"Number One Girl" is a song by New Zealand and South Korean singer

Rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

. It was released on 22 November 2024 through

The Black Label The Black Label Inc. (; stylized in all caps or THEBLΛƆKLΛBEL) is a South Korean record label and an associate company of YG Entertainment. It was founded in 2015 by YG producer Teddy Park and Kush. History On September 22, 2015, YG Enterta ...

and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

as the second single from her debut studio album '' Rosie'' (2024). The track was written by Rosé, along with

Amy Allen Amy or Aimee Allen may refer to: *Amy Allen (actress) (born 1976), American actress *Amy Allen (philosopher) *Amy Allen (songwriter) *Aimee Allen (born 1982), American singer-songwriter *Amy Allen (The A Team), Amy Allen ''(The A Team)'' *Amy Allen, ...

and the song's producers

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

, D'Mile, Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, and

Omer Fedi Omer Fedi (; born 25 March 2000) is an Israeli record producer, songwriter and musician from Tel Aviv. He has co-written or produced songs such as " Mood" by 24kGoldn, " Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X, " Unholy" by Sam Smith, and ...

. It has been described as a sentimental

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

piano ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballad ...

, blending elements of

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

. The lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, unrequited love, longing, insecurity, and vulnerability. Rosé wrote the song after being deeply affected by hateful comments online. The single was accompanied by a self-directed music video, featuring a retro

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-sw ...

style. The video showcases Rosé wandering through various nighttime locations in Seoul, including the Jamsu Bridge, and a lookout, as she sings to an unnamed lover. Rosé debuted the song live on

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

's '' The Seasons: Lee Young-ji's Rainbow'' on 29 November 2024. The song ultimately achieved moderate success, peaking at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and securing top-five positions in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It also charted in countries such as Australia, Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Background and promotion

On 18 October 2024, Rosé released " Apt.", a collaboration with American singer

, as the lead single from her upcoming debut studio album. The song went on to become a commercial success, reaching number one in 19 countries, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as the top 10 in the United Kingdom and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On 19 November, the singer announced "Number One Girl" as the second single from ''Rosie'' through her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. In an accompanying caption, she clarified that the title stands for her fans whom she refers to as her "number ones". The post also includes the artwork that depicts the singer gazing away from the camera in a white shirt printed with the song's title.

Composition and lyrics

"Number One Girl" was written by Rosé,

Dernst Emile II Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II (born January 24, 1985) is an American record producer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York City. He received his first production credits on Rihanna's 2005 album ''Music of the Sun'', as well as Mary J. Blige's '' The ...

, Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, and

; it was produced by the latter five. It is a sentimental

song, featuring a

that lyrically delves into themes of heartbreak,

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep affection, or may consciously reject it knowing that the admirer admires them. Me ...

, longing, insecurity and vulnerability over a

instrumental. It was written the day after attending an event, after which Rosé found herself looking through hate comments on social media. She was unable to sleep due to being "obsessed with what these people were gonna say about er, as opposed to what she wanted them to say about her. She also admitted to feeling "disgusted" about herself and being in denial as a result.

Critical reception

Writing for '' Clash'', Shahzaib Hussain dubbed the single as a "bruised

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

", lauding it as Rosé's "most candid and expressive release to date". Gabriel Saulog of ''

Billboard Philippines ''Billboard Philippines'' (also shortened as ''Billboard PH'') is a Philippine music and entertainment media brand and magazine owned by Modern Media Group, serving as the local edition of the ''Billboard'' magazine. It publishes news, video ...

'' labelled it as a "devastating opening track" to her album, opining that the powerful ballad highlighted Rosé's "golden voice" and heart-wrenching lyrics with its "embrace fpiano-laden melodies and crashing drums". ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' Mark Richardson described the song to be a "theatrical, swooning ballad", which he remarked was both a "statement of purpose" and a "bold choice to open a pop album". Similarly, in her review of the album for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', Crystal Bell described the song as "a striking introduction to an album that largely trades K-pop’s grandeur for intimate songwriting and emotional candour". In his review of the album, Jeff Benjamin of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked the song at number 5, praising Rosé's emotionally charged vocals and comparing its impact to

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

’s "

Drivers License A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...

". In Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' review'','' he described songs like “Number One Girl” as "classier but unmemorable" compared to " Apt." and referred to them as "Olivia Rodrigo-style

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

Accolades

Music video

A self-directed music video was released together with the single on 22 November 2024. Recorded in the style of a retro camcorder, it depicts Rosé wandering at night around the streets of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, a skate park, the top of a lookout, and the Jamsu Bridge, while she sings to an unnamed lover. On 13 February 2025, a performance video of the song was released. Filmed in

Noisy-le-Grand Noisy-le-Grand () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune of Noisy-le-Grand is part of the sector of Porte de Paris, one of the four sectors of the "new town" of Marne-la-Vallée ...

, the video featured scenes of Rosé wandering through the Les Espaces d'Abraxas and performing delicate choreography with a male dancer.

Live performance

Rosé performed the song live for the first time on

's late-night music program '' The Seasons: Lee Young-ji's Rainbow'' for the episode aired on 29 November 2024. The live performance version from ''The Seasons'' was released as a track on a limited digital version of ''Rosie'' on 10 December 2024.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Rosie''. Recording * Recorded at Glenwood Place Recording (

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

) * Mixed at MixStar Studios (

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

) * Mastered at Sterling Sound (

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) Personnel *

– vocals, songwriter *

– songwriter, producer * Carter Lang – songwriter, producer * D'Mile – songwriter, producer * Dylan Wiggins – songwriter, producer *

– songwriter, producer *

– songwriter *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

–

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Bryce Bordone – assistant mix engineer *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

–

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

* Will Quinnell – mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Rosé (singer) 2024 singles 2024 songs Atlantic Records singles Rosé (singer) songs Songs written by Amy Allen (songwriter) Songs written by Bruno Mars Songs written by D'Mile Songs written by Dylan Wiggins Songs written by Omer Fedi Songs written by Rosé (singer) Song recordings produced by Omer Fedi Torch songs Pop ballads Sentimental ballads New Zealand pop songs English-language South Korean songs South Korean pop punk songs The Black Label singles