ROSE
ROSÉ of BLACKPINK, who gained global popularity thanks to the worldwide hit “APT.”, found herself at the center of an unexpected controversy over her vocal abilities during a performance in the United States.
Some foreign netizens pointed fingers at her pitch, breathing, and stage presence, sparking a wave of harsh criticism online.
Last November 7 (local time), ROSÉ delivered a special performance at the “2026 Art+Film Gala” organized at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), in the United States. That day, she performed a total of 4 tracks, including “APT.”, “Number one girl”, “New trick”, as well as “Read my mind” by the rock band THE KILLERS.
The controversy erupted from a video of the performance of “APT.” posted on the official X account of the American entertainment media outlet The Hollywood Reporter. This post surpassed 3.4 million views as of November 11. After watching the video, some foreign netizens poured harsh criticism on her vocal abilities, declaring: “It’s embarrassing. She has no stage presence to captivate the audience,” “It’s her own song and she sings so off-key, it’s karaoke level,” or “She already seems out of breath, I really wish she would stop jumping.”
(Watch the video by clicking on the photo)
Some launched sarcastic remarks such as “The best voice according to Blinks,” while others voiced the opinion that she needed backup singers to support her live singing. In particular, unlike the upbeat atmosphere of the original track, ROSÉ‘s voice stood out strongly in an arrangement emphasizing guitar accompaniment, which led to criticism of her pitch and breathing.
In South Korea as well, worried reactions emerged regarding ROSÉ‘s vocal timbre, which seemed to have changed. Some netizens pointed out that her voice sounded hoarse in the high passages, going so far as to speculate about the health of her vocal cords. However, as the actual condition of her throat or the existence of a health issue has not been confirmed, it is impossible to draw hasty conclusions from the performance video alone.
Conversely, some netizens came to ROSÉ‘s defense by asserting that the issue lay in the sound engineering and arrangement rather than her vocal abilities. According to them, her voice was heard excessively loudly compared to the guitar accompaniment, and the atmosphere of the stage could not fully come to life due to an arrangement different from the original.
Other performances presented during the same event nevertheless received positive evaluations. Last November 9, the American music magazine Billboard praised ROSÉ‘s live vocal power and emotional expression on “Read my mind”. Local music outlet Stereogum also assessed on November 10 that she handled this cover well.
ROSÉ had previously reached 3rd place on the main American Billboard singles chart, the “Hot 100”, with “APT.”, in collaboration with BRUNO MARS. Although she proved her global popularity by also figuring among the nominees in the main categories of the “2026 Grammy Awards”, this recent performance in the United States is drawing mixed reactions regarding her live vocal performances.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS ROSE, The Hollywood Reporter
