I haven’t listened to Rosé’s debut album yet, but judging from the promotion so far I feel that the raucous Bruno Mars duet APT. will be a sonic outlier. It’s always annoying when an album’s biggest hit sounds nothing like any other song surrounding it. This is less of a concern in the age of streaming, but back when we had to purchase fifteen-to-twenty dollar CDs it felt like a real betrayal.
This is going to be a very obvious (and possibly annoying) comparison, but a song like Toxic Till The End exists in a post-Taylor Swift universe. Rosé is a different type of vocalist and performer with a far different background, but Toxic‘s diaristic lyricism and soft, synth-meets-guitar atmosphere feel very familiar. Even the punchy, anthemic chorus has a similar energy to highlights from Swift’s catalog. What I’m getting at here is that it’s hard to feel a distinct artistic personality emanating from Rosé’s music. This song is perfectly serviceable but could have come from just about anyone looking to score a radio hit in 2024.
On the plus side, Rosé’s voice fits this style particularly well. There’s enough character in her tone to make Toxic Till The End work despite its generic leanings. I don’t think I’m the target audience for this and likely won’t be seeking it out, but I much prefer Toxic‘s hearty arrangement and singalong chorus to last month’s more reserved Number One Girl. Neither holds a candle to APT.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is like, so western, which inherently isn’t bad, but if we gave this to western singer to perform nobody would really care
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This song is fine. Its probably my second favorite on the album. The album is just too tedious for me. Its kind of just this song but gets progressively slower as the album moves along. This album is just a boring western album that doesn’t really sound like anything and I forget about as soon as its over. Except APT. That song is great. Does not fit on the album at all and comes out of nowhere but its my favorite by far
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how is the mixing on your end? the mixing on some of the songs doesn’t sound good on my end. the vocals are processed and autotuned a bit too much on some of them. they don’t sound raw like the way i thought it would be since the album was marketed as a “singer-songwriter” album. i gotta say she needs to work on her lyrics. the lyrics are a bit too childish. i did not expect those lyrics considering her age.
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To be fair, I don’t think she has ever considered to be a singer-songwriter until recently. Unless you are a genius, nobody will be as good as Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen right from the start. What I’m trying to say is cut her some slack. Yes, she’s 27. But the thing is she’s been a Kpop idol for these past 7 years. At very least, she is trying her best to be a real singer-songwriter.
I’m not really her fan, but I must admit she got some guts to pour out this childish or lovelorn feelings onto this album. So what her lyrics are a bit silly? She’ll get better in the years to come.
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It didn’t sound good on my end either. It sounds like they rushed it out for the holiday season but they needed a little while longer to finish.
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The most positive things I can think of from her solo era are:
I hope she’ll continue writing! Not just about heartbreak(s), also about love!
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I don’t understand the persona that Rosé wants to propose musically. Seriously, out of so many good artists, you choose Taylor Swift’s approach? Ew…
7.5 (7, 8, 8, 7) however
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yall act like taylor swift is the worst musical artist of all time but there’s a reason she’s the most consumed artist worldwide for a reason and that is not bcs of bad music
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and that doesn’t change the fact that one of the reasons she is famous goes beyond her talent, which in this case is the media overexposing her personal life, public disputes, victimization, highly calculated marketing strategies
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what a hater
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I don’t see myself as a hater, but if that’s the way you interpret me, ok
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bro i think the song is great, like show some respect.
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like bro, show some respect the song is great
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this is a Taylor Swift song, there is not one difference. Harmony, production, melody. It’s a mid Taylor Swift song made by AI.
It’s not terrible but can’t give this a good rating. It’s puzzling.
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May she record nothing but novelty songs from now on…6/10
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I thought this website reviews kpop songs? Has that changed? I see japanese,english reviews too
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Nick has always done Jpop too, usually those with a Kpop connection. There is a regular general “Jpop round-up” feature too for those purer Jpop songs that he likes a lot.
As for songs wholly in English, only if there is a good reason more connected to Kpop (eg a top tier group or solo), so its rare but it does happen from time to time.
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Taylor Swift is many things, the biggest this that and the other thing. The highest selling in how ever many years etc etc. Yeah, and the Toyota Corolla is the highest selling car ever. Its a fine car. I had a Honda Accord back in my students days, also on the list, and that was a fine car.
This is a fine song.
Semi-related: last week, out of the blue, Darling daughter asks me “what does ah peh tee mean?”. Even for someone like her who doesn’t social media much at all, it has filtered through the american high school set. That makes it a hit of a special kind. Good for Rose’.
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appateu is apartment in Korean, the song is based off of a drinking game commonly played in korea
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This sounds identical to TS’s biggest pop songs.
ATP heavily sampled other songs like That’s Not My Name’s The Ting Tings, Mickey by Toni Basil, Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz. It used the most popular chord progression, which is used in Night Changes by 1D and used in hundreds of pop smash hits.
Rose’s new music is intentionally made to sound as radio friendly and as generic as possible, leaving no room for originality and creativity.
This is what people call ‘white girl music’, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But is Rose’s branding intentionally made her pass as a blond white pop star? Who knows? It is giving Western artists overtanning to look like another race to fit in the audience they target.
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Is it me or Korean idols are trying to hard to get white people’s validation?
Rose bleached both her skin and hair, got her facial structures rearranged to fit eurocentric beauty, then adapting to this white blond popstar image and, what is important most: sound.
Jungkook did the same thing with his music, he made music identical to early 2000s white pop boygroups.
Kpop idols need to have some originality. Meanwhile babymonster is trying to act as if they grew up in the hood and pumping out songs like clik clak.
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I don’t think that K-Pop idols are trying to get validation from white people, but from everyone in Western pop music. I say that popstars and Western pop music have always had an influence on K-Pop, but not at the level it is at today. It seems that more artists want to be like others than to really show a hint of their lineage. We cannot judge, because despite everything this is a choice that goes beyond what we can control
For example, a few days ago former Now United member Heyoon debuted solo, she could sing or promote herself in Korean, being your language. She herself has admitted that she would be in a K-Pop group if she hadn’t joined the former Now United. So… what to do if she wants to be sensual like any other Western artist like her debut? It’s disappointing, yes, but what can we do?
In fact, this kind of thing doesn’t just happen in K-pop, many of the artists who are part of MPB (or “Brazilian Popular Music”… my country) are trying to promote themselves in Western pop, thus moving from singing in Portuguese to singing completely in English
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Kpop’s desperation for the US’s validation is painful to look at.
Being influenced is fine. But these kpop idols are carefully crafting music that mimics overplayed pop hits and it is embarrassing. Their branding is crafted to target American audience.
I hate hate it when Kpop idols put on this ‘tough gangsta from the hood’, mimic accents when rapping. It feels more like mocking black stereotypes. flexing about money, gold, diamond, jewelry, brand name dropping,. Sigh!
and then you have this song, which was crafted to sound exactly like TS’s biggest hits. The production is way too similar. The curly blond hair, bleached skin, eurocentric facial features, heartbroken girl image.
and then you have BTS’s soloists try hard to make generic white boy pop music with generic lyrics. They bleach the hell out of their skin.
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K-pop has always sought to be recognized globally, so I would say its artists are seeking for success in every part of the world. About the surgeries, I think there’s more to it than wanting to look “Western,” putting it like that is very simplistic. With South Korea being so popular for procedures on your face, especially in the entertaiment industry since forever, i’m not sure why this observation about physical appereance would apply only to Rosé and Jungkook, it comes from generations ago. While I was a pre-teen and teenager you would still hear controversies about Girls’ Generation members, for example, getting surgeries.
For the BABYMONSTER comment, I’m not sure what type of K-pop you’ve been listening to but YG has always used hip-hop trends with their artists. Everything needs to come from a reference, a source material. I’m not sure what groups or soloists you listen to, but I guarantee you they all inspire or use Western music to some extend.
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The problem is not that you take Western pop music as a reference. As I mentioned above, K-Pop has always been inspired by music from outside, Fidget House shows this, he summarized many sounds from years like 2012. The problem is really the subjectivity and the doubt of thinking about how authentic they are: What they are being and what they are limiting themselves about. And yes, this happens a lot more in K-Pop today. Before it was more of a question of “doing this right” to “following this hype”
And you’re right when you say that YG has always taken advantage of hip-hop in a certain way. Now, if you say that things are as they always were, that performance is as it was before, then you will be deceiving yourself, no matter how abstract each taste is
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I think the discussion behind “authenticity” in K-pop is really not that deep. In most cases, these songs are produced and written for them. In other cases, the companies buy the songs from foreign producers and songwriters.
Of course, there have been exceptions and there are currently exceptions with groups like Stray Kids or (G)I-DLE, who have members participating actively in the creative process. I guess that makes them more authentic.
I never read too much into the authenticity part, mainly because I know that K-pop and some of their idols will not necessarily be artistically inclined. They are mostly giving performances, great dancing, and great vocals (some members of specific groups). I’ve never seen K-pop as the place to find “authenticity” or “artistry,” if I did I would be reading too much into it.
I definitely see your assessment though, and it is very fair. As a listener and a fan, everyone has the right to question the music they’re listening to.
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I never said only Jungkook and Rose were getting surgeries to look more eurocentric. It is okay to have surgeries, it is okay to change yourself to look european. But it is getting more and more blatant, not only from the look, but to the music.
Kpop has always wanted to look eurocentric and it is a fact. But it is getting more and more blatant since kpop is sounding more and more like generic overplayed songs on the US’s charts.
YG’s artists have always put on the fake ‘gangsta and hood’ act. G Dragon tried so hard to act like a black stereotype in many of his songs. It is not influenced, it is mimicking. YG artists mimick black stereotype and drop the act when they are done performing. I mention BM because clik clak is a new song.
It is getting more and more blatant in Kpop. From the look, to the demeanor, to the music, kpop is more and more desperate for American validation.
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Why should any listen to this? Or cre about it?
Literal nothingburger.
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While i’m not the biggest fan of this type of pop sound (confessional, singer/songwriter) I truly can’t escape this coming from Rosé, especially because if I like an artist voice, I will most likely give a chance to anything they put out.
Hearing this song in particular, I can feel the Taylor Swift references. it specifically takes me back to her Red era. It is no lie that Taylor has inspired a generation of artists in their approach to songwriting and music style. I’m not a fan of every album of hers and I think she’s had a few misses in her career, but when Taylor has done good music it is very good. For that reason it is no surprised that she’s referenced by other people.
This song in particular I think it’s catchy and I wanted to hear it since she shared a snipped of it on social media. I can’t really say I love this sound, but as generic as it can be, I find it well produced and sung well.
A 7 to me.
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This sounds identical to TS’s biggest pop hits. There is a difference between being influenced and straight up covering someone else’s song.
this song is more of a cover, with rewritten lyrics on an already made instrumental.
from the curly bleached dyed blond hair, to the bleached skin, to the artificial eurocentric facial features, to the songwriter/singer heartbroken girl trope with a guitar,
I wish kpop were more original. They either minic black artists or minic white artists. Not only about the music, but also about the looks, the demeanors, the tropes.
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Sis, it’s literally not that serious. And chill with the physical appearance criticism, it’s not cute at all.
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Only two things stand out, her angelic voice and the fact that she wrote the songs, which is a win for kpop idols unfortunately, other than that nothing was giving.
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I really wish she had gone the “You Oughta Know” bitter ex route rather than the Swiftian style.
I don’t hate “breakup albums” on principle because I love Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” and Beck’s “Sea Change” for example, but diary pop is so widespread these days that I’m really tired of hearing about people’s crappy exes. Unless you’re a poetry level song-writer good at shedding new light on a topic with every song, just put a “Shout Out to My Ex” at the beginning of your album and sing about some other things!
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For me personally I prefer sarcastic/sardonic lyricism. The kind you will cry and laugh at your own stupidity. The type Morrissey would write. Break up songs can be done in various ways.
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thanks
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I’m having the same issue with rosé’s solo music that I had with Tiffany Young’s releasing many songs of fine quality but all being reminiscent of someone else. All music is gonna be reminiscent of something else at this point but with those two it was at a distracting degree. I think the aspect of those two coming from kpop groups with limited input didn’t actually let develop their own musical identities so they’re releasing music that they like without much of a vision
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yall, the reason her song sounds like a TS song is bc Taylor helped her with some of the songs in the album
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I love this one. Then again I love Taylor Swift (beside k-pop). This sounds like a nod to Taylor Swift or Avril Lavigne. I’m not saying it’s the song of the year but it’s definitely GOOD. Is it western? Yeah totally. But GOOD. I can’t fault the lyrics or the melodies, they’re both excellent; and thankfully the lyrics are waaaay better than what other groups (cough cough *Twice*) have been putting out. If this sounds childish to you then the lyrics in “Strategy” must sound good for primary school.
This is a 9/10 to me (it’s not a 10 cause that’s for the level of APT, Supernova etc).
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