Blackpink’s Rose and Bruno Mars’ new song Apt redefines K-pop’s global appeal
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The single by Blackpink's Rose, featuring Bruno Mars, has topped music charts globally.
PHOTO: @BRUNOMARS/INSTAGRAM
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SEOUL - The hit single Apt by Rose from K-pop girl group Blackpink, featuring American singer Bruno Mars, may signal a new direction for K-pop’s global reach as it dominates streaming charts worldwide.
Music critics describe the song as “intuitive” with a strong hook, and as being appealing to listeners of all ages.
According to The Black Label, Rose’s agency, the chart-topping single surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify on Oct 25 - within seven days of its release. This marks the fastest such achievement for a female K-pop solo artiste and the second-fastest overall for a K-pop act, after Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS.
Rose, 27, shared that the song was inspired by a popular game in South Korea, Apartment.
“It’s one of my favourite games – simple, fun and perfect for lifting spirits. I started working on the track one night after teaching the game to the studio team, and Bruno Mars later joined, completing the song.”
The music video for Apt features Mars alongside Rose in a visually vibrant production. It attracted 25 million YouTube views within 24 hours, and reached 100 million views in just five days.
The video quickly rose to No. 1 on South Korea’s trending videos and YouTube’s US trending music chart. Apt had garnered over 178 million views as at Oct 28.
“The song feels incredibly catchy, almost as if it were designed to be an instant hit,” said music critic Lim Hee-yun on Oct 27.
“The word ‘a-par-teu’ repeats in a way that feels ear-catching, with a strong hook. The melody that follows is simple yet familiar, giving it a wide mainstream appeal.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
