La Vie en The Rose

A band by any other name wouldn’t sound as sweet… The Rose is ready to impress with their unique, soft rock sound, and endless star factor.

The Rose is a band who debuted under J&Star Company on August 3, 2017 with the single “Sorry.” The group then came back with their second release in October titled “Like We Used To.” In the same vein as JYP Entertainment’s DAY6, The Rose is a band who writes, composes, arranges, and performs their own music. The band has four members: Woosung, Dojoon, Hajoon, and Jaehyeong.

Instead of being put together into a group like most artists, The Rose was formed organically and was a band before they joined their current entertainment company. Two of the members of The Rose, Dojoon and Jaehyeong, met as buskers in Hongdae and quickly became friends. Jaehyeong then met and began to busk with Hajoon. At the same time, Dojoon was a trainee at DSP Media, but after leaving the company he quickly joined the duo and they became a band called Windfall. The group’s official lineup was secured after Dojoon recruited his friend Woosung, and The Rose was complete.

Each member of The Rose has their own “rose type” that symbolically represents them. Woosung is the white rose meaning purity; Dojoon is the red rose meaning passion; Hajoon is the blue rose meaning miracle, and Jaehyeong is the pink rose meaning happiness. The band is currently on their Paint it Rose 2018 European tour which hits Brussels, Moscow, Istanbul, London, and Budapest.

“Sorry”

The first 25 seconds of The Rose’s debut single “Sorry” are shiver-inducing. In an instant, The Rose pulls the listener into their world and leaves them desperate to hear more. The song has a softened, slow rock sound, which is very fitting alongside its bleeding heart lyrics about wishing for their lost love to return. Dojoon and Woosung primarily sing the song, and their voices complement each other very well; Woosung’s voice is very raspy with the ability to hit beautiful high notes and Dojoon’s voice has a very earthy strength to it. When the two harmonize together, as they do in the song’s final chorus, the end result is breathtaking. Both have the ability to not just sing a song, but really emote—when they sing “sorry,” their voices are so light and airy that it feels agonizing. Musically, the song’s mid-tempo and dreamy guitar melody definitely feel in the same vein as popular British pop artists like Coldplay and The Script, two artists The Rose is known to be fond of. “Sorry” is a knock out of a debut single and we weren’t the only ones impressed; it accrued the group many fans, including GOT7’s Jinyoung who performed a short portion of it live!

“Like We Used To”

Their second single, “Like We Used To,” confirms that The Rose needs to be on everyone’s radar—now. The song’s intro has all the softness and romanticism of a slow-building Roy Kim song but, by the first chorus, has transcended into another soul-searching, soft rock ballad. The song’s chorus in particular has a heavier tone to it than the verses do as the member’s voices crash over the listener like waves; it definitely leaves a newfound desire to hear a future song with a more hard rock edge to it. With each incredible song, The Rose blends Eastern and Western musical influences into beautiful soft rock and pushes them further toward the forefront of a new frontier within Korean music. “Applaud the birth of the Korean modern rock movement,” tweeted DAY6’s Jae about “Like We Used To.” We’re definitely cheering for you, The Rose!

The Covers

Did we mention the members of The Rose all speak English? Member Dojoon lived in New Zealand for five years and Woosung is from Los Angeles, California. As a result, the band frequently performs covers of their favorite English songs, including The 1975’s “Chocolate,” Coldplay’s “Yellow,” and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.” These glimpses into their musical inspirations provide a greater understanding into what goes into their sound, and makes them that more special; if these covers don’t sway your heart, nothing will.

The Rose is the kind of artist that after the first listen it’s impossible not to want to jump up and share with the world how good they are. They are the K-Indie world’s greatest secret, so jump on The Rose bandwagon before they leave the station, because these guys are set for stardom.