On The Ground

Album: R (2021)
Charted: 43 70
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the lead single from R, Blackpink member Rosé's first solo release. The record's title symbolizes not only the first letter of the singer's name, but also her new beginning as a solo artist.
  • Roseanne "Rosé" Park was born in New Zealand to South Korean immigrant parents, and at the age of 7, she and her family moved to Australia. In 2012, 16-year-old Rosé successfully auditioned for South Korean record label YG Entertainment and moved alone to Seoul. It was a tough experience as she wasn't used to Korean culture and the pace of training was a shock, but after four years the YG Entertainment team chose Rosé as a member of Blackpink. Here she reflects on her path to becoming a global K-pop superstar and realizing being humble and grounded is what's really important.

    I worked my whole life
    Just to get high, just to realize
    Everything I need is on the
    Everything I need is on the ground


    Having achieved her dreams, Rosé now realizes what really matters is already inside her.
  • Rose wrote the country-flecked electropop song with:

    Amy Allen, whose other credits include Halsey's "Without Me," Harry Styles' "Adore You" and Selena Gomez' "Back to You."

    Jon Bellion and Jorgen Odegard, who both helped Justin Bieber write "Holy." Jon Bellion's other credits include Maroon 5's "Memories" and Miley Cyrus' "Midnight Sky." Jorgen Odegard has also worked with Imagine Dragons ("Bad Liar") and Pink ("Hurts 2B Human").

    Raul Cubina, who helped Jon Bellion co-write his own hit single, "All Time Low." The two contributed to Justin Bieber's "Anyone."

    Frequent Blackpink collaborator Teddy Park.

    Jon Bellion, Jorgen Odegard and Teddy Park co-produced the song alongside Ojivolta (Shawn Mendes "If I Can't Have You") and Korean producer 24.
  • Han Sa-min directed the dreamy video, which features multiple representations of Rosé, including the singer running through explosions and rising from a flower field. "I think the director really tried to portray a timeline of myself, since the song does have the key [phrase] 'whole life,'" she told MTV News. "I've worked my whole life, and so I think he really tried to present the past and present version of myself, and he wanted to see a collided world in that sense."
  • The song broke the record for most YouTube views in one day by a solo K-pop artist, garnering 41.6 million views. Rosé usurped the almost eight-year record set by PSY back in 2013 for his "Gentleman" video, which was viewed 38.4 million times in its first 24 hours.

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