BLACKPINK‘s Rosé has recently opened up about her perspective on K-pop fan culture as an idol in a new interview.
The Korean-Australian singer recently spoke to The New York Times ahead of her anticipated solo debut album, during which she shared some insight into the realities of K-pop fan culture as an idol herself.
“We were trained to always present ourselves in the most perfect, perfect way. And so even when we were interacting with fans online, it was when I was ready to give perfect answers and give them what they wanted. And making sure that I’m a perfect girl for everyone,” she candidly told the outlet, noting that “that was the culture”.
Rosé also shared that the persona she puts on as a K-pop idol was something she had to learn while navigating the industry back when she first debuted. “I feel like the transition of now having to be on camera and being an artist and presenting to the world who I am, that’s something we just had to learn as we went,” the 27-year-old musician said. “The first few years were very difficult for me, personally. But a few years in, I started picking it up and learning.”
She also added that this process continues to be a difficult one for her, even after almost a decade as a K-pop idol. “I think it’s still hard, actually. It kind of never stopped since then,” she noted.
Despite the polished nature of being in a K-pop group, Rosé emphasises that her album ‘rosie’ will be a thematic departure from that. She opened up about how the process of being vulnerable on the record was difficult for her to get used to: “I had moments where I was like: ‘Wait, can we say this? Wait, maybe we shouldn’t put that word in there. Maybe this is too much. Should we not?’”
Rosé most recently released a track titled ‘number one girl’ last week, marking the second cut off ‘rosie’. It comes after her smash hit ‘APT.’ with Bruno Mars, who was also credited as a co-producer on ‘number one girl’. ‘rosie’ is due out in full on December 6.