These days, we have improved technology that made our lives much simpler and easier. As life gets more simplified, entertainment materials such as social media, video platforms, and video games have also emerged. As many people became internet users, they started to make trends in their society. The range of trends has become more expansive as time passes. Music, pictures, and even non-meaning words could be a trend.
On Friday, October 18, 2024, there was a big boom in trend and music society. Rosé, one of the Kpop members called Blank Pink, released her solo song, “APT’. (ROSÉ) It was a big shock to Rosé’s fans and other netizens because her music was revealed by the world-famous singer Bruno Mars. Rosé’s new song has spread worldwide at the speed of light. It has started to spread on every social media platform, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and other networks. How did this song become one of the most popular trends of this year? What made it so popular? What are the behinds in this song? What does ‘APT’ exactly mean?
The song APT was released on October 18, 2024, with the collaboration of Rosé and Bruno Mars, and it is included in Rosé’s first solo album, ‘Rosie.'(ROSÉ) How did she collaborate with Bruno Mars? At the time when Rosé signed a solo contract with Atlantic Records, Rosé said that she asked Bruno Mars if she could collaborate with him. And she also mentioned that she thought Bruno would refuse the offer. Fortunately, Bruno asked Rosé to pitch three songs.
Still, she never knew Bruno would collaborate on a song with her. “He told me to send three songs, and I thought, ‘This is not going to happen, but the fact that he’s even going to listen to three songs and that was still huge to me.” (Z100 New York) Bruno asked Rosé about the meaning of APT(Apateu), and he immediately accepted her collaboration after hearing that APT is a Korean drinking game. “When I met him, he asked me, ‘What does APT mean?’ and I said, ‘It’s a Korean drinking game.’ He seemed impressed, and I was freaked out like, ‘What? This is happening!’ and then the rest is history.” (Z100 New York)
Even though the song was released immediately without any promotion or notice, APT became a new trend in the short term. APT started to dominate all social media and music apps, such as Instagram, Facebook, Melon Chart, Apple Music, YouTube, and more. A lot of networks have issued this song through different kinds of media. It could be found in videos, music charts, and short-formed videos. She even achieved the highest record for a K-pop female by ranking 8th on Billboard’s main indie chart, ‘HOT 100’. (Melon) ‘APT,’ which contains the retro sensibility of the 90s, is believed to have gained tremendous popularity due to the catchy Korean pronunciation of ‘apateu’ and the addictive chorus.
In addition, it was a big shock to spectators to hear about the collaboration between K-pop idol group members and world-famous single singers. In Korea, it is also called a huge success. It was also able to see Koreans love APT. (Instagram) Of course, the song’s catchy melody fascinated their mind; most people seemed to love it because APT, the traditional Korean drinking game, became a part of the song’s main theme. Eventually, APT became the fastest and most famous trend in October.
Its trend started to go up just after the release, and various secondary creations are also coming out. For example, on social media, such as Instagram and TikTok, many people started to post about the song and music videos and even cover the song’s dance. (Instagram) (TikTok) Additionally, some comedians on YouTube made parody videos of APT, (YouTube) giving the audience lots of laughter and fun. This way, Rosé and Bruno Mars’ apartment has become a big new trend for the second half 2024.
What exactly is APT? When does it use it? APT, pronounced as ‘apateu,’ is a Konglish apartment. Most of the people in Korea use the word ‘Apateu’ instead of an apartment. And this word is also used to play a game in a drinking place. In the music video of APT, there is a scene where Bruno Mars and Rosé sit together and gather their hands. And the lyrics go ‘APT, APT, Uh, uhuhuh’. What Rosé and Bruno Mars were doing was a real-life existing game. Rosé also mentioned that her song was inspired by the Korean drinking game Apateu. The rules of the game are quite easy.
More than two people are required. To start the game, the players need to gather their hands in the middle, wave their hands left and right alternately, and sing ‘apateu apateu, apateu apateu’ like the song’s melody. After the song, players need to stack their hands in one place at random. One person from the game will say a random number, and other players, including the person, have to move their hands from the bottom to the top as many as that number.
And when the number stops, the person with the highest hand loses. If the number shouted is 5, the owner of the 5th hand from the bottom must drink the punishment. (Joongang) This game is still getting loved by lots of people, especially in drinking places. Unlike other countries, Korea is said to have hundreds of drinking games. It is said that there are many games with addictive melodies and simple rules like the APT introduced this time. (Joongang)
To sum up, APT, a new collaboration song between Rosé and Bruno Mars, became a hot craze from the day it was released, setting a new trend. It got noticed from all over the world, with the catchy melody and novel theme, a game named APT. The popularity of this song shows no signs of cooling down yet. APT, as well as many other K-pop songs, is expected to become so popular around the world that K-pop will become a global trend.
By: Jinhan Jeong
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