Pochette officielle du single — credit THEBLACKLABEL
Four years after the global smash “APT.” with Bruno Mars, ROSÉ is back with music of her own. The BLACKPINK member dropped “new trick” on Friday, a pop-rock single paired with a music video shot entirely on an iPhone 18 Pro. It’s her first solo release of the year, and the opening move of a new chapter she’s building outside the group’s shadow.
A song built to bounce back
Produced by THEBLACKLABEL, “new trick” leans into a rougher sound than the ballads that first defined ROSÉ’s solo work. The label describes a “garage punk” energy and lyrics about finding a way through hard times and pushing forward despite the obstacles. It’s a deliberate shift: after the heartbreak of “APT.” and the tenderness of “stay a little longer,” she’s now going for something more direct, almost defiant, about breaking up and rebuilding.
For the track, she reunited with two of her most trusted collaborators: songwriter Amy Allen, who co-wrote “APT.,” and producer Andrew Wells, who worked on “stay a little longer.” That continuity in her creative team confirms ROSÉ now has a genuinely distinct solo sound, built single by single over the past few years, separate from BLACKPINK’s.
An iPhone-shot video, an instant viral hit
The video, directed by Dave Meyers, was filmed entirely on an iPhone 18 Pro as part of Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign. It follows ROSÉ enjoying summer, playing with a band and hanging out at a skatepark — a loose, sun-drenched look that’s a world away from the polished, heavily produced visuals typical of K-pop. The technical bet paid off in impact terms: the video passed five million views in just eight hours online.
The format choice isn’t trivial for an artist whose fanbase is among the most active and most global in the industry. By opting for a deliberately rawer setup than a traditional shoot, ROSÉ and her team are telling a more personal story, shot almost at phone height, that stands apart from the spectacular staging usually associated with BLACKPINK.
One of BLACKPINK’s voices, building a solo lane
Since 2023, ROSÉ has methodically built a solo career running in parallel with the group’s, spanning the album “rosie,” the international success of “APT.,” and a run of carefully chosen collaborations. “new trick” confirms she’s no longer just “the BLACKPINK member who also sings solo,” but a pop artist in her own right, with a sound identity that belongs to her.
She isn’t the only member sharpening her solo identity this year: Jennie has also refined her own signature sound with “Less than a Lover,” a sign that all four BLACKPINK members are pushing forward with personal careers without ever fully stepping away from the group. That strategy, now well established among K-pop’s biggest acts, lets each artist reach different audiences while keeping anticipation alive for the group’s next comeback.
No date has been announced yet for a longer project around “new trick,” nor for any solo tour. But the launch is a clean one: between her fanbase’s reach, Apple’s promotional backing, and a single that holds its own against her previous work, ROSÉ confirms she’s one of pop’s safest bets right now — well beyond her original group.
The timing also says something about where K-pop’s biggest export is heading. A few years ago, a member stepping out solo mid-cycle was treated as a side project between comebacks. Today, for a group with BLACKPINK’s global reach, those solo runs are full-scale campaigns in their own right — brand partnerships, dedicated production teams, distinct visual identities — that build audiences who may never watch a group show but will stream every solo drop. “new trick” fits squarely into that shift, and it’s a good early signal for how ROSÉ will use the rest of the year.
