Life Listens: New music from Rose & Bruno Mars, Coldplay, The Cure, Halsey and Regina Song
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Apt, a new song by Blackpink's Rose and American pop star Bruno Mars, will be part of Rose's album Rosie, slated for release on Dec 6.
PHOTO: ROSE/YOUTUBE
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SINGAPORE – In this monthly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music you need to know about that was released in the past month.
Must-see MV: Rose & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Is this ditty stuck in your head? Chances are, you are not alone.
K-pop girl group Blackpink’s Rose is the latest among her bandmates to release her own music in recent days following Lisa and Jennie – and she has got American pop star Bruno Mars to sing along.
The catchy Apt. (pronounced “apateu”, short for the way South Koreans say apartment) has an irreverent and nostalgic pop-punk energy that reminds one of English pop duo The Ting Tings’ That’s Not My Name (2008) or the 1982 Toni Basil hit Mickey.
The music video, filmed entirely on a pink set, leans into the fun-loving retro vibe of the song, with scenes occasionally alternating to the pixelated quality of an old home video.
American singer Bruno Mars (left) and K-pop girl group Blackpink’s Rose team up for the viral hit song Apt.
PHOTO: ROSES_ARE_ROSIE/INSTAGRAM
Mars and Rose rock it out in matching black leather jackets, and take turns to play the drums while the other sings and dances. They also dance and play the guitar together.
Midway through the video, they play the South Korean drinking game of the title – where players stack their hands on top of each other like the floors of an apartment building – and he has to down a shot after she laughs at him for losing. At one point, she even kisses him on the cheek, a seemingly spontaneous action that sparks a surprised expression from Mars.
The duo’s high spirits are infectious even through a screen, which adds to the track’s overall appeal.
Apt. has been a runaway success, debuting at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This makes Rose the first female K-pop act to crack the top 10 of the chart, beating Blackpink’s previous record-making achievement when their song Ice Cream – a collaboration with American actress-singer Selena Gomez – peaked at No. 13 in 2020.
The popularity of Apt., which has already been used cumulatively in over a million videos on TikTok since its Oct 18 release, has even driven up related stock prices for soju-maker HiteJinro and YG Plus.
While YG Plus is the company distributing the track, the surge for HiteJinro is attributed to Rose’s promotion of the song, which includes a video of her demonstrating how to make somaek, a popular mix of soju and beer, using the brand’s product. – Jan Lee
Stream This Song: The Cure – Alone
Alone is English band The Cure’s first new song in 16 years.
PHOTO: POLYDOR
After 16 years, seminal British band The Cure are finally back with a new song.
Alone is the first single off their 14th album Songs Of A Lost World, which will be released on Nov 1. It will be their first album since 2008’s 4:13 Dream.
As can be deduced from the title, this is melancholic-era The Cure. At close to seven minutes, the song opens with a grand yet brooding instrumental that glides at a glacial pace.
When frontman Robert Smith finally sings at the halfway mark, his yearning delivery cuts through as the 65-year-old contemplates endings and desolation, inspired by late 19th-century English literary figure Ernest Dowson’s poem Dregs.
Robert Smith, frontman of English band The Cure, contemplates endings and desolation in new song Alone.
PHOTO: THE CURE/FACEBOOK
“This is the end of every song that we sing,” he croons in the opening line, and as he approaches the final chord, repeats the refrain: “Where did it go?”
If you are familiar with only The Cure’s pop-leaning romantic hits such as Friday I’m In Love (1992) and Lovesong (1989), Alone will show that they are also masters of crafting moody and poignant tunes. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
Ace Album: Halsey – The Great Impersonator
The Great Impersonator is the fifth album by American singer Halsey.
PHOTO: COLUMBIA RECORDS
In her fifth album, American singer Halsey channels some of the most iconic music personalities of the last few decades.
In the lead-up to its Oct 25 drop, she released a series of photos in which she recreated famous album covers of British singers David Bowie, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey, Icelandic singer Bjork and American icons Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen.
Halsey at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept 11.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The sprawling, 18-track The Great Impersonator features songs that take on the mood, style and tone of the artistes she is emulating, from R&B to screamo-style rock.
Panic Attack, for example, is inspired by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac. Hometown takes on a Parton-esque twang, while Darwinism is a Bowie-style ballad.
While the styles are borrowed, the raw, emotionally resonant content is all Halsey’s. She contemplates mortality as she looks back at her battle with chronic illnesses – she suffers from lupus and a rare T-cell disorder – as well as toxic relationships, motherhood and the pitfalls of fame.
The ambitious nature of the concept album, coupled with the deeply personal lyrics, elevate the 30-year-old to more than just your average pop star. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
Chart Champ: Coldplay – Moon Music
Moon Music is the 10th album by British band Coldplay.
PHOTO: PARLOPHONE
British band Coldplay’s 10th album cements their status as music industry juggernauts.
Released while the pop-rockers are still circling the globe on their Music of the Spheres World Tour, named after their ninth album released in 2021, Moon Music went straight to No. 1 on the US Billboard album charts. It is their first album in 10 years, since Ghost Stories (2014), to top the chart.
It topped the album chart in their native UK, where, according to BBC, it sold more copies than the rest of the Top 40 releases combined.
Moon Music also went to No. 1 in multiple countries, including Spain, Germany and Sweden.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
It boasts Coldplay’s trademark optimism and exactly the kind of soaring, stadium-sized pop songs that made them a top draw at major arenas around the world.
The album has a Singapore connection too. The team of assistant engineers who worked on hip-hop-tinged track We Pray includes Leonard Soosay, the veteran home-grown music producer who has recorded countless Singapore acts ranging from indie rock band Electrico to grindcore trio Wormrot. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
Singapore Scene: Regina Song – The Cutest Pair
Viral song The Cutest Pair is taken from Fangirl, the debut album by Singaporean singer-songwriter Regina Song.
PHOTO: PARKA
Singer-songwriter Regina Song, 20, is shaping up to be one of the local scene’s fastest-rising names.
The Cutest Pair recently went viral on TikTok, with clips of it garnering millions of views. The song peaked at No. 3 on Spotify’s Global Viral chart and has now clocked over 14 million streams on the platform.
A buoyant pop tune with an earworm of a melody that captures the essence of young romance, the track can be found on her debut album released in June, Fangirl.
Singaporean singer-songwriter Regina Song, 20, has over 2.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
PHOTO: DARRELL
Song made her debut in 2021 with the single Lucas and took a break to focus on her studies at School of the Arts, Singapore, where she majored in music. Her follow-up, High School Boy, was released in 2023.
In early October, she released her newest single i don’t rly care bout u!, an upbeat duet with fellow home-grown singer-songwriter Hongjoin. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
