rosie

The record

rosie is Rosé’s first solo full-length album, released worldwide on 6 December 2024. It carries twelve songs, led by the title track ‘toxic till the end’, and the pre-released ‘APT.’ and ‘number one girl’ sit among them. The album introduction states that Rosé took part in writing the words and music of every track.

NME quoted what she wrote about the title on Instagram when she announced the record: “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.”

Reviews

Clash’s Robin Murray reviewed the album on the day of release. He began with the care taken over its making — Rosé signalled her solo era with ‘On The Ground’ in 2021, and “she’s waited years to unleash this, making sure each detail is carefully considered”. He called it “a record littered with towering pop peaks” and “a record that moves between darkness and light”, one on which “ROSÉ is unafraid to fuse the two”. His review closes: “‘rosie’ is a triumph. Constructed amid huge expectation, ROSÉ exceeds the hopes fans had set out – her solo epoch is transformational.”

NME’s Crystal Bell published her review three days later. She wrote that the album “marks a departure from the meticulously crafted world she’s inhabited for more than a decade, offering a glimpse into her identity”, and that “heartache, loss, anger, and desire simmer in its 12 tracks, capturing the messy, emotional spectrum of love in your twenties”. On the singing she wrote: “One of the most notable aspects of ‘Rosie’ is the way Rosé wields her voice, dancing between contrasts.”

Rolling Stone’s Maura Johnston reviewed it the same day it arrived. The album, she wrote, “is no imperial-phase victory lap from a haughty A-lister. Instead, it’s an appealing showcase of Rosé’s chameleonic personality and straightforwardly winsome vocals.” She noted that “Rosé executive-produced Rosie and co-wrote each of its 12 tracks, a sign of her versatility and pop savvy”, and that “despite all its angst, Rosie has a lightness that makes it an inviting listen”.

Idology (아이돌로지) chose the album for its 2024 albums of the year. Mano, who wrote the entry, put the interest of Rosé’s solo run down to this record being the first on which the artist’s own character and identity come out whole, and called it excellent in the way the songs are placed — the single cuts ‘number one girl’, ‘toxic till the end’ and ‘APT.’ set at the right points so that the pacing and the breathing of the record are controlled around them.

IZM’s Han Seong-hyun reviewed the album at the end of December. He wrote that putting her name on every credit as a singer-songwriter, and washing off the group image at a stroke, was a large achievement.

Among the tracks

‘number one girl’ opens the album. NME wrote that it is “a piano ballad born from sleepless nights spent doomscrolling through social media comments”, and IZM’s Han Seong-hyun named it the song that goes deepest into her interior on the record, calling it a meta account of the disillusion and the fixation felt by a perfectly manufactured product.

Of the title track ‘toxic till the end’, NME wrote that “Rosé candidly positions herself not just as the victim but as a willing participant in the cycle of frustration”. Rolling Stone picked out the aside “Ladies and gentlemen, the ex” as one of the touches that keep the record light while it deals in anxiety.

Clash named the ballad lyricism of ‘stay a little longer’ and the slight Americana touches on ‘not the same’ among the album’s most effective moments. Rolling Stone wrote that “the ex lament ‘Gameboy’ balances on an acoustic-guitar loop in a way that recalls early-’00s pop&B”.