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.
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
