Seems Electric

Rosé “On the Ground”

It’s been interesting to me how while Taylor Swift has been a major star for well over a decade now it’s only been in the past couple years that her influence as a songwriter has become very apparent in other musicians. This makes some sense, as the songwriters coming up now are those who grew up with as a formative artist. I mostly hear Swift’s influence in particular melodies and cadences paired with an introspective wordiness – for example, listen to the bridge into the chorus on this Rosé song, which could fit neatly into any of Swift’s pre-Folklore records. As to be expected from K-pop, “On the Ground” isn’t all just one thing but more of a well-seasoned stew of pop elements from different periods, with a particular emphasis on reinterpreting sounds from the 2000s. Sure, there’s Taylor Swift in the mix here, but I also hear a lot of…Natasha Bedingfield?

Rosé is best known as a member of Blackpink and this is her first push as a solo artist. The song is sung entirely in English and is as accessible as pop singles can get, so clearly Rosé and the Blackpink machine are aiming very high here with this ballad/bop hybrid. The lyrics, which are basically about realizing you need to be grounded and not lose touch with your roots as you experience success, hit a good balance of pathos and sentimentality. Squint a little and it’s almost one of those “wait, fame is awful!” songs alt-rockers always did in the ‘90s after having a hit.

Buy it from Amazon.