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rosesnthornz · 5 months

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🌹 — ROSES is the first KOREAN LANGUAGE full album by LEE JANG-MI, released on august 9th, 2019 by YG ENTERTAINMENT. it consists of TWELVE tracks, including the title track “BELLA DONNA.” released to much acclaim and commercial success, the album was seen as one of the best debuts in the industry, and it was the MOST SUCCESSFUL debut album by a female soloist under YG in south korea until the release of ME in 2023. however, it remains the most successful debut album by a soloist under YG internationally.

🌹 — TRACK LISTING !

SHE ! PRE-RELEASE SINGLE

BELLA DONNA ! LEAD SINGLE

ROUGE ! B-SIDE

ANYTHING BUT

GOING, GOING, GONE

LIKE THAT

DIFFERENT

UP THE WALL / 벽 위로

BY THE PHONE (AGAIN) / 다시

ROLL

YOU AND I

SAY THE WORD

🌹 — COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE !

once pre-orders for ROSES began shortly after the release of “SHE,” the album was quick to sell. within the first week, it surpassed 700,000 pre-orders. within two weeks, it cracked a MILLION pre-orders, becoming the first album by a female soloist to reach such a milestone

“SHE” itself was just as much of a success. it debuted atop the SPOTIFY daily chart, and with over 200,000 units sold, it debuted at number one on the BILLBOARD HOT 100, becoming the first korean language track by a female soloist to top the chart. to JANG-MI’s surprise, it also topped the GAON chart, and won FOUR music show awards. the song remained atop the BILLBOARD chart for FOUR consecutive weeks, while it remained atop the GAON chart for THREE

ROSES saw further success upon its release. within its first week, it sold over 1.5 MILLION copies worldwide, becoming the highest selling album by a female k-pop soloist until it was surpassed four years later. it topped the BILLBOARD 200 with over 300,000 units sold, and also topped charts in japan, the united kingdom, france, germany, the netherlands, australia, and the the philippines. as of 2023, ROSES has sold over 7 MILLION copies worldwide

the album’s lead single “BELLA DONNA” managed to surpass the success seen by “SHE.” with a little over 300,000 units sold, it topped the BILLBOARD HOT 100, remaining there for a staggering SIX weeks. it topped charts in countless other countries, including south korea, where it debuted atop the GAON chart and remained there for FOUR weeks. it became the MOST STREAMED track on SPOTIFY within its first twenty-four hours, and would end up winning NINE music show awards, including a TRIPLE CROWN on M COUNTDOWN

following the release of “ROUGE” as a single, it was quick to replace “BELLA DONNA” on the charts. remaining atop the BILLBOARD HOT 100 chart for THREE weeks and atop the GAON chart for TWO, it won TWO music show awards. it fell into the top ten after its tenure on the charts, but after gaining traction on tiktok, the track rose to a surprising number two on the BILLBOARD chart. additionally, upon the album’s release, every track on it ended up occupying a spot on the ITUNES chart. it also garnered numerous awards at end of the year award shows, including ALBUM OF THE YEAR at the MAMAs

🌹 — CRITICAL RECEPTION !

as expected, ROSES was met with immense critical acclaim. like JANG-MI’s previous works, this album saw the most praise for her vocal performance and lyricism, as well as for the album’s production. as most of the tracks were written, composed, and produced by JANG-MI, many critics claimed that it added to the album’s more personal subject matter when it called for it, making it much more “raw”

receiving a 90 on METACRITIC, this album became one of JANG-MI’s most critically acclaimed albums to date. critics and fans alike fell in love with the richness of its production, as well as for the nuances in her lyrics and the more “gothic”and elegant concept in an industry where girl crush was becoming the norm. many claim that a standout track is “ROUGE,” as its production is a “feast for the ears,” and the lyrics discussing a toxic, failed relationship are some of JANG-MI’s best. other favorites include the pre-release track and the lead single, as well as “ANYTHING BUT,” “LIKE THAT,” “UP THE WALL,” “BY THE PHONE (AGAIN),” and “SAY THE WORD.” the use of R&B in the tracks is seen as one of JANG-MI’s signatures, and the public was pleased to see that it was utilized in her first korean album in addition to more traditional sounding pop

the last track is especially a favorite, as it’s more vocal heavy ballad that was written and composed by JANG-MI in a mere thirty minutes. it discusses the feeling of abandonment, desire to be loved, and confusion that she hadn’t been able to shake for over two decades, which came with the sudden experience of being ripped away from her biological parents before she even got to meet them. critics constantly praised this track, calling it the rawest and most personal one on ROSES

the public ate up this album, claiming it was one of the best debuts in the industry and expressing astonishment that such rich, nuanced production came from YG, especially in its more recent years. although TEDDY PARK handled a lot of the album’s production (alongside MOONSHOT and SHINSADONG TIGER), JANG-MI had complete control over the creative direction, composition, arrangement, and she would constantly give her two cents while in the studio, which explains the album’s depth and diversity. by the end of the year, ROSES was listed on the rankings of many publications and was lauded across the world

🌹 — STYLING !

the styling was so distinct this era, but still very cohesive !

there were flowy fabrics and lighter colors used for “SHE,” shades of red and flower motifs for “BELLA DONNA,” and lace + gothic elements for “ROUGE” ! there was also some corsets used here and there, especially from vivienne westwood

a lot of mirror palais and dior used too sjiwjs like yg went all out for her !

her makeup was very put together for “SHE” and “BELLA DONNA,” featuring soft eyeshadow in shades of pink, red, silver, or white. there were lots of sparkles used, as well as pearls, bows, or flowers around her eyes ! there was this one stage where a lot of pink blush was used on her cheeks, and for “BELLA DONNA,” her signature was red lipstick !

the makeup for “ROUGE” was dark all over, with heavy, smudged eyeliner and colors such as dark purple, dark red, and black. the sparkles were more minimal, but rhinestones were used around JANG-MI’s eyes, and sometimes, her mascara would be done in a way to make it look like she’d been crying ! there were crosses painted around her eyes, broken hearts painted on her cheeks, the whole nine yards !

the styling for her music videos was also insane ! it was so princess like for “SHE,” with lots of florals, corsets, and dresses used ! “BELLA DONNA,” of course, had a lot of cut outs, rose motifs, and shades of red, while “ROUGE” was a combination of the two !

the budget was crazy too bc there was archive mugler, vivienne westwood, dior, and chanel all over the place ! and ofc, JANG-MI had a hand in the styling, as well, bc she put together over twenty outfits for her music videos !

the fashion girlies were eating her looks up, though ! like she truly looked incredible

🌹 — ERA HIGHLIGHTS !

although she was exhausted due to release of her english album earlier in the year, jang-mi had so much fun during this era !

prior to the album’s release, some pretty unique teasers were released !

we got four posters that looked like they were ripped straight out of a vogue editorial, two concept videos (titled “ROSA” + “SPINA”), a moving poster (!!), and a highlight medley in the form of live performances !

the music video teasers were also incredible bc they truly looked like a movie

now buckle up bc a lot happened after the album’s release sjhdjdk

thirty minutes before the release of “BELLA DONNA,” there was a countdown livestream held, and it was so funny bc her staff intentionally chose questions that would annoy her sjiwjsjsk

they even chose questions that she answered already and jang-mi was yelling her head off ! she was tired y’all

at the end, she was asked to give a spoiler, and she almost danced to the entire chorus of her song BSMSJD her staff were all “that’s too much !” and jang-mi was sitting there cheesing

had to get her revenge !

following the music video’s release (which got 70 MILLION views within its first twenty-four hours !), jang-mi was everywhere !

all over korean television, doing a thousand magazine interviews (her puppy interview with buzzfeed is a fan favorite always !), appearing on radio shows, and she even got herself a lil vogue korea cover !

her running man episode was so good ! she was absolutely hilarious, and all the yelling she did gave knetz a new meme sjdksh

she was also on when mom’s asleep ! the promo was serious !

and oh her showcase, y’all,, jang-mi had a crowd of 30,000 at gocheok sky dome,, that many people for a SHOWCASE !

it was fun and it was your typical showcase, but then she found out that her family and her boyfriend came,, oh girl she cried like a baby,, and reportedly, they all took a picture backstage, but we simply never got it

jang-mi wants to protect the identities of her family, and that’s okay !

afterwards, we got a lil live performance on youtube ! it was like tiny desk but not really, and oooo girl that video went so viral

we know jang-mi can sing, but she hit a whistle note during “UP THE WALL” and practically parted the red sea

the band renditions were also so good ! till this day, fans are still begging yg for a live album skjdkdj

at the end of the year, she was a headliner at new year’s rockin’ eve ! she hadn’t been since 2016, so ny rosies were thrilled

girl the labelmate support was strong !

jang-mi was making tiktoks with blackpink almost every day ! when she did the #RougeChallenge (which was HUGE) with lisa the world truly stopped

and girl she and jennie became THEE duo in kpop that year ! just two mothers mothering like

the girls even showed up to jang-mi’s showcase !

and it was too sweet bc they literally trained together ! like at that point they hadn’t seen each other in four YEARS, and then they literally reunited after they both found success like how prophetic is that !

those girls were jang-mi’s best friends when she was a trainee like </3 the reunion was everything truly

and omg the jangtan interactions !

they were crossing paths all over the place like skhwjdjd and they already met during the amas in 2017 so ! they were sat next to each other at award shows, they took pictures at new year’s rockin’ eve, and their tiktok pages were FULL of each other for a good two weeks MSNKJSJS

and she and namjoon clicked ! they were discussing literature every time they saw each other

jang-mi also had a few japanese promos ! she was on the cover of vivi (with a lil rockstar concept going on !), and ofc, she was also all over japanese tv skiwjsj held an album press conference there, too !

all in all, an incredible debut ! jang-mi had to rest for the next 5 years, but the public loved her and she truly made waves <33