My Only Wish (This Year).”
The group has big plans for the day after Christmas, too, with a virtual-reality concert showcase, “Blackpink: A VR Encore,” set to stream on Dec. 26.
The third piece of Blackpink news came earlier on Christmas Eve when the group member Jennie announced directly to fans that she would be launching her own label and company, OA, in the new year
Lisa is best known as Blackpink’s primary rapper and dancer, so her cover of Spears’ lone holiday song marked a vocal departure from her usual rapping persona.“Christmas present for my Blinks… Have a wonderful holiday,” wrote Lisa on her Instagram account before dropping her Spears cover onto her YouTube channel, accompanied by a holiday-themed, romantic cinematic escapade shot in Paris.
The surprise cover revives a Spears song originally found on Jive Records’ 2000 all-label holiday album, “Platinum Christmas,” which additionally featured then-top label artists such as NSYNC, Santana, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and R. Kelly.
“My Only Wish (This Year)” is Lisa’s first solo work since 2021’s “Lalisa” album and that year’s non-LP single, “SG” with DJ Snake, Ozuna and Megan Thee Stallion. Earlier this year, Lisa was a featured guest on “Shoong!” from South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer Taeyang.
For fans wanting to see the full group in action, “Blackpink: A VR Encore” is set to air Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. PT on Meta Horizon Worlds and features the final show from Blackpink’s global 2023 tour in support of “Born Pink.”
The K-girl group dropped a trailer earlier this week for the VR special, which will viewable by owners of the special headsets, teased with the legend “Take a front row seat as Blackpink performs some of their biggest hits and unlock a limited-edition K-pop inspired emote! To get rewarded, set off a confetti balloon on the dance floor in Music Valley.”
According to rumors on December 23, Jennie founded her personal label ODDATELIER this past November. A website for the alleged label, which is currently down due to a spike in visitors, states, “OA, which stands for ODDATELIER, is a space that aims to create new things that attract attention in a different way from what is usual or expected. It is a label founded by artist Jennie in November 2023.”
Along with the rest of BLACKPINK, Jennie officially renewed her contract with YG Entertainment for group activities earlier this month, but plans for her solo activities were not cemented.
However, nothing concerning ODDATELIER has been confirmed by Jennie or other official sources.