Released on September 18, Rosé’s single, “New Trick,” featured a stylistic change from her past music, prompting reaction among students. Her new production has drawn attention towards the song’s collaboration with Apple and the relationship between commercial advertising and music.
After her first listen to the song, Johannah Huang ’29 found it a refreshing departure from Rosé’s usual music.
“I watched the music video too, and I thought it was not Rosé’s typical style, but I initially still thought it was pretty cool. It’s got a school vibe too. I thought it was really nice and refreshing… I know Rosé typically has this softer vibe, especially her past few albums. I think they were all very love oriented, and they talked more about femininity. But this one’s more about her independence. It’s very cool pivoting, she’s really showcasing her singing and it’s great,” said Huang.
Rosé’s discography has generally leaned into emotional vulnerability and depth, contrasting with her group BLACKPINK’S high energy EDM pop. Her recent pivot in solo music style with high energy tracks like “APT” and now “New Trick” has thus led to varying responses. Kaytlyn Xiao ’29 further commented on the difference between “New Trick” and Rosé’s other songs.
“I know her past albums like ‘The Number One Girl’ and ‘APT’ were pretty popular also. I believe her past songs were more vocally strong, and more emotional pop ballads. But this one felt more like 2000s rock, kind of Avril Lavigne’s music… I felt like personally, it wasn’t catchy enough for me to remember it. I just remember the overall vibes it gave,” said Xiao.
Agreeing with Xiao, Cindy Duan ’28 described the track as generally unimpressive.
“I really like the instrumentation and how the beat and the instrumentation come together. I didn’t really like the lyrics that much because I felt like they could’ve put so much more in them, but they’re not bad… I would say it’s a decent song, but I probably won’t be listening too much because it’s just not my vibe,” said Duan.
The song also prompted discussion about genre as Boson Bai ’29 noted the musical aspects of the song that stood out to him.
“I think it’s a very unique song sitting in between 2 genres, K-pop and generic classic 2000s rock pop… the combination of the vocals and guitar provides a nice contrast to the drum set because it’s more percussive whereas the guitar is holding more chords. I thought that was just a nice musical element,” said Bai.
While some students found elements of “New Trick” refreshing, others felt that its structure limited the song’s impact. Huang gave her thoughts on the song’s composition.
“The song itself was quite repetitive. I think the main chorus plays three times. Once at the beginning, then in the middle, and then at the end. There’s definitely some reason to do that, but I think lately in the music industry, it’s just been a little too repetitive. People aren’t really coming up with new creative novel ideas. They’re just recycling this whole one idea over and over because it’s trending.” said Huang.
Another topic of conversation was the song’s focus on advertising the new Apple iPhone 18, prompting discussion on where the line should be drawn between original solo music and advertisement. Xiao believed that the two things should be kept separate.
“I feel like artists should leave advertising out of music videos and music. Art itself is a form of expression and it’s a freedom. If it’s used to commercialize products and bring it into art, it ruins the purpose… Considering that I like some of her past solo songs before and she drops an Apple ad this time, it is a bit overwhelming,” said Xiao.
Duan reflected on how commercial collaborations can limit artistic liberties.
“In general, I feel like a collaboration with a big company on a song limits what you can do with it in terms of artistry and your own vision. I feel like this entire concept fits Rosé pretty well since she’s got so much experience, so I’m glad that Apple did a collaboration with her and not a different artist who may not have fit the concept as well… it feels like she’s pivoting her artistic vision a little bit from her last album. I’m just hoping that her next album will also be as true to herself as her last one,” said Duan.
