NEAR TRUTHS: BLUSH OF FAME

With the propulsive pop ditty “APT.,” Atlantic’s ROSÉ has a stone smash—and possibly one of the year’s biggest songs, judging by its first week of activity at Spotify (it’s done about 156m global streams there as of this writing). The willowy BLACKPINK member teamed up with Bruno Mars for the track, and he helped bring a punky drive to ROSÉ’s pop stylings. (Bruno, Cirkut, Omer Fedi and Rogét Chahayed are the credited producers; they co-wrote the cut with ROSÉ, Amy Allen, Theron Thomas, Philip Lawrence, Brody Brown and Chapman-Chinn.) It’s a one-listen monster that sped to #1 on Spotify’s global and USA charts.

The A&R collar for the signing goes to hot Atlantic player G (née Gelareh Rouzbehani), who arrived at the label a year and a half ago after a stint as VP of A&R at Motown, focusing on Black music; among numerous other projects during her tenure there, she oversaw A&R for Lil Yachty. Binta Niambi Brown at Manatt reps ROSÉ for legal.

Elliot Grainge and company not only have a rocket on their hands but also—given ROSÉ’s abundant charisma—possibly a big star. We’ll know a lot more when her album, rosie, arrives on 12/6. Labelmate Bruno, one of the premier collaborators of the era, is proving an MVP as a duet partner for the second time in recent weeks; “Die With a Smile,” his collab with Lady Gaga (via Interscope), has been a dominant track at Spotify since its arrival.

As members of BLACKPINK, ROSÉ, LISA (now on RCA, repped for legal by Josh Binder, who did the deal for her LLOUD COMPANY ) and JENNIE (Columbia, repped by attorney David Byrnes at ZBB) had a partnership with Interscope and Korean company YG Entertainment; the two companies’ enormous combined global reach made the band a phenomenon. ROSÉ is managed worldwide by BLACKPINK’s producer, Teddy Park, who oversees YG subsidiary The Black Label. First as an artist, then producer-songwriter, impresario and executive, he has been a pivotal figure in the growth of K-pop as a global force. While the three singers aren’t inked directly by YG for their solo careers, they remain attached for any future BLACKPINK projects. This begs the question of what happens if the artists’ solo careers gain more traction. A reunion tour and album would likely be massive, as evidenced by the AEG-promoted group’s stadium-heavy BORN PINK tour, splashy Coachella headlining performance and other high-profile festival looks.

This sort of thing is not unprecedented. When One Direction split up, members ended up at Columbia, Republic, Capitol and RCA for their solo projects without any contractual affiliation with 1D label Syco.