Jaehwa Bernardo

The members of South Korean rock band The Rose during a press conference hours before their 'Rosetopia' concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, August 15, 2026. Bea Dellera, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

In ‘Rosetopia,’ The Rose offers ‘healing’ music

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1786872219655Image (1) (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="The members of South Korean rock band The Rose during a press conference hours before their &#x27;Rosetopia&#x27; concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, August 15, 2026. Bea Dellera, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The members of South Korean rock band The Rose during a press conference hours before their &#x27;Rosetopia&#x27; concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, August 15, 2026. <em>Bea Dellera, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>Music has long been regarded as a cathartic experience, offering comfort to listeners in times of need. That sentiment rings especially true when listening to The Rose’s music.</p><p>In “Lifeline,” the band reassures listeners that they “don’t gotta hurt” as they offer to “be your lifeline.” In “Alive,” they celebrate the simple declaration, “Baby, I’m alive,” while confronting “dark” and “heavy emotions.” Even in the heartbreak anthem “Back To Me,” arguably their most popular track, listeners can resonate with the candid admission of a failed relationship brought about by one’s own mistakes.</p><p>These songs, along with many others from the South Korean rock band’s nine-year discography, were on full display during the Manila stop of its “Rosetopia” concert tour at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.</p><p>“As a band, our purpose is to heal through music and that’s the kind of music we want to make and that’s the kind of impact we want to make,” lead guitarist and vocalist Woosung said at a press conference held hours before the Manila concert.</p><p>“And throughout the 10 years, we’ve tried hard making music that could heal people and be there for them through their ups and downs, happy times, sad times, frustrated times. So that&#x27;s what we&#x27;ll keep doing throughout the years,” he said.</p><p>From busking on the streets of Hongdae in Seoul in 2016 to making their debut with “Sorry” in 2017, The Rose has gone on to become one of South Korea’s most popular pop-rock bands, even earning a spot at the prestigious Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States in 2024.</p><p>And just when you think the quartet — also comprising Dojoon on vocals and keyboards, Hajoon on drums, and Taegyeom on bass — has had a whirlwind career over the past decade with no signs of slowing down, the band decided to take a step back from it all. In fact, “Rosetopia” marks the band’s final world tour before entering a hiatus, which they announced in April.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F2108824950515904%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="429" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>“We were like a… racehorse, where we only see forward. And we were just running and running and running. And we kinda forgot to look around a little bit as we were running,” Woosung said during a brief speech in the middle of the Manila concert.</p><p>But Woosung assured fans that this is not the end for The Rose.</p><p>“We’re going to take some time and really, really learn again, learn about ourselves, and then we will go back together and show you guys what we&#x27;ve learned,” he said, noting the members would pursue solo endeavors in the meantime, whether in music or perhaps even acting.</p><p>The tour isn’t the only parting gift the foursome is leaving for fans. The Rose is also set to release a new album, titled “Rose,” before going on hiatus, with the band performing several tracks from the upcoming record during the concert, including “Utopia,” “Chemical” and “Blue Moon.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FOND MEMORIES</strong></div><p>As they prepare to temporarily go their separate ways, the members bring with them fond memories from the past decade.</p><p>When asked about the biggest thing they had learned from one another, Hajoon jokingly replied, “Firstly, English? Yeah,” with US-raised Woosung and Dojoon, who lived in New Zealand, serving as their teachers.</p><p>“And we learned music [from] each other ‘cause we [listen] to different types of music,” Hajoon added.</p><p>“For me, I learned this from Taegyeom, I learned to talk to girls at the club!” Woosung said, later noting that he has already graduated from clubbing.</p><div style="text-align:center"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1604928044499782%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=267&amp;t=0" width="267" height="591" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>“In terms of the music taste... We [The Rose] have the same goal but we have very different music tastes from each other. So the first time we were arguing a lot but now, we learned from each other to go with the flow,” Taegyeom said.</p><p>“One thing that I learned is that we all have different strengths and it&#x27;s best when you put your strengths out for the team,” Dojoon shared.</p><p>Dojoon also acknowledged that it was thanks to being part of The Rose that they were able to travel to different cities, including Manila, and connect with fans around the world.</p><p>“Just because we&#x27;re The Rose, there&#x27;s a lot of Filipinos that are waiting for us… we can come to Manila, we can travel around the cities, and that’s the one thing that changed our lives,” he said.</p><p>When asked to send a message or share something from the present to their 2016 selves, the members said they would rather not, fearing they might “jinx” the bright future that lay ahead of them — a sentiment that suggests a deep sense of contentment with everything they have accomplished so far.</p><p>“You guys know we come from a small city, we started doing music in Hongdae. And to be honest, to be even able to think that we’re gonna go to Manila and perform was not even registered in our minds, in our heads. It was not a possibility that we were shooting for right?” Woosung said.</p><p>“So anything we say [to our 2016 selves] would be unbelievable so we will just let them deal with what they have to deal with to be able to do everything,” he added.</p>

<p>Music has long been regarded as a cathartic experience — a sentiment rings especially true when listening to The Rose’s music.</p>

Music has long been regarded as a cathartic experience — a sentiment rings especially true when listening to The Rose’s music.

In ‘Rosetopia,’ The Rose offers ‘healing’ music

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In ‘Rosetopia,’ The Rose offers ‘healing’ music

ABS-CBN News,

Bea Dellera

Published August 16, 2026 06:06 PM PHT

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