NEWS
Fans have known ROSÉ of BLACKPINK for years. But now, they finally get to meet Rosie.
The 27-year-old pop star’s debut solo album rosie arrived Friday (Dec. 6), bringing with it 12 new tracks written during a break from full-band obligations with JISOO, JENNIE and LISA. The dozen of songs include hit single “APT.” with Bruno Mars — which has spent six weeks so far at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 — and “Number One Girl.”
In honor of the album dropping, ROSÉ also unveiled a third single Friday: “toxic till the end,” which is accompanied by a new Ramez Silyan-directed music video co-starring Evan Mock.
BLINKs have been waiting for more than two months to get their hands on rosie, which the “On the Ground” artist first announced Oct. 1. “I have poured my blood and tears into this album,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “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.”
ROSÉ has also been open about how she challenged herself to get vulnerable during the writing sessions for the LP, telling Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe in November that “Number One Girl” specifically was inspired by “feeling so miserable” after reading hate comments about herself. She also touched on Track 7, “Game Boy,” which she alluded to being about an ex-relationship.
“I’d never like the person to know about it, but I would talk about [them] so much,” she told Lowe. “I needed to get it off my chest.”
The performer’s solo exhibition comes a little over two years after BLACKPINK’s last album, Born Pink, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. After a year of touring, the girls dispersed to focus on solo projects, and a band reunion is expected to take place in 2025.
Stream ROSÉ’s debut solo album rosie below.
Smashing Pumpkins are hoping to bring their A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness production to the Las Vegas Sphere for a one of a kind performance centered around the legendary 1995 album.
Billy Corgan is stepping away from traditional rock venues and leaning into the world of opera with his large scale A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness tour, which transforms the band’s iconic record into a full orchestral and operatic experience.
Even though the group has not officially been invited to perform at the cutting edge venue in Las Vegas, Corgan admitted he would immediately embrace the opportunity.
Speaking with KROQ, he explained: “It’s a no-doubter for us. We just haven’t been asked yet.
“See, if the Sphere came to us and said, ‘We’d love you to do all of Mellon Collie with that production.’ Now, that makes sense to me to do something like that, to build the show around the album.
"Then you have a chance to recast the songs and the music in a different dynamic.”
The performance sees Corgan joined by acclaimed solo vocalists and complete orchestras, reshaping some of Smashing Pumpkins’ most beloved songs into expansive classical arrangements.
The project first premiered in Chicago and received overwhelming praise, with audiences and reviewers applauding the powerful reinterpretations of songs such as 1979 and Tonight, Tonight.
Corgan shared that the experience has become one of the most meaningful achievements of his artistic journey.
He said: “The success of translating Mellon Collie into operatic and classical form has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Where on each of the 7 sold out nights in Chicago, we’d finish within the raucous wave of a standing ovation. So to now take it on the road, and to Europe, too says this magical dream doesn’t have to end.”
The production was developed by Corgan alongside Grammy nominated conductor James Lowe, who added: "It has been so gratifying to discover how the nuances and layers of Mellon Collie reveal themselves in fresh new ways in these symphonic, choral and operatic settings. To now have the opportunity to perform this work in Europe with world class musicians in such important venues is nothing short of thrilling."
The lineup features vocalists Ed Parks, Sydney Mancasola, Zoie Reams, Dominick Valdes Chenes and Dean Murphy. The wardrobe for the production was created by House of Gilles designers Gilles Mendel and Chloé Mendel Corgan.
The upcoming run will include several September performances throughout the UK, Belgium, France and Spain, highlighted by two special evenings at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
