It’s been a long time coming for Rosé but she has finally made her long-awaited solo debut. As the next BLACKPINK member to make their solo debut, Rosé serves fans worldwide with an ethereal and stunning single album. Despite only two songs on the album, instantaneously the girl group member has captured the hearts of many. Another bonus is that the entire single album is sung in English. 

“On The Ground”

“What goes up must come down,” says Rosé in her debut single that is centered around coming back to reality and down to earth. “On The Ground” illustrates that the glitz and glam is not exactly what it seems to be. This alternative pop song dives into how she has worked so hard and gained so much to be in the position where she is now. However, it can be a lonely, fake, and cold road at the top. After a lot of reflecting, the realization of everything she needs is back on the ground. While the song has a dark edge to it, “On The Ground” is catchy and addictive thanks to the experimental use of electro and synth with pop influences. It’s quite the departure from her usual cute and bubbly persona that many are used to seeing when doing activities with her bandmates. 

The music video, in true BLACKPINK style, has a heavy emphasis on the fashion and the visuals. While there is no choreography shown in the music video, it’s the elements of things falling (such as a chandelier and meteor speeding out of the sky) and Rosé’s multiple stages of herself that drive the meaning of coming back down to earth. Whether it be the version of herself that is above the clouds and in the mix of fame and fortune or the at-home casual wear, the silver lining comes when Rosé finds the balance between both worlds and centers herself in the end. With its sobering yet humbling feeling, the theme of never forgetting one’s roots and where one comes from makes this music video so good. 

“Gone”

Sticking straight to her acoustic roots, “Gone” is the quintessential heartbreak song that, despite it’s sad themes, will get listeners hooked to the acoustics. Dealing with heartbreak is never an easy thing to do and “Gone” is the perfect example of the emptiness that comes after a break up. It seems that Rosé is on the short end of the stick in this relationship, seeing how her lover is over the relationship even though she doesn’t want to let it go. With her former lover walking away with their love, the lyrics “all my love is dead and gone” have never hit as hard until now. As much as she tries to reach out and refuses to believe that her former lover chose to leave her with a broken heart, the pain is evident with how she was left used and played. Although there is no music video for the song, fans were treated to a preview video that was released prior to the drop of her single, begging for the full release of the video to happen. 

Rosé stuns with her debut single and brings the artist to a brand new edge that many have been waiting for. As a debut, Rosé delivered a solid single album and there is hope that there is another opportunity in the future that she or the other members will have their moment to shine with another solo release.