Blackpink's Rosé Becomes The First Female K-Pop Idol To Enter Billboard Top 10

Blackpink’s Rosé has added another milestone to her growing list of achievements. Her single “APT”, a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, has landed at the 8th position on the Billboard Weekly Charts. With this feat, Rosé becomes the first female K-pop artist and the fifth K-pop singer overall to break into the top 10 of the weekly chart, following legends like BTS and Psy.

Record-Breaking Streams

The Rosé-Bruno Mars collaboration has set new benchmarks on Spotify:

• 700 Million Streams: “APT” became the third-fastest song in history to reach this milestone.
• 100 Million in 7 Days: The track shattered records as the fastest by a K-pop female solo artist and the second fastest for any K-pop singer to achieve this.
• Rosé’s album “Rosie” has all its tracks surpassing 10 million streams, making it the fastest album by a female K-pop soloist to do so.

The Song Of Korean Protests

Earlier in December, South Korea witnessed the declaration of a martial law, followed by widespread protests and impeachement of the President. Amidst the political instability, the protestors came to the street singing popular songs. Many young women in their 20s and 30s — fans of various K-pop groups — brought their light sticks to the demonstrations and danced and chanted along to K-pop hits like aespa’s “Whiplash,” Rosé’s “APT.” and SHINee’s "Ring Ding Dong" (2009). Protesters altered the lyrics to criticise President Yoon and demand his impeachment. It was, in their words, a way to generate engagement and keep young people attracted. 

Koreans staging a peaceful protest outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne singing APT. @numberoneHQ#rosiebyROSÉ       #ROSÉ_rosie       #rosesarerosie   #ROSÉ pic.twitter.com/70VZlnFiJY

— Colourmeblue99 (@ColourMeBlue99) December 15, 2024

Inspired From A Drinking Game

Yes, you heard that right. APT is short for apartment, pronounced "apateu", which draws from a Korean drinking game Rosé loves, in which players stack hands to match a called-out number—the person whose hand lands on top takes a shot.

In an interview with Vogue, Rosé explained the inspiration behind the track: "APT' is a Korean drinking game that I love to play with my friends. We were hanging out in the studio, and I thought, why not teach them some Korean drinking games? That's how the song started."

This playful hand-stacking move even works its way into the song’s choreography, adding an interactive edge to the beat. The New Zealand-born singer was dubious of the appropriateness of the song. In the same interview with Vogue, she admitted: "I went home thinking, 'Is this too lighthearted?' But when people loved it, we finished it."